Lovely World

new work

I have been doing a lot of stitching (tiny stitches!) these last couple of weeks. I wanted to post these photos a few days ago, but both my desk top and lap top were in the shop for repair. I was amazed at how often I had the impulse to use a computer. I had to make due primarily with my iphone, which is really not as easy to view things on as a full screen.

I plan to put some of these figures in my etsy shop. I recently added a number of other things, animals and mushrooms.

I'm sure the rest of you have been thinking about Nelson Mandela this week. He was such a courageous man who truly changed history. I think about his prolonged imprisonment and wonder what that must have felt like. Did he know the impact his life would have on the other side of it all? We just don't know how things will play out in the future. We must simply do our best, and make the best choices we can, in this moment. It is all we have. Obama and all of our living former heads of state are headed for South Africa. I love the image of them all together, but wish that the rest of our leaders could come together in common purpose as well.

Thank you for reading, and looking at my work.

❀ Maribeth

animals

I am drawn to images of animals, as I'm sure many people are. They are so a part of our lives, of our environments.

The above top image is from a memorial plaque at the Bath Abbey (The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul) in Bath, England. I just loved the aged marble and the sensitive expressions on both the animal and human faces. I was also very interested to see the beaver alongside all of the domesticated animals.

This is the second sheep I have made. It has a pink fleece (lovely German mohair) and a black ruffled ribbon around its neck that provides a somewhat solemn feeling to the piece.

We lost a beloved cat this week, so I am also thinking about how animals come in and out of our lives. If you own different pets over a lifetime, that is many losses along the way.

Be well.

❀ Maribeth

deep summer

It is golden summer time and I have been sewing quite a bit. I have some items in my etsy shop and will be continuing to add more. If there is something you do not see there, but are interested in, please let me know.

Above is a new taxidermy bird made of gold velvet, with vintage lace and millinery flowers. It has a silver loop on the back for hanging.

Also some images I recently hung on my bulletin board for inspiration. I see a gold theme here as well. I have been traveling a lot this summer and found these cards in various places: the Musee D'Orsay (small child with pail and tall cat), the gift shop at Buckingham Palace (the horses), and the Met in NYC (the hedgehog).

Please visit my web site too! I have been fine tuning this little labor of love: lovelyworldhandmade.com

❀ Maribeth

spring things

Here is a little blue rabbit I made, in honor of spring's arrival. The top photo is from a folk art book I enjoy flipping through for inspiration. The little white rabbit sitting on the upper left hand branch of the green tree inspired my pattern.

The bottom photo is of a basket sitting on the edge of my work desk that catches pieces I have in progress but am not currently motivated to finish. I have to think on these - what to do next, how to make a certain feature, and the like. The doll (which I showed earlier) now has hair and an embroidered face. I'm thinking about how to clothe or embellish her.

I am happy to tell you that my web site, Lovely World Handmade (lovelyworldhandmade.com), is up and running! Please let me know what you think. My etsy shop has a new banner and will soon have new work in it.

❀ Maribeth

work and worth

:: Dear friends. Thank you again for all the warm comments you have left me as I return to my blog. They are very meaningful.

:: Here you see a collage of many patterns (the lid of a vintage paper box, a small embroidery that an etsy seller from abroad tucked in my package when I ordered from her shop, and a clipping from a recent New York Times Weekend Arts section). I pair this photo with a "Bird in Flight" that I made this month. Hand-dyed wool, vintage silk flowers, and an old factory spool. I bought a handful of these spools at the Brimfiled Market last spring. I hope to get back to the show this year to find more of these. They allow me to portray and support animals in motion.

:: I read an interesting post on Bookhou this morning about the worth of handmade work. I recommend both makers and purchasers of handmade goods read this. Arounna is articulate in her argument. I also have to say that, as an owner of two Bookhou bags, her work is beautiful and worth the investment.

:: Finally, along the lines of work and worth, I read this in Mary Rose O'Rielly's spiritual memoir The Love of Impermanent Things:

"It was so hard for me to learn to value my own vocation - it's still my basic instinct to spill over for anyone who asks - and now, in midlife, I am not going to give up what I know."

Does that sound familiar to you?

textiles, with a touch of imperfection

:: My mother gave me two vintage linen tote bags: one with peacocks done in a knot stitch, the other a border motif in cross stitch. They are both so well executed. I can see a few "extra" stitches on the cross stitch. You can too if you look carefully.

:: These extra stitches remind me of the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi, which in general means the acceptance of imperfection and transience. How freeing is that, particularly set next to some of the Western ideas about beauty and perfection?

:: Here are some other words I came across to describe the qualities of Wabi-sabi: simplicity, economy, austerity, asymmetry, modesty, irregularity, and appreciation of natural objects and processes.

:: I one time made some Raku pottery. In Raku, the vessels are fired at a low temperature. When you remove them from the kiln, they are immediately submerged in cold water (traditionally maybe even tea water!) or smothered in material, such as sawdust, which catches on fire and then finally cools. This dramatic process from hot to cool causes very unexpected, uncontrollable results: crackling of the glaze, marks from the smoke and fire. Raku is a very good example of Wabi-sabi in action.

:: I also like to think about Jazz music and the quilts I have seen made by African American women (see here and here). Improvisation leaves lots of room for imperfection and happy accidents.

return

I have been away from this space for quite a while. From my last post, it appears that I went away on holiday and simply never returned!

But, I now turn again to my Lovely World to collect and record my creative efforts and those things that inspire me.

I have continued to read, and be inspired by, the blogs of many of my dear readers. I hope some of you will find your way back here!

Above:

3 images currently posted on my bulletin board

A new animal I made in November: "Circus Elephant"

calendar and book

{Calendar Week 24}

Thank you Johannes Gruger

Book 23/52:

Deborah Copaken Kogan's Between Here and April

✿ Have a nice start to the week.

calendar and book

{Calendar Week 18}

Book 17/52:

Karen Russell's Swamplandia!

calendar and book

{Calendar Week 16}

More bird love. It has been a week of birds.

Book 15/52:

Allison Hoover Bartlett's The Man Who Loved Books Too Much