Amazonian Music Festival

Jeremy Narby, author of the "Cosmic Serpent", works for the Swiss association Nouvelle Planète and helps out Indian tribes in Amazonia.

He reports that women from the Aguaruna tribe have recently organised their first music festival, because they wish to transmit their songs and dances. You can see glimpses of this event here, as it has been filmed at the tribe's request :

http://agmediaspace.com/woodstock/AmazonMusic.html

A CD should go out sometimes in 2008 in Switzerland.

BJP - July page

"Breakthrough" or maybe "Coming out" (?)

I think I've finished my BJP July page. The theme of keys has popped up regularly recently. After several attempts I managed to loose my house keys with my lucky keyring (with a tiny Indian mirror). Then somebody was waving a key postcard at me at a party, then it popped up in a dream. I'm not sure I want to talk about this dream just yet though... Funnily enough all four fabrics were bought from the "Marché Saint Pierre" (St Peter's market), the well-known cheap fabric store just underneath the "Sacré Coeur" church (sacred Heart).

I began bead embroidery thanks to Robin Atkins. I fell in love with her spirit dolls and just had to do one. Then I read "One bead at a time", which is a great book. However something kept nagging me. Robin advises to take a piece of fabric you really like, to then sow a bead you like, and keep going till you are pleased with the result. I have seen many beautiful pieces done that way by Robin and other bead artists. As for me, I am incapable of doing so ; I get really upset if too much of my fabric is concealed. I have tried figuring out what this means... Is this something to do with lying, shyness ("who am I to improve this fabric?"), tightness ("I paid for that fabric"), reptilian fear ???

My first BJP page I wanted to do in bright colours against black, it didn't work at all so I changed my mind. For a long time I have been attracted to "molas", traditional Women clothes of the Kuna indians of Panama. It is a version of "reversed appliqué". I've tried to imitate one. My July piece has therefore also been a mean to meditate about "what do you choose to show, what to you choose to conceal". It is also about frustration and accepting my limitations. I've had a hard time with that metallic purple thread and that thin black fabric again. What I find really weird is that I have the feeling I already know this piece, and it's totally me.

Other threads of inspiration...

My daughter is a fan of the game Kingdom Hearts in which the hero fights with the help of a keyblade.

Nuremberg Castle

Church Door in Nuremberg

Buchenwald camp

Lesage embroidery


Silver jewel

Vintage embroidery patterns on line

Crazy Quilt wonder Sharon B mentions on her blog that Exceedingly Curious has put on line a 1886 catalogue of embroidery patterns which are free for anyone to use for their projects.

I've had a look, it's great ! Lot's of children, animals and flowers. It's here.

Back from Holidays

Adam Elsheimer, "Flight inEgypt", 1609 - Alte Pinakothek, Munich

So I'm back from holidays. I'm stunned and exhausted. We've seen incredible castles, awesome landscapes, and stunning works of art. People were really nice and food was cheap so... can't say what I preferred. I have found many subjects of interest to follow but have to put some order in my ideas before I can talk about them ;o)


I managed not to buy a cuckoo clock, but bought some cute Bavarian handmade pewter figurines.


The trip began by a visit to textile museums in Alsace and Lorraine (French regions near the German border). France began printing cotton fabrics in the 18th Century, because of the ever increasing demand of the public for paisley printed fabrics from India. At first they used wood-block printing, and eventually it was with fabric printing that France began its industrialisation.

You can read more about this on the Mulhouse Textile Printing museum website.

We also visited the Wesserling textile museum. They have a stunning textile art exposition at the moment and until September, which is called "Jardins Réduits" (Miniature Gardens), in which Carol Lenthall participated. Each artist was asked to do a little piece including fabric relating to gardens. Unfortunately they didn't have a catalogue, but I'll try to find one to show you pictures.

Now I should go back to beading a little - I bought Alice's spirit doll and my seed bead case on the trip but didn't touch them at all :o)

Holidays

I'm leaving for about 10 days, to explore South Germany, if we don't change our minds on the way...

Take care, see you later,

Kind regards

Hélène

Birthday presents

I got spoiled for my birthday :o)))

Work in progress

June BJP finished : Coyote cries after failing to take his wife back from the Underworld.
I associated June with Death for some reason. A dear friend of our family passed away this month, she had the same June birth day as me. Very sad, and a little unsettling.

Struggling with Peyote stitch...