Red Thread Studio

That Was The Year That Was, 2011 Edition

2011-12-23T18:46:30-07:00

I don't know where I'm going My cup is overflowing The world is slowly spinning No losing and no winning The road is never ending My compass point is bending My compass point is bending. -- lowen & navarro, Compass Point No day without struggle, no day without love. -- anonymous There'll be one child born in a world to carry on. - laura nyro Oh, 2011. You really were perplexing. Along with your sternness you gave me some marvelous gifts, some signposts, and some lovely people in my world. You expanded my trust in the people around me while...

Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams

2011-09-05T12:59:11-06:00

Absolutely everyone who is interested in art, culture, and the human condition should see Cave of Forgotten Dreams. It's extraordinary. And then go and read "First Impressions," the 2008 Judith Thurman article in the New Yorker that influenced Werner Herzog to make the film. You can rent Cave of Forgotten Dreams on iTunes and, I assume, on other film rental sites, though if you can see it in 3D in a theater, it's probably well worth the effort. I watched it on my 13-inch computer screen and it was powerful and beautiful and completely intriguing--right down to the Werner Herzog...

Does Mastery Matter?

2011-09-04T16:01:15-06:00

First, over on Facebook, I finally launched a regular FB page for the Slow Cloth community. Please take a look and migrate over, if you're currently in the FB Slow Cloth group -- and if you're not, please visit the new page and consider giving it a Like. I've had trepidation about this but, you know, go medium-size or go home. Facebook's changes to the group format were not good, and there was no getting around that. So we'll see what happens. I'd still like to launch a web site separate from Facebook, but honestly, I have a lot of...

Still Here. Still Slow Cloth. Still Not Caught Up. Still Not a Gadget. And If You're Still Here, Thank You.

2011-08-30T08:20:17-06:00

Here's a nice piece on Slow Cloth and natural dyeing from Jeannine Roediger in Van Wert, Ohio. Thank you, Jeannine, for including me. Quite a few textile-related people and groups are attaching "slow" to their names now, and they're not all the same; I think in general this trend is good, though to be honest, I like my definition. It's probably due for a review and some streamlining but it is still more complete than anyone else's, and has stood up pretty well for the past four years. Time to do more with it - I know I've been threatening...

Unfettered and Alive

2011-05-11T18:34:52-06:00

What is there to say about Paris? I only had two days there, but it took me a few decades to get there and it was everything I wanted it to be. In my imagination, Paris was always my city; the city of light, art, perfume, flowers, sex, couture, romance, beauty, Bohemian brilliance, moody existentialism, sensuality. And now, I can truly say that it's my city in my heart too. I left La Rochelle on the last day of April on a 5:47 a.m. train that arrived at Gare Montparnasse about 9 a.m. I stopped for a quick café allongé...

A Little Bit About ISEND and Natural Dyes

2011-05-07T18:43:02-06:00

I had a notion that I'd post every day from the ISEND conference, but the combination of jet lag and sometimes limited internet connectivity--along with, well, being in France and wanting to be out on the lovely streets and in the cafes--spelled failure for that. So I'm sitting here today ready to write, but realizing that I left all my conference materials at my office yesterday, and that I should probably write my posts for the Textile Society of America, which gave me a grant to attend the conference, the Surface Design Association blog, and a couple of other promised...

Slow Cloth Article in The Wheel

2011-04-16T08:32:10-06:00

You can never hold back spring You can be sure that I will never stop believing The blushing rose will climb Spring ahead or fall behind Winter dreams the same dream Every time You can never hold back spring Even though you've lost your way The world keeps dreaming of spring Remember everything that spring can bring You can never hold back spring -- You Can Never Hold Back Spring • Tom Waits Here is a link for a PDF of my Slow Cloth article that was published last year in The Wheel, the lovely magazine of Ashford Wheels and...

Slow Cloth on GreenStitch Podcast

2011-03-30T07:57:44-06:00

Anne Kenlon of GreenStitch posts regular podcasts; her newest talks about Slow Cloth and her repurposing project. Go listen! And you'll find her blog here.

Sonia Delauney Textile Designs at Cooper-Hewitt

2011-03-18T07:40:23-06:00

I would love to see this show. Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delauney opens at the Cooper-Hewitt on March 18.

Quick Update: ISEND and More

2011-02-21T21:41:13-07:00

Dear blog friends, I miss you--I'm sorry to have been so quiet, and that the new blog isn't up yet. It's been a long winter; I spent the last six weeks just going to work every day and then watching every episode of The Wire (yes, it's as amazing as its reputation) and waiting, forever, for more light, more warmth, and more optimism. The exciting news is that I've been awarded some funding from the Textile Society to attend the International Symposium and Exhibition on Natural Dyes (ISEND) in France at the end of April. Who else is planning to...