What am I to make of that?
I have just come this morning from our porch, where it is cool. I have watched birds, while reading some very fine poetry that speaks to my inner being. What am I to make of that?
The poet traces her journeys. The places she has lived. Sometimes she fit where she was. Sometimes she shifted her body in the place like adjusting to ill-fitting clothes. I have been there. What am I to make of that?
In my studio today there is unfinished chaos. It looks like the work of someone who believes our nation has just barely survived a coup, that it is being revealed in detail, and that all the forces and players who put in motion are still very much a danger. Which I do. What am I to make of that?
My eyes are an annoyance now. The miracle of cataract surgery is completed and successful. Now I do not need glasses, except for reading. I am walking around feeling naked, like part of my face is missing. I am not used to putting them on and taking them off and then forgetting where they are. Until the final prescription is done, my eyes and my seeing just don’t feel like I am quite myself. What am I to make of that?
And right beyond the peace of my quiet porch, the coolness of this morning-after-rain, down the street are houses posting signs and displaying flags that speak to me of ugliness, the underlying causes of the attempted coup. It is not far away. It is right here. What am I to make of that?
Photos of my neighbor’s signs, transferred to muslin
All of these things – the gentle cool air. The discomfort. The fear. The searching. They will all turn into something. I will make them into something.
And it will be ongoing. Processing and creating. Not just a one-shot deal.
Meanwhile, I had the affirmation last Friday night of a genuinely fine opening of the textile art show at Ormond Memorial Museum and Gardens. Great visiting and camaraderie with artists I know. The take-a-deep-breath-and-just-look-at-that! experience of seeing my own work beautifully displayed and filling the wall of one room.
I look forward to presenting a gallery talk: at the Ormond Museum on Thursday June 23 at 11am. I welcome you to join me if you can.
In ways I know are real but don’t always fully understand, all these things work together.
(Note: The image in the header of this blog post – and shown below - shows a portion of a work-in-progress that is a reaction to our ugly civic divide. I just wrote some “What…” sentences and let them form an underlying pattern. This section, and others in which I want the fabric surface design to speak to my thoughts and emotions, is part of the answer: What am I to make of this?)
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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