CUMULONIBUS!!!

I've picked up a new book recently called "The Cloudspotter's Guide" which I am really enjoying. It has a lot of technical information about different kinds of clouds and the weather associated with them. This is cleverly mixed with good stories, wit and and a touch of myth. So far, I recommend it! I can't wait to test out my cloud knowledge. I think I'll plan a picnic with some friends. We can lie on the earth, look out onto the layers of clouds and into the space beyond and eat sanwhiches!

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( Speaking of which, some night I'd like to lie awake all night in the grass and really feel aware of traveling away from the sun and back again. The dark side of the earth, facing out into the void and aware of my own travels through the (false) swirling of the stars. It's times like that when you really know gravity, that the whole of the earth and everything in it is holding you. Mass is a curious thing. If anyone wants to join me, let me know! (Then it won't be so scary out alone in the night. We can drink coffees and make veggie smores.) Then again, I'm off on a tanget forgetting about clouds. )

There most romantic story I have read so far is about "The Meghaduta" or "cloud messenger", a sanskit poem witten between 50BC and Ad400 by the poet Kalidasa. A demi god, 'Yaksha' is cursed by the Hindu god of wealth, Kubera. He is banished to the Vindhya mountains, where he must wander aimlessly for a year. All he can do is pine for his wife, unable to communicate with her and lovesick he counts the months until he may return to her. On the eight month of his exile he finds a Cumulonibus cloud clinging to a mountain peak. He knew this to be a sign of the monsoon season, a time when traveling men returned to their wives and he begged the cloud to bring a message to his beloved. He gave the cloud directions and pointed out the rivers it could drink from and mountain ranges where it could rest.

The cloud goes on it's way, showering temples and crackling with lightning. It find his lover exausted from weeping and rouses her with a cool breeze. It consoles her with with low thunder and tells her not to give up waiting, for her husband has been banished and will return to her when he is released from the curse.

The Drawing Conclusions show

I recently took part in a group drawing show curated by Angela Enman. It brought together a mix of artists using varried mediums to exploring mark making and drawing processes. Drawing can be as traditional as marks on paper, but it does not need to be limited to this, since it has more to do with being engaged, the process, markmaking (which is also a very slippery term to try to nail down). Everyone involved in the show had vastly different work, some of the drawings were created outside the gallery, quite a few were site specific.

Those of us creating work in that would only exist in the gallery for the duration of the show had from sunday morning to monday morning to "draw", which meant an all nighter for Dan, Abby and I. Despite the lack of sleep we had a lot of fun. Abby helped me nail over 200 nails into a frame I needed to install, turns out she has wood working experience. She was a lot quicker about it than I was, and I am so grateful! She also helped me fend off very drunk men who kept hitting on us in the courtyard while we were trying to get the work done. We were a odd sight, two determined girls hammering nails into long white boards outside the bars on granville in the middle of the night for what must have seems like no apparent reason. We did get a lot of questions and curious looks.

Just as we finished our work the skys opened up and it continued to rain for the next two days. I was glad for it, I love the rain. When I got tired I ran out into it, the plesant chill on my skin helped keep me alert. Sometimes I'd stand at the doors of the gallery looking out for a bit, then stand outside looking in. I like the space between. Abby was dancing in the gallery between drawing, I think she must be in love.


Dan was generally cranky about his computer, but I can't blame him, as always anything that could go wrong with his computer did go wrong. In the end his drawings were fantastic, they looked cellular and organic. I don't think he knows it yet, but he's going places.

The opening the next day went well, there was a good turn out regardless of the heavy rain and people seemed excited. My friend Nikolai made it out, and made a point to tell me he "wasn't bored", which may sounds bad, but really isn't. We've all been to way too many boring shows, where we just haven't felt engaged. Unfortunately, and as much as I hate to admit it, this is often the case.

My work: I used threads as 2d lines and pulled them out into three dimensional space. They moved out and away from themselves at every point, resulting in a form that was airy, but felt like an explosion of line and loosely defined planes. I was exploring themes of space time and the fabric of reality with this drawing. I may try to do another drawing with yarn in the future, when the time constraints aren't so tight.

Unfortunately my photos don't do it justice, they flatten out something that was meant to be viewed at different angles and interacted with. So all of you who missed the show, sorry you're out of luck. I'll put up some longer shots later though.

Abby and her work: it's made of magnetite circle she extrated from beach sand near her home.She had a huge pendulum shift it around during the opening.

Brazilwood

The dye pot.


I dyed two meters of silk gauze using a shibori technique. The fabric was folded and marbles were tied into the layers.



The thin silk gauze turned a warm and complex shade of pink in less than an hour. The shibori is reminiscent of repeating patterns of the earth and biology, groups of organic circles. They remind me of deer spots. I am going to try to turn this into the best summer dress ever, check back for more photos and my technical notes from this dye session.






Dyeing with Brazilwood: