Rain

Today felt like this Hiroshige print. It poured rain for most of the day and the temperatures dropped from the low 80’s to the high 60’s. I stayed in. I knew it was coming, so yesterday, I spent most of my afternoon in the backyard clearing space for the grape tomato plants I’d bought at the NC Farmer’s Market last weekend. I also bought basil, Japanese eggplant and Roma tomato plants. If the squirrels, rabbits and birds don’t get them, I have something to look forward to this summer.

The neighbor behind me has left a nice buffer between our properties which is wonderful. We are not too close and I like the wild area between us which is mostly Pine and wild Dogwood. There is a downside though, his wild honeysuckle vines and grape ivy creep into my yard and I fight them every year. It’s almost like fighting kudzu the stuff is so aggressive. Then again, my other neighbor’s English ivy is taking over from another direction.

Another thing I can do without are the snakes. We get copperheads from time to time. In the past we’ve had little garden snakes and I leave them alone, but last year a copperhead came to visit and that unnerved me for the longest time. This is another reason why I need to do some clearing.

Shibori Landscapes

Shibori Landscapes

Originally uploaded by SOFennell

It poured rain last night so the pieces got soaked, but I didn’t see any colorful drippings on the cement below (good sign!). So, I guess the kids did get enough of that excess dye out after all. I was a little concerned. They’ll be coming down soon, I thought at the end of the week (today), but they were still up this afternoon.

I lingered after my classes were over, as I usually do, sitting through the first part of TOK (Theory of Knowledge) in the same classroom. Under any other circumstances I wouldn’t do this. It’s inconsiderate to stick around in another teacher’s classroom, but this teacher has kindly allowed it. I really enjoy listening to her students’ interactions and reports. It’s a thoughtful group and the ideas are so thought provoking, I want to stay and listen. Today, though, they were discussing art, creating their own definitions and criteria for it. Beth had also said she wanted to take the kids out to the courtyard to see the installation. So I stayed to talk a little about shibori and give a little background to the project. We did go out and the kids, after discussing their assignments in groups, gave their assessments which was all very affirming. They didn’t want to see it come down so soon. They’ve been enjoying it apparently. Some said that when they looked at it from their other classrooms, it wasn’t a distraction, but a break from the stress or anxiety they were feeling. Others commented that they had no idea that such seemingly simple techniques rendered so many different patterns. They found the viewing intriguing and pleasurable. So, I think we succeeded with what we set out to do.

It took a lot of early planning (in the fall and throughout the year). Then once materials had been gathered, the students worked their magic (the shibori). They were dyed, and washed (in the classroom), then dried on a clothesline (in my backyard). After that, they had to be ironed, then casings and hems had to be sewn in (the sewing dept. did this). Finally, the students went out and made specific measurements around the courtyard and planned their strategy for display. Then, the day came for the installation. That required permissions from other teachers (to access their rooms during class) and aid from other teachers and administrators. Once up, we’ve received nothing but more encouragement to do it again and on an even grander scale. One of the administrators said they could put in permanent hooks on the sides of the buildings to facilitate things. So, who knows? Another installation?

Celebration

G & J

Originally uploaded by SOFennell

Last weekend I got together with my critique group for a day of relaxation and play. We meet monthly, but this was to celebrate the many things that happen in the spring, like children’s graduation, birthdays, new jobs and other good things. So we met at a friend’s house, ate outside on the deck, ate salad, homemade bread and other good treats from the kitchen.

The day started though, with a couple of my friends wanting to try on and model the jackets I’ve finally completed. They’ll be showing in an instructor’s exhibit (for Artspace) this next week. I’d decided in the process of making them that no matter what they looked like, they were my submission. And there is nothing like seeing someone else wearing what you’ve made. I had fun taking the pictures and I can’t wait until they are finally on display.

Shibori Landscapes 2

SL6

Originally uploaded by SOFennell

Finally, Shibori Landscapes has been installed. The students who created the forty 3′ x 5′ long pieces strung and hung them this morning in the school courtyard. The weather was perfect for it and I’m sure they enjoyed being out of their classroom. The project referenced Christo and Jeanne-Claude with one idea that it would change the way the students and teachers perceived their school environment (or a part of it). It involved stringing the fabric along a clothesline, then pinning them in place so that they couldn’t shift. Dee had asked for faculty permission to access their windows so that we could tie the lines to them. Some cooperated and some did not so that some of our plans had to be altered. However, with the aid of an administrator and one IB coordinator, we got them up. Once up, the responses were immediate. Students and teachers who came into the courtyard remarked on and enjoyed it. It made them smile. They wanted to be under the pieces, lying on benches where they could look up at them, sit nearby or even wanted to have their pictures taken with them in the background. It was even a bit of a sensation from some surrounding classrooms. It’s a temporary “exhibition” so the pieces will hang for only a few days.

