Lovely. Wasn’t it? Well, for a moment at least. And I’m so glad I have this image to remind myself of what happened. A lot, actually. First, I wanted to have song flowing from the figure’s mouth. And so notes were added when suddenly I remembered Grace’s cloth of the Rio Grande. I scrolled through her posts and there it was. The same thing. And because I’m pretty sensitive to plagiarism I thought “No, this feels like I’m appropriating someone else’s work, and as much as I love Grace and her cloth, it didn’t feel quite right for me.” (This decision took more than a few moments–I had already spent a lot of time with the music and I was also thinking about “nothing new under the sun” and all that.) But there was an unease about it that I was not comfortable entertaining. And so…what to do?
I thought about sending the image to Grace for her feedback. But I didn’t. Instead I removed the stitches and re-stitched light coming from the eyes instead, and all the while I was mucking around with the shape of the profile and before I knew it every thing was so NOT RIGHT. But still I stitched. Added things. And the more I added the further I moved away from the original image intent. My original intent. Not the cloth’s.
The more I fiddled with it, the less I loved it. Disliked it, actually. And at that point I whipped out my BIG scissors. What difference would it make if I cut it up into segments that were still pleasing to my eye? And so I did–creating puzzle(d) pieces– and after some fiddling around another incarnation evolved. A different kind of woman. Pushing something. Not as in Sisyphus pushing the never-ending boulder. More like a woman tending to something precious–something in a pram perhaps?
But here’s something else that I’m seeing here. Something that closely parallels my own life cycle. An event. Several events. Situations that totally turned my life upside down. Restructured every thing that had come before. And my pieces, re-assembled, bore little resemblance to the “me” that preceded the event. But still, there I was and here I am. Whole cloth for better or worse. I’m curious to see where this is all heading. All of it.
following thread 
Wow!! This really takes my breath away.
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hi Bobbi. we shall see!
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What a fascinating post, it takes a lot, cutting up a piece and starting again, I can actually relate more to the second piece than the first.
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the cutting was actually easy. the “trying to fix it” was impossible. she’s resting now.
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I’m liking this. Softening the profile really gives it a different sense. Now it touches my heart.
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yes, the amazing changes a tiny snip can make. and if it’s touching your heart, what else could be better?
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tending to something precious
o
you know, dear best You, that anything that feels like it really wants to happen should.
Who told us that sound, song, words have been depicted for all time with marks from the
mouth? Minka?, Beth? i’ll have to go back to look. but i think it’s the most beautiful
gesture, to take it all apart. that is total Trust in the Making. total Trust in the Cloth
itself. and to know that it can happen not just once, but over again and again until
what wants to appear, does…
more and more we learn. yes? just LOVE walking along side you….just love that.
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i’m not sure it felt like “trust.” actually what’s that football expression–a “hail mary.” it was more as if there was nothing else to lose. but the learning continues, for certain. and the walking along side of…yes, that is the essential part. thank you my friend.
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journey cloth
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and what a long strange trip it’s been! right?
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a favourite song!
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LOVE IT Patricia
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oh you. having you here has made my morning.
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I love the evolution of the piece, gutsy!
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back was against the wall–that’s what it felt like. no where else to go.
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