Nearing Delivery

I figured there was no point in looking in the cabbage patch or waiting for the mythical stork to deliver my next challenge piece so I made a start yesterday. I've had a concept design bubbling for weeks and my fabrics all ready to go but somehow I decided to create something completely different.  Just a little hand stitching and I'll be ready for 12 July.

Has anyone seen my klaf?

My Mythology quilt is well underway and needs just final touches. I have chosen to carry on my map theme, make it a little more abstract yet and to work with the concept of urban mythology. South African urban mythology, of course. You would, I am sure, expect nothing less of me.

So I am finding it a little hard to remember exactly why, given that I started with my idea from the get go and never deviated from its africanness, it was absolutley essential to the authentcity of the piece that I ordered a klaf.

From Israel, nontheless. A klaf being a piece of kosher parchment. And I mean animal skin partchment not paper parchment. So I paid a lot for a small (but irrelevantly religiously acceptable) piece of sheep stomach. Because it was vital.

And now I have lost it.

And I can't remember why I needed it.

What is wrong with me?!

Myth making

My 12 x 20 piece for the myth theme is well underway, but I'm at a decision making point right now that I'm not very happy with.

I wanted to try layering three sheers over each other with the hopes that each one would influence the other. Brilliant right?  In theory only.  I am using silk organza from Exotic silk because it's very sheer, and I think it has the best possibility of working in this method.

I'm down to two layers now, hoping something will show up from the bottom piece.
I'm taking a class with Carol Soderlund this fall at Coupeville, Washington called Layers Upon Layers. Not soon enough for this piece, but I haven't given up yet.

A little progress

I've got the fabrics and the idea.Sewing time is scheduled for very soon.

Mission Mythology: Completed

Wow, I'm so happy to tell you that I've finished my mythology quilt. Here's a sneak peek. As you can probably tell, it's a face, and a female face at that. Once I figured out what I was going to do for this challenge I was itching to go with it. It seemed like forever since I had created a female face on a quilt. I can't wait to see what the other Twelves create in this challenge.

Slowly working

Deborah asked us where we were on our Myth challenge since it's been a little quiet here.

This is where I sit right now. Since I knew we'd be on the road for most of this challenge, I chose something pretty straightforward and very portable. I haven't had a lot of time to work on it amongst our visits and sightseeing, but it's coming along nicely, if slowly.

I prepared my "ground" before packing up to leave Hawaii, and filled a little bag with my thimble, lots of floss, a needle book, and tiny scissors. Now, when I have a quiet moment, I can pull out my work, and hopefully, by the 12th, have a nice little Myth themed quilt.

Deep in Research

Where to even begin with mythology? It's so broad, right?

Desperate for inspiration and focus, I sat down and googled "asian mythology." Several people have used the word "zen" to describe some of my work and I am draw to an Asian spirit in my design. (Whatever that means...) So, it seemed like a decent place to start.

Eventually, I got to Buddha and that reminded me on an amazing exhibit I saw at the Crow Museum in Dallas. The exhibit was titled Traditional Transformed: Tibetan Artists Respond. I was particularly fascinated by Gonkar Gyatso's work.

Here is an image from Gonkar's personal blog from an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston.

His work is also on the cover of this book.

His work takes many forms, but I really love the work he does with STICKERS! I'm interested in his very contemporary and pop-culture interpretation of such traditional imagery and mythology.

I remember spending lots of time at that exhibit in Dallas looking at a collage of stickers in the shape of a Buddah with the specific traditional proportions marked out. Something like this.

I could spend days and days looking at images of Buddha and thinking about the patterns, proportions, lines and decorative elements. In fact, I created a Pinterest board and I'm lost in Buddah rabbit hole.

Speaking of Buddah rabbit...

Studio hopping

Whenever I look at Deborah's Twelve theme piece Seven Houses, Five Trees I think how fun it would be if I could just skip over the hill and visit one of the Twelves.  Fortunately the internet allows for some virtual studio hopping. After I conducted a chakra-enhancing purge of project piles and paperwork, my studio is once again fit for visitors.  I invite you to take the Serendipity Studio Tour:
I have a view of the ocean while the vista from Helen's studio is more bucolic. The building project, painting and decorating are over and Helen is happily esconced in her new creative space.  Check out Helen's Studio Tour:
Meanwhile, thanks to the magic of video, you can some of the Twelves over to your place anytime. As outlined in Deborah's blog post, this week there is some special pricing on the STITCHED - a collection of 20 online video workshops including Deborah's Branches, Buds and Blossom: A Botanical Collage and Nikki's Mini Treasure Box of Dreams:

Also, Deborah's new Quilting Arts video workshop, Contemporary Fabric Collage: Design, Stitch and Finish, is now available for download! It's just like taking a workshop with Deborah. As she prepared for the shoot, Deborah made long lists about all the tips, suggestions, ideas and directions she wanted to include. Plus, there are lots of visual aids and examples throughout the DVD. The video workshop includes chapters on fabric selection, composition, using sheer fabrics, stitching by machine and by hand, and unique finishing options.

Percy Jackson and more...

It seems most American school kids of the 70s and 80s (like me) learned about Greek and Roman mythology sometime between third and sixth grade. I'm not sure it's still a regular part of the curriculum, but Rick Riordan has filled the void! He is the creator of the Percy Jackson series of books. My kids (and my husband) devoured them -- along with millions of other young readers. I've been able to glean that Percy Jackson is half-human and half-god and goes on quests based on classic Greek mythology set in modern time. How fun is that? Riordan continued his success with the Kane Chronicles, using the same basic formula but with Egyptian mythology.

