Wild Muse Notes ♣ Aria Nadii’s Weblog

The heat wave has broken so I will make a post and then work in the studio for while. It has been too hot to be in the crow’s nest where my work space and office are located. I’ve been sitting in the first floor kitchen which is more or less below ground, in a papasan chair front of a fan ripping stitches and sorting embroidery threads and materials for work on another tapestry. I keep my mind and hands busy when it is difficult to concentrate. The situation in Lebanon doesn’t do much for inspiration so I have to work though on pure coffee and spice.

I distract myself with pretty books, ideas for art making. I tracked down used copies of Shining Cloth which is sort of a textiles version of the Amulets book and also Relicarios, a book of devotional miniatures from the Americas. Why do I allow myself to be seduced by books when I am always trying to get rid of my possessions? I think I make exceptions for anything related to my work. Ideas for current projects are considered exempt from the “no collecting” rule but this can be dangerous.

Otherwise, I am in recycle and reuse mode and refuse to buy materials until I find a clever use or a new home for every single fragment and scrap within these walls. I have piles and piles of fabric and mirrors and metals and threads and ribbons so I work with on torans and tapestries and a large quilt for our bed. This is something that we can do on the porch or in the garden or anywhere else when we do not want to be in the crow’s nest. He taught himself how to do embroidered mirror work yesterday and I did not help him at all. I am impressed.

From “Shining Cloth”

The Obi is a Japanese wearable art form from the Nishijin region.

This man is a king of the Kuba people. His cowrie shell regalia is a sign of wealth and prestige and a tribute to the Kuba ancestor god Woot! Isn’t he glorious. You will think of him the next time you say “Woot!”

From “Relicarios”

I seem to favor the Mexican style of relicarios.

The Mexican tin and mica relicarios resemble some of the northern Indian tin work and I think this kind of frame would also go well with my painting style.