pirihirajames
  • about
  • home
  • sculpture
  • Listening to the Land
  • fibre works
    • Artworks & Exhibition 2019
    • Art Works & Exhibitions 2018
    • Art Works & Exhibitions 2017
    • Art Works 2016
  • photojournal
  • Blog
  • Contact

begin at the beginning

18/7/2020

 
The other day I heard someone say it was too late to be bothered changing or starting something new
‘I’m 40 years old’, she said
You could hear the resignation in her voice - her certainty.  

I remember Dad saying the same thing when he was around 40 years old … and that was over 40 years ago. 

Why do we want to give ourselves a ‘best before’ date ?
A ‘use-by’ date which has nothing what so ever to do with our life time nor our mortality. 

I too have been wondering about what’s next. 
Is there even a ‘next’ ?
Is this it ? 
Is it too late to start again - again. 
🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Easy to say ‘No, of course not’                
Harder to know where to begin
              

Mother's Day, A Quilt Project & Covid 19

10/5/2020

 
An interesting thing
​A day to celebrate mothers

I often wonder am I a mother worth celebrating ?
I have ended up with the most wonderful daughter but really did I actually have anything much to do with that ?
was she destined to always be a lovely person ?
I think she was. 
I have decided this mother's day to celebrate my daughter 
Lets face it, as a mother I can do whatever I want - its my day hahahahaha
My lovely friend sent me a link to this nell-anne-quilt-project 
The project has come about because Nell, an Australian artist who was going to come to do a residency at McCahon House is now unable to due to Covid19.  
Her plan was to run a series of workshops while she was here & instead this quilt project has become an online event. At the moment there is no particular end date so grab a needle, some thread & a scrap of fabric, choose a name & start stitching. 
I decided to embroider my daughter’s name as my contribution to the #nellannequilt 
Kate was named after my Nanna who was Katherine 
Nanna was called Kitty by her contemporaries so I Imagine Kitty was the common diminutive at that time.
​
Kate is Kathryn because I prefer that spelling & it’s just occurred to me that I don’t know the origin of the spelling I prefer nor even the origin of Nanna’s spelling of Katherine
It was, & will always be, about connections 

Kate never knew Kitty tho i suspect they would have enjoyed each other’s company.  
Kitty was a bit cold & hard around the edges - a product of the times she lived in perhaps 
Kate, on the other hand, is warm & gentle around the edges

I’m also pretty sure I didn’t really know my Nanna; that’s not how it works with your grandparents is it ? 
It’s about feelings
It’s about memories
It’s about love
oh & smells . . . it’s definitely about smells 

Then at some stage it occurs to you that it has become about the future

Kate is the future 
Kitty is the past
I am simply the one in the middle. 
The one who carries the past through the present & hands it on to the future

This was fun to do . . . once I'd chosen Kate's name.
I simply wrote her name in pencil & then wrote it again with my biggest fattest sharpie.
​I used a light box to trace the outline of the letters so that I got empty block letters which I then transferred on to a piece of fabric, chose the thread I liked & embroidered it over a couple of days.
And I'm so glad I did.
I thought about Nanna, I thought about Kate, I thought about Aunty Kate, my cousin's wife.
She's another Katherine & has always been known by everyone in the family as Aunty Kate even tho she's younger than all of us except the kids.
I thought a lot about Aunty Kate as she has always been such an important, supportive & positive role model for our kids as they grew up.
She has always been consistent for them & undoubtedly will always be remembered with love.

And I guess this is what this whole thing has become about.
Connection, belonging & love.
It always comes back to love.

Sal x

In times of Covid 19

10/4/2020

 
Picture

hi 
how's it going ?

i’m staying close to home which for me is no different from usual 
i'm choosing not to think too much
i read updates once a day & trust that Hugh will tell me anything he thinks it's important i know 

i trust our prime minister & her staff to sort out the things they are responsible for

i'm learning new things - new embroidery things - in Spanish actually
fortunately there are subtitles some of which are hilarious, some unfathomable
i trust i will figure it out

i trust members of my whanau will let me know when, & if, they need me
i'm having a great time catching up with dad; in person with his groceries every 10 days & by phone every few days. we chat about life, lack of exercise & social contact & food - in particular the annoying lack of hogget & mutton available to buy - we're secretly hoping that suddenly it will be available again in the domestic market because the international market are not in a position to give a damn about importing sheep meat from NZ

i do not trust the staff at my closest countdown supermarket with my health & wellbeing 
i have decided that i will no longer shop there, instead, i will go to our local four square (& pharmacy should i need to)

i don’t like to think about it too much but i actually don’t trust the medical staff in our region & especially at our local hospital; most are poorly qualified to triage & most won’t cope in an emergency 
if, however, we end up needing them in an emergency i will have no choice but to trust that they will be able to figure it out

i trust that AirNZ will still exist after this & will remember they owe me credit for a couple of airfares

i trust that the greater majority of people will do exactly what is asked of them & stay at home

i hope that everyone has learnt to wash their hands properly 
i hope that everyone has learnt how important it is to not be out & about if they are unwell

​i hope that you all have a lovely Easter weekend
you know the drill
stay home
save lives
​& 
please be kind 
tino nui te mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa

Sal x
​ps smiling doesn't spread the virus 

pps links to the domestika classes I'm enjoying
https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/302-experimental-embroidery-techniques-on-paper
https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/548-embroidery-technique-with-the-stem-stitch
https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/711-introduction-to-raised-embroidery
& the cute rabbit is from ​https://www.mibo.co.uk
Experimental Embroidery on Paper with Gimena Romero on Domestika
fun paper cut out & fold animals
Embroidery using stem stitch with Gimena Romero on Domestika
Introduction to Raised Embroidery with Adriana Torres
Embroidery on a repurposed TDHB outpatients appointment card
I love her !
<<Previous
    About
    ​
    Picture
    Hi, I'm Sally
    I'm a fibre artist who loves botanicals - especially NZ native plants
    you can find me on 
    ​instagram & ravelry 

    Categories

    All
    2017 IG Challenge
    2018 Challenge
    #52weeksofbotanicals
    #64millionartists
    #anotheryearofbotanicals
    Autumn
    Biblio Art Awards
    Birthday Sale
    Botanicals
    Chestnut Springs
    Clothes
    Collaboration
    Covid 19
    Daily Practice
    Diary
    Distractions
    Diy
    Drafting Sewing Patterns
    Embroidery
    Embroidery Artworks
    Exhibition
    Holiday
    Listening To The Land
    Making Ink
    Making Your Own Clothes
    Market
    Matariki
    Melbourne
    Monoprints
    Natural World
    New Works
    Origin Stories
    #our52weekproject
    Personal Map Making
    Plant Dyes
    Poetry
    Puanga
    Purses
    Recipes
    #recipesforRuchita
    Resources
    Sculpture
    Seamount Series
    Sewing
    Sewing Garments
    Spring
    Summertime
    Thoughts
    Thread Work
    Toys
    Weaving
    Wheest Creative Assignments
    Wild Writing
    Wintertime
    W I P

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.