Look! The Kane Chronicles are stacked up on the shelf in our office (joined by the Harry Potter series in the back and other treasures).

I think it's going to be a stretch for me to find inspiration that is truly grounded in mythology of some kind. Stretch is good, right? Luckily, mythology is so broad -- as evidenced by Greek, Roman and Egyptian in the Riordan books alone.

So, I've begun digging and I'm starting with Egyptian imagery. Check out these great lines and patterns!

What are your favorite books incorporating mythology?

Thinking About Myths

Mr C gifted me with this Prayer Jar for mother's day. It was part of the Artists Among Us exhibit at Trinity Cathedral. The maker of this jar was explaining some of the imagery on the jar and brought up Joseph Campbell and myths.

I decided to do some online research and found this quote from Joseph Campbell regarding the function of myths.

1 The first is the mystical function...realizing what a wonder the universe is, and what a wonder you are, and experiencing awe before this mystery...

2 The second is a cosmological dimension, the dimension with which science is concerned--showing you what the shape of the universe is, but showing it in such a way that the mystery again comes through...

3 The third function is the sociological one--supporting and validating a certain social order. And here's where the myths vary enormously from place to place...It is this sociological function of myth that has taken over in our world--and it is out of date...

4 But there is a fourth function of myth, and this is the one that I think everyone must try today to relate to--and that is the pedagogical function, of how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances. Myths can teach you that.

There is so much about myths to be discovered in Campbell's writings. I better get started!!

Synonyms for Myth

So you think you know what a myth is?  Check out all these synonyms:


..allegory, anecdote, apologue, creation, delusion,  distortion, error,  fable, fabrication, factoid, fairy story, falsehood, falsity, fancy, fantasy, fib, fiction, figment, folk ballad, folk lore, folk tale, half-truth, hallucination, illusion, imagination,  inaccuracy,  invention, knowledge, legend,  lie, lore, misapprehension, misbelief,  miscomprehension, misconception,  misinterpretation, misperception,  misunderstanding, misinformation, misjudgment, misknowledge, misreport, misrepresentation, misstatement, mythos, narrative, old wives' tale, parable, saga, sophism, sophistry, superstition, tale, tall story, tradition, urban legend, yarn, wisdom, untruth..

Topographical Myths

It seems to be an easy segue from maps to mythology. Sure many myths focus on gods and supernatural heroes but there is also a large collection of myths that dwell upon the natural world and seek to explain how the earth came to take its current form.

As New Zealanders, Kirsty and I grew up with the Maori legend of Māui. One of Māui's most famous exploits was to use the jaw bone of his ancestress as a fish hook and to haul an enormous fish from the bottom of the sea. Māui ws concerned that the gods might be unhappy with the catch and left the fish with his brothers while he went to make peace with the gods. His brothers didn't wait as instructed but immediately set about to cut up the fish. As the fish writhes in agony, the mountains, hills and valleys of the North Island of New Zealand are created.

In Maori mythology, the South Island of New Zealand is also known as Māui's waka (canoe) with Banks Peninsula on the east coast denoting Māui's foot hold as he strained to bring in his fish.

and the winner is...

Poor twelves! You have been waiting with bated breath, I know, as I have prevaricated about our next theme. I have tossed around a few ideas some of which were discarded on the basis of being too restrictive (the sky, Amazon,circus) and others that may have been a little too vague or esoteric. My favourite (and originally planned-for theme) was "Journeys" but then we did "Maps"so... our next theme is Mythology. Ta daaaah! Such a broad subject should provide us with plenty of variety and I will be fascinated to see what gems you all unearth. The reveal date for this challenge is 12 July 2012. Ladies, start your engines! Ready...set...GO!!

Website Update - All Mapped Out!

The Twelve by Twelve website has been updated to include our latest challenge quilts.  Click on the mosaic below to view the Maps Gallery:

The 2012 Series Artist Gallery pages have also been updated and it is clear that some of the Twelves are developing their own personal series within this overall challenge.  For example, here are Kirsten's 2012 works so far.  We're all curious to find out what Kirsten has chosen for our next 2012 challenge!

And don't miss the new Tutorials Page which sets out a selection of online tutorials and other resources offered by the Twelves.

you are here

Hmmm....I may be 'here' but with this quilt I never felt as if I got 'there'! It still feels very unfinished but I don't know what is coming next. It's origins are my thoughts about my nearly-grown children and the idea that life does not come with a roadmap. This is my attempt to create a Life Map. Life begins somewhere off the edge (wherever we were before) and continues off the edge (wherever we go next!) so the edges will remain as they are - no neat, tidy bindings in real life - and the threads wander off into the ether. The only constant points of reference are longitude and latitude representative of God/Spirit/Truth/Love and Family (by which I mean those people in your life, related or not, who are always there for you). Along the way are diversions, false starts, progress, people who walk alongside us for a time, setbacks. Initially I thought the quilt would include advice and admonishments but it's not that simple, is it? Each person's map needs different words, different directions. I suppose the point is that there IS no map for life. We all have to make it up as we go along, so I doubt that this quilt will ever be finished. It's only in hindsight that we know what our map looks like and my map isn't even slightly done.

In terms of technical stuff, what really bothers me about this quilt is the complete lack of focal point (I suppose the circle is a focal point except that it's poorly placed for that role). Maybe that's a reflection of my own lack of focus on this project?? I guess some work and some just don't!