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When I look at my amazing daughters and when I see my astonishing brothers and sisters, I recognize the power of good fathering. Thanks to the good men who made it possible. The love and respect of your children says it all.
Happy Father's Day, Big Jim
Happy Father's Day, Brothers
And Others (1 of many-no photos)
And Son-in-Law(1 and only)
And finally, but not last, Happy Father's Day, Mr. D. You're the best.
You continue to astonish me and bring me joy every day. Have a blessed birthday today and all the years to come.
I keep telling people that I have to go into the studio to "rip" paper and they look at me like I'm crazy.
Well, the least expensive and most assured way to make pages for a book is to start with a huge sheet of paper and fold it and "rip" it to the size you want. This works particularly well for me, as I like the rough and deckled edge you get from ripping. When I work with handmade paper, I usually use my big scary knife to cut through the fold. My husband watched me do it yesterday and commented that he was glad I wasn't mad at him (insert fiendish grin).
I got some great Japanese paper at Hiromi on Friday and ripped it up yesterday. These are going to be smallish books, but very, very thick. Here is what all the pages looked like last night. I tried to make one stack but it kept falling over.
It's a little tough to stitch signatures when the folds are this springy. It's better with a crisp and flat fold. So, this is how we do that.
Poor little pages, all squished. This is actually a flower press, but book presses are horrifically expensive. I've used this Smith and Hawken flower press for years and it seems to work just fine.
Here's what they looked like when removed this morning. Now, remember those two stacks from above. They pressed down to just this one stack - and it's very solid. I love the feel of paper outside a book almost as much as inside one.
I'm going to distress and stain the edges so they look ancient. Then, I can move on to making the metal covers and beating them up to look like something that's been hidden away for centuries. In about 5 years, I'll post the result because at this pace, it takes me that long to finish any given project. Sigh. But, the progress is still fun, yes?
Well, not actually. In fact, it was a dark and stormy DAY...and I don't mean the weather. I arrived home late and in a funk. Too much on my plate and no space in sight.
But all that changed when I saw this lovely box. I had a hint that the also lovely Ginny and Chris had picked up something for me on their travels together. I was so jealous to not be with them.
Yes, I can confirm delivery; you don't need to wait for the U.S. Postal Service. I didn't want to open it and ruin the package, so I carefully cut out the back and saved the front. Here's what I saw inside.
Hmmmm....intriguing (and out of focus). I must admit, I thought the box would be full of little doo-dads and beads. But no, there was only one thing wrapped up in that tissue. One thing only. When I took it out, I cracked up!
So, yeah, you think it's funny, too, don't you? But here's the really funny thing. Remember I just said what an overwhelming day I had at work, with too much on my plate and I was in a bad mood? Well, guess what I do? I talk to people about....EYES. Yup. This paperweight is going right to my desk tomorrow. Yes. Tomorrow. Friday. The day I am NOT supposed to go in to the office! Ah well. At least I will have something that gives me a giggle whenever I look at it. And....it will be looking back at me as well. How perfect is that?
With the sound of gentle rain outside my window, I'm in the studio working on some journal pages. I understand that some people (you know who you are) actually finish any given journal. I always have about 10 of them in various stages and nothing is ever "done". Story of my life, as it were.
Here is the one I'm continuing today. I started this in LK Ludwig's class. She is such an inspiration. I rarely truly like my work, but I treasure this portfolio. And, it is HUGE.
The "Be At Peace" square is an etching on copper mesh. The lotus is from a piece of joss paper, encased in a metal frame and glass from the 1800's. The cabinet card had been removed but I was able to acquire a bunch of these thin frames at a flea market.
Can you see my brother's face in this page? Doesn't he look almost buddha-like?
And one more before I go.
I have been given the most wonderful gift on this day. Solitude. Rain. Quiet. A chance to breathe and be mindful. Such a treasure.
At 7:30 a.m., I was sitting at meditation.
It began to rain softly; a gentle whisper against the leaves. So soothing. So quiet.
But, I began to notice that behind the trees, against the hill across the street, the haze of rain was thicker, foggier. As I watched, that haze moved closer and closer to me until I knew....we were about to get drenched.
Oh, yes. A downpour of the most magnificent sound and fragrance. Ah.
I'm confident that someone somewhere can photograph a downpour, but that wouldn't be me. This is the best I could do.
We've gone back to the gentle soft rain now, but the earlier excitement was thrilling! See what happens when you live in Los Angeles? A bit of rain can be exciting! We even had thunder and lightening the other day. The weather pattern is getting goofy.
And now, we return you to our previously scheduled meditation in progress.
Well, it's as done as it's going to be, I guess. Isn't it hard to know when to stop?
The four little cylinders hanging at the bottom are antique glass vials from the Elgin Watch Company. I have a whole case with about 150 of them. Each one is numbered and has the logo on it - Grandfather Time, with wings, holding a clock. Seemed appropriate. I colored the labels to go with this piece but left the little green circles of felt in the bottom.
I made scrolls written with the four Buddhist virtues, each inside its numbered bottle: Kindness, Happiness, Equanimity, Friendliness. Hanging on either side at the end of the ribbon is a "buddha bead" from an old mala. There is a great shop in St. Mark's Place in NYC that sells beads and these came from a bowl he had out on the counter. At the top, tied to the handle, are two rudraksha beads. Rudraksha is a tree in Nepal. The name is derived from Rudra (Shiva—the Hindu God of all living
creatures) and aksha (eyes). So, Rudraksha is Shiva’s eyes. This is more information than you wanted to know, I realize :-) The beads from my original mala are hidden in the roof of the shrine. (The beads that started to burn, if you read my post below:-)
I love shrines of all kinds. It seems to me that anything could be a shrine, as long as you imbue it with meaning. Do you have any?
