One for Sorrow

A piece for the most recent show - hand and machine embroidery with crow and pheasant feathers. Masks and secrets, abiding fascination for me.

In a Jellyfish Garden

Life has a way of throwing unexpected curves sometimes, have you noticed? (If you haven't, just nod sagely - I need my delusions intact.) In any case, I've been in the studio cooking up a few new ideas and I am rather pleased. Here comes the curve. Offspring arrives home from school last week raving about jellyfish. Absolutely raving, there is no better thing in the universe than jellyfish. We google, we YouTube, we Netflix and the obsession is still in high gear after the weekend ends. We've drawn them, talked about them, watched them, there's only one thing left to do...that's right, MAKE them. But am I satisfied with just any  old jellfish? Oh heck no! So, I hunt around while offspring is off at school today and decide that it is time to experiment. My brother, a while back, gifted me with some technology in the form of LEDs and such, as well as the book Fashioning Technology, by Syuzi Pahkchyan. I've been looking for excuses to break this stuff out and really dig in to experimenting. What better excuse can there be? (My husband is fearful of jellyfish household domination, rightly so as I tend to overdo these things.) So, here is the beginning of the great jellyfish experiment...

I'm sampling some organzas, tulles and nettings to see if I want that sort of opacity. The inside will be lit with LEDs, perhaps powered with a solar panel if I can make that happen. I envision a jellyfish field across the ceiling of a bedroom. Also on the experiment block: clear silicone and some really funky yarn that might be interesting if I crochet one. Hmm - maybe crochet with monofilament could get interesting... See? Start a ball rolling through my brain and there's no telling where it might end up.

Curiosity. It is both blessing and curse, but I have it spades. I'll update when there's something worth telling!