BirdBrain Designs

inspiration

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I received a lovely note and photo from Cathy in Toronto who won the pouch in the anniversary draw. It arrived on her birthday–what luck!  This photo reminds me of the gnome in Amelie–that pesky bird with attitude can show up anywhere! The pouches are sold out in the store right now, but I will be making more. Hit the online store button on the right to see what is available or leave me a note in the contact section if there is something you would like.

I was in the city for a couple of days. Went to the One-of-a-Kind show on Good Friday–crazy busy–but did find some great things. I’ve said here before that I try to buy only second-hand or hand-made–and this is a great place for hand-made. Goodies below: a new wallet from Rimanchik and tube scarf in organic cotton from Katie Walker — and my must visit — Lousje and Bean. They have a brick and mortar store in St. Catherines, but it’s always fun to see them at the show. Their designs, fabrics and craftsmanship are tops.

 

https://birdbraindesigns.ca/give-aways/6993/

winner and inspiration

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The winner of the Bird with Attitude pouch is Cathy! Congratulations, Cathy, and thank you to everyone who visited the shop and left comments on the blog. It is always encouraging to hear from you. A comment, a connection, makes such a difference.

Yesterday I visited The Textile Museum to see the Marimekko exhibit. What a joy it was to take in the designs, the colours, the photos and, yes, even the clothes (!)



If you get a chance, visit the exhibit to experience the vibrant colours and designs, still with such impact after 50 years. These are the fabrics of my formative years. As I walked around the exhibit I saw dresses I had worn, fabrics I had coveted, and images I had stored. Sometimes, we don’t know where our ideas come from. In Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, (love this book) he writes: “You are a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences…Goethe said, ‘We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.'” 

Below are two of my hooked pieces where, now that I look back, I can see the Marimekko influence peaking through–the colours and the sense of play.

march in Ontario

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Sunny day in Ontario today and I am in the studio–should have two new bags to show you soon–but in the meantime wanted to share my sketch of the walk across the Huffman fields to the sugar bush last weekend and then…the product.

in the studio

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I have been making some new bags with the wonderful Kenyan fabric as lining. I think this blue and orange dot is my favourite. Some of these bags I am making are orders and others are just inspiration. The one pictured here is close to completion. I am also working on a much-needed revamping of my shop so that you can see what is available and be able to purchase it easily. I hope to have this completed within a few weeks. In the meantime, please just send an email if you are interested in anything you see.

Below is my pile of new books and a couple of articles on Marimekko. I highly recommend the two new books on sketching by Danny Gregory and James Richards; and the top book, by Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer, presents a convincing argument for setting aside old fears and habits and going after our own creative renaissance . As for Marimekko, I have been a big fan of these colourful graphics since the 60’s–you may remember the aprons I made, pictured in this post. The textile museum in Toronto has a Marimekko retrospective on until April 21st and I definitely plan to attend. In the meantime, I have been letting my imagination run wild with the fabrics below.

thoughts before going away

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This illustration is from Larry Smith’s Ted Book, a collection of six-word memoirs by students. I love the graphics of this one by Elizabeth Kay Oh–the colour blocks and the pen and ink girl whose wide eye gives all the expression needed–and I love the reminder. Things don’t have to be complicated. She seems to be reading a map, temporarily stopped, but prepared to move forward in spite of complications. Check out some of the other 6-word memoirs through the link–it’s contagious! Smith now has me composing one of my own.

I am enjoying the computer today, as I read my own maps and prepare for the trip ahead. I am going to rural Kenya where I will be without connection for much of the time. It makes me realize how accustomed I am to checking ‘my’ sites, staying in touch with those online places I value for news and ideas and inspiration. I’ve been downloading a few podcats and some music but mostly I plan to go without, immersing myself in a different space and time, absorbing the life and the lessons there. So after this week, blog additions will be from sporadic to non-existent. But I promise to write when I can and fill in the details when I get home. I still have a little bit more to say this week before I go. In the meantime, here is another blog to check out. You may find some inspiration and if you have time, click on Saori Weaving and read that too!

geometric inspiration

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This is an inspiring beaded bag which I found in my favourite second-time-around shop yesterday. I do not have much occasion for evening bags, but if I should ever need one, this is the bag for me.  And what an interesting use of colour, shape and repetition–gives me great ideas for a hooked bag, or even a rug. I have been thinking that after the wedding rug, I might decompress with a big geometric. So this might be the beginning of the thought process.

and the start of a new year

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I am working on a few things in the studio. I have exactly two weeks before I leave for a month in rural Kenya. So the start of 2013 sees me finishing things up. A bag or two. An application. And all the details which I need to settle before my trip. Here is the very last pair of 2012 mittens on their way to a new owner. One of the things you will see in the spring of 2013 is a new Birdbrain shop option. You will be able to look at several views of a product, get all the details about it, press purchase and use paypal. This should make things much smoother for you and me.

