Self Portrait with Hair Piece

It has been years since I played around with a nice camera. My brother let me borrow his nikon dslr , and I thought it would be a good opportunity to take some new portraits of myself with a hair piece covered in dry flowers that I purchased from April from Floriculture Micro Farm . She always has such beautiful flowers and arrangements at the Hereford Farmer's Market. I've styled it with some Japanese silk ribbons of varying widths that I dyed with logwood and indigo last year.

A Pining Wind

Matsukaze, a Pining Wind

I recently photographed two of my most recent dolls and posted them to my website. The description of the piece and Noh play it is based off of can be found through the link under the picture. I became aware of the story through a show I was lucky enough to see installed at the BMA while interning in the Textiles Department. The show was called "Kimono and Obi: Romantic Echoes from Japan's Golden Age" and it was co-curated by Anita Jones, BMA Curator of Textiles, and Ann Marie Moeller, consulting curator. My absolute favorite piece in the show was the Chuburisode Depicting 'Matsukaze' Theme . I fell in love with both the story it depicted and the idea of a young woman choosing to weara kimono depicting a tragic love story. From that point on, I have wanted to make a piece inspired by the Noh play. It finally happened this Spring/Summer, and this featured piece is the result. 

Moon Above Ocean, Ice Over Sea

These are some framed stacked hand made pieces of paper that I made while taking a "Islamic World Papermaking and Natural Dye" class at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts last summer. They were in a juried alumni exhibition at my alma mater Flagler College. 

Nocturnes

                           Night shots from a recent trip to St. Augustine, Florida. Be still my heart.

The Sacro Bosco, or Sacred Wood

Gardens of Bomarzo

https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/sacro_bosco_villa_orsini

Of all the features in the gardens that I've found photos of, this leaning house is my favorite. It reminds me of a ride I used to go on when I was a little girl at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Riders would enter the house and strap themselves into a swinging bench. The house would then start turning. Even though the bench would only swing, and the house was the only thing turning, it was still pretty wild for me.

Another interesting connection that I made with this garden, is to Guilia Farnese , an historical female figure I have been drawn to in the past. Guilia was the maternal grandmother of Pier Francesco "vicino" Orsini's beloved wife who passed away, also Guilia Farnese. It is thought that features of the garden are odes to her and he constructed this garden to deal with his grief at her passing. Synchronicity.

"A Young Lady and a Unicorn," by Domenichino, c. 1602, Galleria Farnese. Portrait of Guilia Farnese

Selenography

Selenography is the science of the physical features of the moon. These include the lunar maria, craters, mountains, etc. Part of the name comes from the ancient Greek goddess of the Moon, Selene.

Selene was the Greek Titan goddess of the moon. Though she is associated with other lunar goddesses Artemis and Hecate, she supersedes them as the moon personified into a divine being. Her hair was long, milky, and flowing, and she either rode across the heavens on a horse, or was pulled in a chariot by a pair of white horses bringing light to the night sky. My Selene and her Appaloosa mount have hair/mane made from milk fiber and wear silk dyed with logwood. The celestial horses' spots are avocado in an iron after bath.

The album Selenography by Rachel's.

Providence

Uploaded YouTube video for the final segment "Providence" off of the album F#A#∞ by Godspeed You! Black Emperor (note this is included on the compact disc version. a different arrangement than the vinyl).  This album was recorded in Montreal at Hotel2Tango. The vinyl was released in August of 1997, while the CD followed in June of 1998. Suffice to say this whole album was beautiful in both its bleakness and redemptive qualities, but I was particularly taken with the Providence segment. More notably the final track at the end after a long period of silence. I had a very transcendent experience listening to the kick in of that portion one time. This was another 'song to cry to'

The previous segment on this album "East Hastings" bears personal significance as well. When I was living in St. Augustine, I used to go for long drives at night when I could not sleep. Sometimes I'd drive north on A1A along the beach, sometimes I'd drive south on A1A following the beach, but the most special drive to me was heading west on route 207 towards Gainesville. There was something really magical for me about it. The trees, the air, the land, the buildings..but on my drive I would pass through Hastings, Florida, which I think of when reading the title of this song. The town before it was called Spuds, and there were potato farms there.

I'll bring you when my lifeboat sails through the night

https://vimeo.com/205700568- "Leif Erikson" by Interpol from the album Turn on the Bright Lights

Date of Release: August 20 2002 in US on Matador Records
Recorded: November 2001 at Tarquin Studios in Connecticut
Co-Produced, mixed and engineered by Peter Katis and Gareth Jones   https://genius.com/albums/Interpol/Turn-on-the-bright-lights

She says it helps with the lights out
Her rabid glow is like braille to the night
She swears I’m a slave to the details
But if your life is such a big joke, why should I care?

The clock is set for nine but you know you’re gonna make it eight
So that you two can take some time, teach each other to reciprocate

She feels that my sentimental side should be held with kids' gloves
But she doesn’t know that I left my urge in the icebox
She swears I’m just prey for the female
Well then hook me up and throw me, baby cakes, 'cause I like to get hooked

The clock is set for nine but you know you’re gonna make it eight
All the people that you’ve loved, they’re all bound to leave some keepsakes
I’ve been swinging all the time, think it’s time I learned your way
I picture you and me together in the jungle, it would be ok

I’ll bring you when my lifeboat sails through the night
That is supposing that you don’t sleep tonight

It’s like learning a new language
Helps me catch up on my mind
If you don’t bring up those lonely parts
This could be a good time

It’s like learning a new language
You come here to me
We’ll collect those lonely parts and set them down
You come here to me

She says brief things, her love’s a pony
My love’s subliminal
She says brief things, her love’s a pony
My love’s subliminal -https://genius.com/Interpol-leif-erikson-lyrics

When I was in college and living on my own in my beloved apartment on Saragossa Street, I had songs that I listened to repeatedly. They made me cry. It was very cathartic. As I've been revisiting older work, I've felt the desire to revisit the 'songs I used to cry to' too. The first is the song 'Leif Erikson' by Interpol. The lines I felt/still feel most emotionally connected to are "She feels that my sentimental side should be held with kids' gloves But she doesn't know that I left my urge in the icebox." And "I'll bring you when my lifeboat sails through the night."

