Fat Daddy Post

May 19, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized

Man, did this week fly by or what?  I have been super busy this week with school work.  Our quarter ends in a couple of weeks and I am feeling the squeeze to get things done.  I’ve been working on a research paper for my art criticism class that’s due next week.  I had to change my topic when I got here, so I’ve been busy doing a whole new batch of research.  I’ve also been helping Sue with a flyer for some really cool workshops she’ll be doing this fall called the “Wool n Dance.” At first I thought this stuff wouldn’t be much to blog about but since I’ve spent so much time on these two things this week, I’ve decided to include a little bit about both.

I am writing a research paper on an exhibit that just recently left the Museum of Art and Design in New York called “Pricked: Extreme Embroidery.”  The idea behind this exhibit was to show how traditional craft techniques, like embroidery, are being used in contemporary art.  There were over 50 works from artists in 17 different countries.  I exhibit would have been way cool to see in person.  But ya can’t just up and travel to New York every time you want to see an art exhibit now can you.  Anyhow, here’s some pics of some of the art that was exhibited…

 

 

“Lessons from My Mother” by Andrea Dezso….she had 48 of these in the exhibit, all showing a little stitched image to go along with each lesson her mother claimed…

 

 

 

 

“Death of a Blinded Philosopher” by Angelo Filomeno…my favorite piece in the show.  This is the biggest I could get this picture to post.  But, its all hand embroidered on silk with tons of swarovski crystals…that you can’t see in this image.  The detail is incredible!!

 

 

 

“Phrenology Head II” by Morwenna Catt…phrenology is the study of how the lumps and bumps on your head determine your personality and criminality characteristics.

 

 

 

 

“Afro Abe II” by Sonya Clark…Abraham Lincoln has a french knot afro as a way to symbolize his aid to African Americans while in office.

 

 

“EBbb” by Kate Kretz…these are eyes embroidered on a white pillowcase with human hair and eyelashes.  They appear just about actual size on the pillowcase.  Cool huh?

 

 

Okay, I have also been spending a tremendous amount of time putting together a flyer together for Sue’s workshops.  I had to use three programs to get the thing done because I didn’t know how to do everything in just one program.  So when you see it, the graphics may appear simple but it has proven difficult to create in more ways than one. 

 

 

The “Wool n Dance” is an event that happens outdoors in a public place where tons of wool is layed out to form a carpet and sandwiched between two big sheets.  The sheets are then soaked with water and soap and people are invited to come and dance on it to live music. The pressure and friction from people’s feet, along with the water and soap, make the wool fibers felt (stick together).  And even if you didn’t want to dance and get wet, you could just stand back and giggle at all the other silly people slipping and sliding around.  The dancefloor would be padded by all the wool, so if you fell it wouldn’t hurt.  I think it’s gonna be super fun and maybe we can eventually get a “Wool n Dance” set up to happen in Savannah. 

Other than staring at my computer for days on end, here’s what else I’ve been up to this week. 

 

Here at the Roundhouse, its all about recycling. I helped Sue carry some old tires down to the beach so we could build a dam that will prevent the waves from washing all the sand away. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sue and Nicol tieing up the tires.  We stuffed them full of rocks and sand so the waves wouldn’t wash them away.  And I’d have to say, this little make-shift dam is already doing a damn good job…hehe!!

 

 

 

and…just to add in a bit of other info I think is cool.  For a better part of their time, Sue and Rico live in and help to run an EcoVillage called Pianta Monda in Southern Switzerland.  Its up on some steep, somewhat rough terrain, but they’ve managed to renovate a few abandoned cottages and plant plenty of organic fruits and vegetables to live on.  They use solar power, compost toilets, and utilize running water from a nearby river.  If anyone’s willing to lend a helping hand and wants to learn a sustainable way of living, then an adventure to Pianta Monda is an excellent choice.  The website for the Pianta Monda is written in German, so if anyone can read German or just wants to check out some pictures of the place, then here ya go…www.piantamonda.ch

Oh, what? What’s that you say?…You want to see some more fiber!!! Well then…OK!!

 

I spun this organic cotton earlier this week.  Its super soft, lumpy and bumpy.  Lumpy and bumpy is easy to spin, but smooth and even?…don’t know, haven’t tried yet.

 

Hope you guys like my silly pic. I spend a lot of time here by myself and this is the result.

 

 

 

Anyways, those of you who have been keeping up with my work of recent months know that I’ve been doing some studies on getting plants to grow in fiber.  Well I’ve decided since I’ve got all these cotton seeds at my disposal, that I might as well try to grow some.

So first, I spun some cotton fiber with the seeds still in it.  I spun it using what’s called a core yarn/thread (the orange one you see to the left of me) to prevent the yarn from tearing while spinning because this fiber had a lot of seeds in it.  Big stuff has a hard time going through the orfice (where the yarn is entering the wheel) so its nice to have the added strength from a core thread.                                             

 

 

I decided it would be a good idea to knit this yarn into a tube on some double pointed needles.  It was my first try with these things, and let me just say it was a bitch to work with.  I’m not very good at knitting anyway, but leave it up to me to do something the hard way the first time around.  This little ball of yarn and these little needles didn’t get me a very long tube… but it did give me something to work with.  The idea was to knit a tube with seeds, hang it up, and water it to see if it would sprout….this is how far I got.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outside of my little tube.  Most of the seeds ended up on the outside, and yes many of them may fall out, but there’s at least 300 seeds in there…and you only need one to plant a bush.

 

 

 

 

The inside of my little tube.  Here you can actually see that its knitted.  I mixed two different colors of cotton fiber when spinning this yarn, a white one and an off white one.  They look nice together here don’t they?

 

 

 

 

Did you know that aloe plants are a natural source for dying fiber.  It will turn your sheets purple if you go to sleep after rubbing some on.  So, I decided to give it a try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You gotta split the leaf open and scrape out the jelly.  The jelly is what will dye the fiber.  And boy, does it reek…like a smelly armpit to be exact.  We’re use to smelly substances in the fibers department though, right girls?

 

 

 

 

I also just put some loose cotton fiber in the bottom of this bottle with some seeds and water to see if it would sprout. So, do ya think it worked?   Weeeellllll…….

 

 

 

 

After only two days, look what I’ve got….some sprouts in the bottom.  They haven’t popped out through the top yet, but they will hopefully within the next couple of days.  Yaaaa, I’m so excited!!!

 

 

 

And to round out today’s super long post, how ’bout some odds and ends…

 

Some more beach findings.  The crab is all dried up and hollow, but the sea urchen looks as though it may have only died a few days ago.  There’s a yellow shell there, do you see it?  Have you ever seen a yellow shell? Not me.  Oh yeah, at home on Tybee Island, my friend Darcie and I collect broken shells a lot because sometimes that’s all you can find.  But don’l look over the broken ones…for they can be some of the most interesting…like to corkscrew ones to the left here. 

 

 

This is the bay in one of the next towns over from Bogles where I’m staying.  Its called Harvey Vale and its where all the the traveling sailors and yatchies come to dock their boats.  Its one of my most favorite locations in Carriacou yet.

 

 

 

 

A sea urchin on the beach in Harvey Vale.  This one wasn’t quite dead yet, but there were tons of other ones…however most of them were broken. 

 

 

 

 

And another beautiful sunset here at the Roundhouse to end another busy week.