Portable art to Lowell

Three of my Portable Art series are up at the Loading Dock Gallery, part of our annual "50 under $50" show. It's a wonderful chance to snap up art by your favorite Lowell artist for a bargain price.

Open Studios this Saturday, noon-5pm: I have a commission to finish for then, so get thee behind me, internet!

Transformation from the heart

 

Another kind of Boro, not Melanie Testa's Rock Star style but from the heart. 

Two weeks ago, a friend asked me, what could I do with clothes - those last special pieces - from his mom, to make a gift for his sister this Christmas? 

We discussed an art piece, but then I said, what about a scarf?

Something warm and full of memories? 

He was thrilled. A few days later he brought me a huge box of clothing.

Could I make one for him, too, and for his niece as well?

The clothes were lovely pastels, full of beads and detail. 

As I pieced, trimmed, and rearranged, patterns emerge

Joining pieces

Getting closer

Some features begged to be preserved. This lovely bit of handwork is now at one end of the scarf.

Hand beaded and emboidered

Other places felt plain, and I created new detail from scraps to continue the floral feel.

New stem from scraps

 The first scarf is done, a second is one its way. 

I love how work feels when it's for someone who cares.

Ready to line

Mending + Art

Indigo Boro Futon Cover, early 1900s

The internet introduced me to Japanese boro, and periodically I've browsed sites like this and this  with admiration. But  I never thought of calling my own inclinations by the name until yesterday, when I read Melanie Testa's  series on Rock Star Boro.

Holy patchwork, honey. It has a name.

My mom used to darn socks while I did my grade-school homework. 

Darning interested me more than the times tables.

Mending + Art = Time + Love

So, thank you, Melanie. Here's my latest scarf - stitched together from ten year old school knit samples, plus bits of lace, abandoned, reclaimed, over-dyed.

Not to mention scraps of Parisian velvet, linen samples and thrift-shop sweaters.

The patches started because of moth holes.
At some point functionality left off and art set in.

Toasty warm and full of memories.