The White Wizard

The White Wizard. Muslin dyed with indigo in the shibori method. Glass beads and silk thread. He has alpaca roving for hair.

Spanish Air

Pinhole photos that I took in 2011. Feeling the need to return to earlier work and earlier songs.

 

"Spanish Air" by Slowdive off of the album Just For a Day. Released 7 days after my birthday on Sept. 2, 1991. I was two years old. The band officially formed the year I was born in 1989. This album holds a special significance for me, and this band really sums up my late teens/ early twenties. 

My Skeleton Knows. It Tells Me. I Tell You.

"Charles Halloway took a breath, shut his eyes, and said:
    'How do I know this? I don't! I feel it. I taste it. It was like old leaves burning on the wind two nights ago. It was a smell like mortuary flowers. I hear that music. I hear what you tell me, and half what you don't tell me. Maybe I've always dreamt about such carnivals, and was just waiting for it to come so's to see it once, and nod. Now, that tent show plays my bones like a marimba.
    'My skeleton knows. 
   ' It tells me.
   'I tell you.'"
                      -Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes. p.201

Deeper Than Indigo

I am happy to be able to say that my piece Three Sisters was selected for inclusion in the Contemporary Fibers exhibit held in conjunction with the Deeper than Indigo Southeast Textile Symposium at Flagler College. The co-organizers are my former professor, artist, and friend Laura Mongiovi and curator Elizabeth Kozlowski. "This symposium provides an opportunity, on the eve of Flagler College’s Fiftieth Anniversary, to investigate the rich history of St. Augustine and the Southeastern United States through the lens of the Indigo trade and the repercussions of slavery and colonialism.  We are offering an occasion to rethink the historical narrative related to the Atlantic slave trade through shared voices across a multitude of artistic practices and pedagogies. Please join us as we explore our history through the hues of this fascinating and widely revered natural dye."

Below are some links I found from Laura Mongiovi's blog post that deal with indigo plantations and the slave trade in Florida.

https://www.unf.edu/floridahistoryonline/Plantations/plantations/Indigo_Cultivation_and_Processing.htm -outlines specific details relating to indigo cultivation and production on land that I drove by many times without realizing its' history.
http://www.dejaelaine.com/plantations.html- I used to walk by the Old Slave Market all the time when I was living in St. Augustine, though I was (again) unaware of its' history at the time.
https://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/plantations/plantations2.php

Pictured above is my piece, Three Sisters. From left to right their names are: Kibibi, Violet, and Augustina. I made Augustina specifically for the open call for this show, as her skirt is made of muslin dyed with indigo in the shibori method. Kibibi's skin was dyed with sumi ink and her skirt with avocado dipped in an iron after bath. The beads on both the skirt and around her wrist are made of glass. Her hair is white alpaca roving from Bell House Alpacas, a farm right up the street from where I live. Violet's skirt is dyed with logwood and she has flaxen mane. Augustina's skirt is dyed with indigo and the ribbon in her is indigo dyed Japanese silk. Her skin is dyed with coffee and her hair is brown alpaca roving from Bell House. All the dying was done by hand and with natural dyes, save for Augustina's skirt which was dyed using a synthetic indigo from a kit I bought a few years ago.

Violet was the first doll of the three that I made, it has probably been over a year now. Initially she had synthetic violin bow hair. But she got a new 'do at the end of the summer when I was given some flax. I then made Kibibi, who initially started out being inspired by the concept of the Crone in the Triple Goddess concept. She went on to take a moon like quality in my opinion. Augustina, was made specifically for entry into the open call for this show. Flagler College is my alma mater, and I feel a deep connection to the city of St. Augustine and wanted to pay homage to the Spanish influence. Thus her skirt was dyed indigo. I had initially named another one of my pieces Three Sisters (Violet was also in that) but decided to refer to this piece as Three Sisters. I came up with the name because they, in my eyes, are just that, three sisters. However, I remembered the phrase having a Native American significance. After researching I found that the "Three Sisters" refer to corns, beans, and squash, three important agricultural crops to many different Native American tribes. They were planted together because they thrived together-like three sisters. A legend of the phrase can be found here . I felt like it was fitting to have this association with the piece because the area that present day St. Augustine is part of, was(is) Native American territory and that is crucial heritage. Here are some links about the tribe(s) native to the area     https://www.nps.gov/casa/learn/historyculture/timucua.htm and https://www.visitstaugustine.com/history/matanzas/timucua-florida.php . If still thinking about the piece in terms of the triple goddess aspect, Augustina would be the 'maiden' aspect, representing the new moon, youth/frivolity, and springtime; Violet would be the 'mother' aspect, representing the full moon, fertility, motherhood, obligations, and summer into early fall; and Kibibi would be the 'crone' aspect, corresponding to the dark/waning moon, wisdom, and the stillness and clarity of late autumn and winter.

Thank you Laura-and Elizabeth-for all your hard work in putting this symposium and show together.

A Drawing from December

A drawing that I completed in December. I started it in the early spring of last year and took my time on it. I like to think it is the start of the next iteration of this Girl Series from my BA exhibition at Flagler College in 2011.