Rakugo

Katsura Kaishi is a Rakugo-ka or what’s known as a Rakugo actor. He just finished a performance (in English) at the University of Montana in Missoula. I know this because my son saw it and pronounced it “great” and that I should be jealous. I responded that I definitely was. I would love to have seen this performance even if it was in English. I’ve only just begun to really appreciate that kind of theater as it requires a lot of focused listening, at least on my part. I confess, I really don’t understand it, but I enjoy it nevertheless. What I do understand is that it’s authentic and it not only serves but comes from the people. It’s local theater and I’ve recently come to appreciate it through watching a new NHK asa-dora or morning drama (really, a soap opera), called Chiritotechin. Several years earlier I had been exposed to a short piece called Jugemu. At the time, I was completely intimidated by it, as it was suggested that it would be something I could teach my own students. Later, in watching Chiritotechin, I saw it performed.

As I said earlier, I have to really listen to get it, and I really don’t. The language, the humor is sometimes obtuse and then again it’s sometimes in dialect, maybe even old, so that the story for the most part, escapes me. Still, the actors take on at least three personnas or more and they could be of different sexes and ages. The actors, storytellers, dress in kimono and haori, sit on a zabuton (cushion), and use only a cotton hand towel and a fan as props. The magic is in their words, voice, gesture and body language, performed sitting on a single cushion.

Issa

だいみょうを　    Daimyoo o The daimyo

馬から　おろす   Uma kara orosu dismounts from his horse

さくら　かな！   Sakura kana! It’s Cherry blossoms!

Another haiku, but it reminds me so much of the silly folktale (mukashibanashi) called Hanasakajiji, the old man who made the flowers bloom.  Who stops to admire the sakura and gets ash all over himself?  There were some sad, sad elements to this story and my students thought it was ridiculous and unfair.  It wasn’t what they were expecting.  Not all stories have romantic happy endings.  And I think their reactions are funny.

V. E. Pyles

My great uncle on my mother’s side was an artist. He has been the subject of many conversations off and on with my mother, sometimes with her brother (my only uncle) and now with my cousins. I’m not often in contact with them as I never really knew them when I was younger. Living overseas separated us and they were a lot younger. Our common interest in family history though, keeps bringing us together, at least by e-mail. We are particularly intrigued with our great-uncle Virgil. None of us knew him of course. However, he was still living when I was born and there is a record of a gift in my baby book. He died in 1963, and I had ample opportunity to meet him when I was younger. I don’t know why our paths never crossed. He was living in New York and surely a trip could have been made.

I have some of his paintings and have just acquired a magazine with a cover illustrated by him(the above is not that particular one). He was an illustrator, mostly illustrating pulp fiction. I’ve just learned that he studied at the Art Students League in New York and also at the Art Institute in Chicago. Somewhere, I have an old photo album with pictures he took. I think it’s high time I took them out.

Indigo

The day started with a 2 mile walk around Lake Lynn. I’ve been walking almost daily for some time now. So this is getting to be routine. Today was a change of scene though at a different nearby lake. The day was warm, the geese, turtles and butterflies were sunning. All in all it made for a good day to dye (things). That is to say, a good day for hanging things outdoors on the line.

After lunch, I got the dye pot (or vat) going in my garage. The actual dyeing hardly took any time at all. It was a good strong vat. The green was brilliant when I pulled the pieces out of the pot. I started with a shirt for myself (just to test the results), then I did the jacket.

Jacket1

Originally uploaded by SOFennell

I’ve been working on this piece for some time. I’d made a series of jacket blanks at least 2 years ago, maybe more. I’ve been slowly doing imagery in shibori on them, then dyeing them mostly in indigo. I’ve sold a few. This one though is a little different. I first dyed it in a rust colored dye, did some shibori, then overdyed it in indigo. I didn’t know how deep a color I wanted, just taking it a dip at a time. I decided not to go too deep so that the rust and the color variations between the 2 colors would show.

It’s still drying and will be for the rest of the evening. I won’t give it a good wash until tomorrow, so I really won’t see the true results until then. Even so, the ironing also brings out wonderful patterns.

Shibori Landscapes

Violet2

Originally uploaded by SOFennell

We’re calling it “Shibori Landscapes” and I think we’re nearly there. Yesterday when I dropped by school, the real aato sensei had her students out measuring the area where these pieces will hang - in the student courtyard, or the small courtyard (I don’t know what they call it). There is also a smaller inner brick courtyard. In the end, who knows how it will come out, but it looks like some will be strung from 2nd story windows and across the yard. The kids love their pieces, it’s obvious. Some were “wearing” them again yesterday.

It’s a good springtime project as it will take the students outdoors and at this point, anything to get out of the classroom is a good thing (for all of us). That’s what I should have done before having my students write their haiku yesterday. I thought it was going to be a challenging assignment, but they wrote them up in a few seconds flat. I was disappointed, because so many came out sounding the same. It’s also reflects this time of year and their perspectives. Things are winding down and they aren’t taking any of it at all seriously anymore. We still have a few miles to go and a final exam.

Gendai Aato

I learned a new word watching part of NHK news tonight, gendai aato（現代アート）, contemporary art. This first image doesn’t really convey what I saw on the news, as it reflected a fascination with anime and manga or at least that style. Some of it was bizarre and grotesque, some wasn’t. Some of it was “big eyes” which is what my day started with-scanning images from a Japanese coloring book (for my classes), which is where the second image comes from.

Bare monogatari - Jizeru.

At some point, I think my students are going to play with this coloring book.