Saturday, October 3, 2009

changing of the seasons... my dance with Nature




Ken finally found where I had temporarily misplaced last night's photographs. Mr. Don and Miss Betty are an incredible inspiration for all those around us in the lessons of loving one another. They are much like impressionable teens already making plans for Florida and then on to Cancun, Mexico...I will be babysitting the little Princess...their Siamese cat who reigns as the queen of their homes. When the bitter winter hits in February here in Ohio they will head South for comfort and pleasure in the sunshine and warm sea breezes. I will miss them terribly but I know they will be safe and healthier in the warmth of the sun.

Today I began sorting my transitional clothing and delighted in opening my exquisite collection of silk and woven scarfs... I feel so French and love the art of draping wonderful fibers around my neck and over my heart. Many are documentation of my life since the 70's and as my life changed and evolved over the decades I have discovered a renewal in my heart's memories when I wear my life in silk. Some are quite vintage and yet whenever I pause to think I will downsize and eliminate some from my collection they swing right back into "Fashion for today". I enjoy making them work for different occasions and delighted in making a selection for next Sunday when a plien aire painting date has been planned out at a beautiful rural location and we end the day with another pot luck dinner and an informal critique of our day's progress. I am praying for a sun filled day and crisp Autumn breezes to inspire us to capture the beauty of Nature's simple yet eloquent gifts.

I need to get back to my handwork so my mind can process as I meditate in my own way to focus on the personal narrative in my Kath Walker aboriginal work. The stitches seems to guide themselves if I really trust my intuitive muse in this personal narrative. The cotton flosses are the simplest of materials to create with and yet this simplicity is what makes this process so inviting. I began a new journal and even before I take the moment to write down a thought...fleeting if I can touch the paper with my pencil...and yet I like to embellish/decorate and add images from my older magazines or newspapers . This simple application seems to erase that "empty white page" feeling I might encounter when I open up a blank white page. I also enjoy just expressing colors onto the empty pages and make twilight and horizons to write into and off into sunsets. Have a great weekend. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

3 comments:

  1. Hello again, Mary. Just popping on by to say those quilts are pretty special.

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  2. The Mother Earth quilt celebrates the 20th anniversary of Earth Day....I hand painted this on my dining room table as my nurses came twice a day to give me my injections/IVs. Merinda in the frame is just one of the many works I have completed since my return from Australia...I fell in love with the female mythologies I discovered while I visited there. I hand beaded this work for a year and it traveled with me to Paris in 1997. Thank you for you warm praise and I am so happy you and your family are back from the school break. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

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  3. Mary Helen, the one with the blue border is absolutely gorgeous!! I have just zoomed in on it - incredibly beautiful and such a lot of work has gone into it. The beads and buttons are amazing, have you painted any of the buttons? It must have taken ages to do? Lovely!
    kind Regards
    Lynda from echostains

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