Those Ladybugs Are At It Again!

On June 1, 2008 I wrote a post about the first Bow Tucks bag I made and included a tutorial for it.  I had no idea how popular it would be.  This past week someone linked the post and on Thursday it had  1,067 views.  791 people viewed it yesterday.  Amazing.  This is not the first time this post has been linked by someone with lots of views, but it’s a record.

I think more tutorials will be in the works for this year.  But I really think it’s that cute ladybug fabric that really does it.  To say nothing of the great pattern.  I want to try out the mini.

That is, as soon as the D.Min. dissertation is completed.  This is what it looks like in my living room right now. Note the highly neglected spinning wheel in the corner!  I have never been able to work at a desk, so I’m writing from a chair in the living room with books, papers, and notecards spread all around. (Parsonage furniture, not mine, for those of you who know me.)  Mishka is not happy because she has to compete with the books, etc. at my feet.

The dining room table (also not my furniture) has my “storyboard” with sheets of paper with chapter titles piled with notecards for each chapter.  Probably not the best of organizing systems, but hey. Note my new tagine on the table, as neglected as the spinning wheel, alas!

As of last night I have completed 47 of the required minimum 75 pages for the draft.  I think I’ll make it, but have a few more days of writing to squeeze in before my self-imposed deadline of January 25.  Did I mention I hate trying to get footnotes and bibliography in the right format?  The compete draft is due in Washington on February 1.  It’s looking more and more like I might make it, but it’s still going to be a push.

I’ve been loving working on this degree, but I am looking forward to getting back to some sewing, painting, and other fun stuff like blogging.

Not that working on a Doctor of Ministry hasn’t been fun, but I’m just saying . . .

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Gouache Mandala 1 – First Color

One of my D.Min. colleagues did a project with a mandala he designed and then painted with gouache paint.  It’s really nice, and it inspired me to sit down and do some playing around with mandalas myself.  I’ve always used them for quilt designs before.  Here’s one I made up several years ago.  It’s somewhere between 50 and 60 inches in diameter.

The mandala I drew Saturday night is only 6 inches in diameter.  That’s a huge difference.  But then the medium is different, too.  What you can do with fabric is TOTALLY different from what you can do with paint.  But, the interesting thing is that they are equally intricate.

Using the gouache I’ve laid in the first color which is a very lovely primary blue.  I’m going to be using a palette of hues between yellow and blue on the color wheel.  And there will probably be a touch of red, as well.  Here’s the first layer:

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Isaiah 43 Triptych

Blog writing has been on the back burner for a couple of months now as I’ve been working on the projects and papers for my last two D.Min. courses.  My goal is to complete my Theological Aesthetics paper tomorrow.  That’s a big goal because I still have about half of a 15 to 20 page paper to write.

I’ve completed the art project and process paper for Art as Worship, Worship as Art.  It’s taken just about a month to execute this piece, but it’s now properly posted and sent out for my colleagues to comment on, so I think I can post it here now.

I was originally going to do something in textile arts, specifically a baptismal stole, to fulfill the requirement for a piece of art for use in personal and/or corporate worship.  But then I thought I really ought to do something that would stretch me more.  Since I really enjoyed working on The Way of the Cross, I decided to do something in acrylics again.  This time, however, I wanted lots of color.

We had been looking at triptychs during the class and I thought it might be fun to try making one myself.  A triptych is an art piece on three panels, often carved wood or painted, usually hinged, so it can be hung or stood on its own as an altarpiece.

I based my triptych on my favorite biblical passage, Isaiah 43, using verses 1b-2:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

I made the triptych so it could be free-standing on a worship table and be viewed from all sides.  The front depicts verse 2 and has verse 1b painted in metallic gold in Hebrew across the lower portions.

 

The colors of the waters and flames swirl together around a central spiral of verse 2 in Hebrew on the back

and move around to create a smaller spiral as the triptych closes.  

I happened to be working on this piece as word was coming in about the loss of Air France flight 447 from Brazil to Paris.  It became an appropriate way to pray for the victims and to reflect upon God’s presence in the midst of the tragedies of our lives.  

The finished triptych is 24 inches high by 32 inches wide; acrylic on wood.  

This is an original piece of art.  Please do not copy or post pictures anywhere without my written permission.

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Still Working

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything.  I’m still working on a paper and a project for my D.Min. classes.  And neither has anything to do with fiber.  I did get some really positive comments on my first mixed media project “The Way of the Cross.”  So that’s been really encouraging and my next/current project is all in acrylic on wood.  I think I’ll wait ’til it’s finished to show it, since it’s not fiber related and this blog is mostly about fiber and textile.  I have at least one other idea in mind for some more mixed media with metal mesh, textile, and hand-made paper that I hope I will get to before too long. 

I’m still plugging away on my “Pentecost Socks” with not much progress to show.  Writing, painting, and, oh yes, work have conspired to keep me from all things related to fiber.  But I have a few things on the back burner that I hope I can get to after my D.Min. work is due at the beginning of July. 

I’ve noted Vicki’s blog here before and it’s always fun to see what she’s doing.  She’s now opened an etsy shop and to celebrate she’s having a drawing for some fabric she has dyed and painted.  It looks really exciting.  Check it out!

I’ll be doing a dyeing demo for the local quilt guild in July, so I’ve got to get going on some of that myself.