I hope that 2013 is starting off well for all of you. This is my second fresh new year on the blog and I want it to be a year of change and learning and contribution. Bob Ramsay has an interesting take on making each day count in today’s Toronto Star. Worth thinking about. Or as Mary Oliver asks,

Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

the power of art and love

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These days I am completing a few orders which I will photograph and post soon. And also working on the wedding rug which is so close to completion–fingers crossed it will be ready for 12/12/12! In the meantime here are some links that will inspire you.

The first is the promotional video for Danny Gregory’s new book, A Kiss Before You Go. Danny’s first book, The Creative Licence, gave me the inspiration to start sketching and, like many others, I have followed his drawings and writing over the years, absorbing the lessons. His new book is a beautiful testament to the power of love and art. I read it in one sitting.

My friend Nora sent me this video about children in Paraguay making music: http://vimeo.com/52711779.  It reminded my of the Kinshasa Symphony which I saw at the local doc fest last year. Both of these films are powerful documentaries, again about the power of love and art, and both have particular resonance for me. I am returning to rural Kenya in January. Right now I am working with local school children and rug hookers to gather art and hooking supplies to take with me. I will be teaching school again and working with adults in the community centre–hooking rugs! I met Heather Ritchie last year. Heather has been teaching rug hooking in Gambia for some time–and she inspired me to teach hooking in Matangwe, the small village I will be staying in for a month. We will begin with the women making rugs for themselves, but I hope we can turn our efforts into a small enterprise.

So this morning, as I make my way to my studio, I am thinking about the power of love and art–and the importance of sharing it. I hope that you have caught a little of the power too.

THE suit

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I am giving a talk next year to a group of fibre artists, so I have been thinking about the key events in my ‘journey with fibre’. My mother made me my first Vogue Paris Original when I was 18. I had spent hours in Eaton’s fabric department thumbing through the pattern books until I found my dream, Vogue 1313. These patterns were well beyond the standard Simplicity and McCall’s–they cost about five times as much and were complicated–bound button holes and welted seams, inset pockets and several types of interfacing. Each pattern even contained its own Paris Original label! I was sure my life would be transformed when I put on this glorious suit and in many ways it was. But it took some coaxing to convince my mother that this was the suit for me. She had never made a Vogue Couturier pattern before and was not sure she had the skill. And it was even more of a selling job when I found the fabric–Munrospun–a beautiful wool woven in Edinburgh Scotland. At that time, Easton’s carried a full line of wonderful woollen fabric. I remember the bolts laid out on table after table, Harris Tweed, fine Italian wool and so much more. The green Munrospun I chose, as close an approximation to the pattern fabric I could find, was $17 a yard, a fortune in 1966 when the average yearly wage was around $6000.

I loved that suit and felt beautiful in it. My mother said her hands were shaking as she first cut into the fabric. But she did a wonderful job. The suit looked just like the pattern picture. And this is the magic of the world of fibre and creating. She and I became so close over that wool and pattern; through the many fittings and the discussions, the pinnings and repinnings — and the courage and plain hard work on her part — we came up with something beautiful. It was made with love and to this day we both can remember all the steps with a visceral clarity. It’s like talking about an old romance. I wore and wore that suit with pride and confidence and I am still filled with warmth and love for my mother who so valiantly played her role in my journey with fibre.

It took me months to find pictures of this pattern, but here it is in all its glory, now $65 on Etsy. A lifetime away from our great expenditure of $3.30 in Canada!

a night with leonard

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Last night I was at the Bell Centre in Montreal, along with 12,600 others, to see Leonard Cohen. I first attended a Cohen concert in February 1967, so this was coming full circle for me. I was a first year university student reading Cohen’s poetry and The Favourite Game and the concert was unforgettable. Here is Jack Batten’s description in Saturday Night Magazine of that concert at York University:  Then there was the concert at York University a couple of years ago, just before his first record came out. “What he did, he mesmerized the five hundred people in the hall,” Alice says. “He walked on to the stage and lit some incense and looked out in the audience and said very quietly, ‘The person here in the most pain is me.’ Then he went into a soft chant and got everybody in a nice trance. After that, he talked and read and sang for three hours and every single person worshipped him. It turned into a Leonard Cohen love-in night.” [Jack Batten, 1969].

Last night’s concert was as long and as mesmerizing–but a very different performance. Cohen is now 78 and ironically more vital in his fedora and string tie. He skipped across the stage, lowered himself regularly to his knees (and got up hands free–he must do yoga!) and made self-deprecating jokes. This was a big professional performance with incredible musicians–violin, organ, bass and multiple guitars as well as ethereal vocals. For me it was a chance to relive those essential poems and songs which have accompanied me for the last forty plus years–an intimate experience in spite of the crowd. You can read the review of the magic here.