Bobbe Shapiro Nolan, Fiber Artist
  • Home
  • Blogging Exuberance
  • Exuberance for Sale
  • New Work
  • This Blue Chair I
  • This Blue Chair II
  • Spirit Gallery
    • Spirit Gallery 2
    • Spirit Gallery 3
  • Wearing Exuberance
    • Wearing #2
  • Contact Bobbe
  • New Page

Well, that's symbolic: Abrazo fatal

2/22/2012

1 Comment

 
The tree guys did come, took down the dangerous tree and several small ones that had died, cut everything up.  The yard was too wet to allow them to haul out the big chunks of tree, so they'll be back when things dry out.  We had a big tree at the end of the driveway, encoiled in a huge wisteria vine; the tree had been strangled long ago and now was rotted.  I asked them to take that one out also, expecting that I'd have a big empty space there and would have to find a new tree--but I did not anticipate the resilience of wisteria. 
Picture
Here's the tree in its "fatal embrace."  I had photographed it, planning to do something  fiberish with the images; I still probably will do that.  The wisteria is so old that its branches are holding up much of my little front yard forest and when it blooms, the pale lavender flowers are up so high that I can't easily see them.  When they fall the purple rain is always a surprise.

So the tree came down remarkably easily.  The second photo shows what's left.


Picture
Abrazo vacio--empty embrace.  At first I had to laugh, then cry.  We think we're powerful and smart, surrounding and protecting those we love.  And then they're gone, and the shape of the embrace remains, very strong and amazingly freestanding.  It will probably crumble eventually, but I'm not doing anything to hurry it along.

1 Comment

Discharging more than fiber

2/10/2012

0 Comments

 
I've been working out on the deck when it wasn't raining in the past several days, discharging fabric from Pat's shirts.  For those who haven't done this, it involves squirting bleach onto the fabrics, observing what new colors and designes occur, then stopping the discharge process using anti-chlor (the stuff you use in fish tanks).  Underneath the ordinary shirt stripes and plaids are undiscovered colors and designs.  It's an engaging process.
Picture
I cut the shirts up while I'm watching TV in the evenings, or when it's raining.  After the discharged fabrics are washed and dried, I cut them into squares which then become prairie points for the wall hanging "Surveyors Being Eaten by Bears."  I've also  collected copyright-free images to work on in Photoshop Essentials, a program I'm just beginning to use.  The challenges are very helpful in keeping me grounded--better than "busywork" like cleaning drawers.  The need to do creative stuff is really remarkably strong.  I'm grateful for that.

Today a tree guy is supposed to come and take down some dead trees in our little forest.  Need to avoid having them fall on the house or block the driveway.  So, soon (I hope) the song of the chainsaw will be heard in the land.

0 Comments

Botanic Responsibilities?

2/2/2012

0 Comments

 
I just finished watering my barrel cactus, which I bought in the airport the year we moved into this house--1994.  It's tripled in height and doesn't seem to mind being in the same pot after all this time.  And I'm worried about the jade plant, which grew from a small sprig off a dear friend's huge potful--a gift on Pat's 40th birthday, 30 years and three states ago.  My (now large) jade plant seems to be dying; leaves are falling off and branches look puny.  So I've harvested some sprigs and they are rooting in a glass of water, awaiting potting when I get around to it.  It seems as though I should try to carry on this sweet tradition.

But then I look around.  The house is full of flowers and plants, and I had to leave some at the museum for lack of space.  How many peace lilies can a person care for?  The rubber plant on the front stoop looks awful (it was a gift ten years ago and has been through a lot!) and I'm going to cut it down and possibly not replace it.  Every winter Pat would bring a dolly home from work and we'd muscle the heavy pot into the front hallway lest it freeze.  I can't manage that by myself.  And how much responsibility do I have for these plants, anyway?  They are not  children, they're plants.  In theory I'm the dominant species (except for the insects; the mosquitoes and fire ants will survive us all).  The big kalanchoe is just about finished flowering, and I can put that in our little greenhouse or on the deck where it should do just fine with little care.  The bromeliad is happy in the bathroom for now.  I threw out a small cyclamen this morning but felt guilty about it.  I don't think I could toss them all out, anyway.

There should be a form of absoution for plant guilt. 
0 Comments

    Author

    Bobbe Shapiro Nolan, Fiber Artist in Eagle Lake, TX.  Trying to learn to call the sewing room my studio, and myself an artist.  I retired after 15 years in hospice nursing--so now I have the time!.

    Archives

    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
✕