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To the National Gallery

I haven’t been keeping up with my blog while in D. Min. classes, but I wanted to post today about the exhibit we viewed at the National Gallery of Art called “Heaven on Earth.”  It’s a wonderful exhibit on illuminated manuscripts which happens to be something I’m very interested in right now.  

Here’s one of the pieces we saw.  This is from the National Gallery website — photos aren’t allowed in the exhibit.

Tomorrow we’ll be going to Baltimore to the American Visionary Art Museum and to the Walters to see the St. John’s Bible exhibit.  I can’t wait!.  P.S.  You can see more about the St. John’s Bible here.

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An Amazing Video

I have been working steadily to complete my preparations for my next D.Min. classes that start in just over a week.  While I was reading I decided to take a break and look at some of the artwork being referenced, rather than just reading about it.  I found this amazing 3D rendition of Picasso’s Guernica.  Since I don’t know how to insert videos into my blog, you’ll have to click on the link to see it.  It takes about 6 minutes to view, but is well worth the time.  

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Mandala Drawing 4

Here’s the last of the mandala drawings I dredged up from 2001.  I won’t be able to post any pictures for the next couple of weeks as my husband has taken the digital camera with him on a trip to Hungary, but I’ll try to find some other things that I can post instead.  Hmmm…what will that be?  I don’t know, but I ought to be able to come up with something. 

This mandala is indicative of, you guessed it, the four seasons.  I’m having fun thinking about ways to execute these designs with mixed media, but do have to wait until after May and whatever assignments I’ll have after my two weeks in DC.

Two more books to read, three more papers to write, plus one presentation to prepare to go before the next session of D.Min. classes.  I’m beginning to think I might get finished. Smile.

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Considering Music

No visual or fiber arts to write about today as I have been focusing on reading Resounding Truth for my D.Min. class on Aesthetics.

This book seeks to develop a “Christian wisdom of music,” and thus far I have read about the development of Christian thought regarding music from pre-Augustine through twentieth-century composers Olivier Messiaen and James MacMillan.  This excursion has included looking brief looks at Bach, as well as theologians Schleiermacher, Barth, and Bonhoeffer.  A pretty eclectic mix.  

I am in way over my head as I don’t have much grounding in the music side of this discussion.  Fortunately the theology and philosophy are familiar to me, although not specifically the perspectives on music.  It’s really fascinating and I wish I could stop to listen to every music piece and do further reading (or re-reading) of the theologians.  

I’ve just downloaded (from iTunes) and listened to MacMillan’s Seven Last Words of Christ performed by the Dmitri Ensemble and Chorus and it is amazing.  This is a recording just released — April 1, 2009 — in honor of MacMillan’s 50th birthday.  The piece was originally commissioned by the BBC in 1994 to be broadcast during Holy Week that year. 

I’m thinking this piece might inspire me to do another visual work and/or a participatory art project and study.

So much inspiration is coming from these readings and classes!

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What’s Next?

It is a relief to have the physical part of my project for Creativity and Spirituality completed.  Now I need to write up my process paper to turn in with the artwork to my professor.  I’ll also be putting a presentation together on the theological significance of the work for my class in Aesthetics that is coming up in May.    

Here’s a picture of the entire set.  I had a hard time finding somewhere to lay it out to get a really good picture, and this is not the way I would display it for viewing.  Ideally I would hang or set the pieces around a large space where each could be viewed individually, while still being in the context of the entire series.

Besides reading Megan McKenna’s “The New Stations of the Cross” while working on this project, I also read Henri Nouwen’s “Walk With Jesus” on Good Friday for another perspective on the stations of the cross.  I recommend both books.  

Now, besides getting the process paper written I’m focusing on readings for my next classes. Right now I’m reading about the use of music in Christianity in Jeremy S. Begbie’s book, “Resounding Truth“.  It’s quite interesting.  I am worried, though, about whether I’ll be able to get all nine books read and papers written on each–three are read and one paper written so far–before my classes in May.  

Right now I’m pretty much exhausted from Lent and Easter, and the task seems pretty daunting.

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The Way of the Cross – Fifteenth Station

I have been showing my collage interpretation of The Way of the Cross March 29 through April 12.  

One piece has been shown each day along with the scripture passage or passages that go with it.  This is the project I am completing for my Creativity and Spirituality Doctor of Ministry Class at Wesley Theological Seminary.  

Please do not copy or post these images in any other place without my permission.  

The choice of scripture passages and translations are from Megan McKenna’s The New Stations of the Cross, based on a revision of the traditional stations of the cross by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

A few people have asked for a little more explanation about the symbolism in these pieces.  You can find a brief explanation here.

Easter Resurrection

Luke 24:1-3

On the first day of the week, at dawn, the women came to the tomb bringing the spices they had prepared.  They found the stone rolled back from the tomb, but when they entered the tomb, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Revelation 5:12; 7:9-10, 13-14

This is the new hymn they sang:  ”Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise!”

After this I saw before me a huge crowd which no one could count from every nation and race, people and tongue.  They stood before the throne of the Lamb, dressed in long white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.  They cried out in a loud voice, “Salvation is from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb!” . . . Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people all dressed in white?  And where have they come from?”  I said to him, “Sir, you should know better than I.”  He then told me, ” These are the ones who have survived the great period of trial; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

 

 

 

 

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