Tag Archives: Michele Maule

Personal Sovereignty

29 August 2008

I’m eating breakfast and drinking coffee. I do like mornings, after I wake up. It’s the waking up part that tends to be difficult… well I know I have control over that, just sometimes don’t want to.

I’ve been thinking about personal sovereignty since it was brought up in my therapy group over the weekend. Here’s a pretty good link on the topic. I thought of many different examples but the one that comes to mind here is writing this blog. I wanted to start for quite a while and then at times I don’t think about it and I don’t particularly want to write. Tom gently reminds me about writing and I appreciate it. I feel guilty that I’ve “neglected” posting. But it was something that I started. Why do I feel guilty? I haven’t made a decision to “own” this blog when I feel guilty. I created it and then I let it go. Maybe an issue with not finishing things as a child…

Anyway, I’ve received a lot of great, and some unexpected, benefits by blogging: getting to share my art, writing, expressing myself, connecting with friends, getting a lot of attention from Tom, meeting new people who share similar interests. It’s been fun. I could try commenting on other blogs too and become more connected with the community. Just thinking out loud. Gotta jump in the shower.

On another note, I love reading Michele Maule’s blog on a daily basis. Her current post is about encaustics. Something I know I really enjoy learning and experimenting with. It’s on my list of things to do. Of course I want to learn how to make it myself. So I’m keeping my eye out for an inexpensive double boiler. Here’s a recipe I found online.

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Pigs, Bookbinding & More

30 March 2008


Lots of stuff and I’m not sure where to start…

A friend of my mom’s Pat sent Tom and I the sweetest bridal pig couple ever. Total surpise and really fun. We couldn’t stop talking about them. Really thoughtful gift.

I finished two blank books this weekend and submitted them to the Frank Bette Center for the Arts for the Alameda on Camera show opening April 4. I’m really happy with them. I went through all kinds of emotion ranging from disgust to elation and everything that lives in between. In the end, they’re so much better than I expected. (It’s best when you don’t have expectations or they’re quite low.) They’re for sale but it’s as if I almost don’t want to sell them. I’d like to enjoy them for a little bit longer. I’ll have photos of them hopefully this week to put up here or they’ll be at Frank Bette for viewing this Friday.

I learned a new binding, the Long Stitch Link Stitch from Keith A. Smith’s Volume I Non-Adhesive Binding Booking Without Paste or Glue. It’s an excellent book. Another great source for journal making is Teesha Moore’s site where she gives a great description on how she makes her journals.

I had a really nice weekend with Tom. He helped me a lot and gave me lots of space so that I could work on my art. He cooked and did laundry and mowed the lawns and went food shopping. I’m very lucky to be with him. We worked on solvent photo transfers together in our backyard. It was really fun to watch him get excited about ideas. I want to stay up all night and finish and he helps me by suggesting ways I might get my work done and get to bed early.

We found a sewing machine for $10 at a garage sale this weekend. That was really fun. I need to get a manual but it has all kinds of different stitches that I’m looking forward to using. Now, I get to focus on last minute wedding planning details, cleaning up the garage/studio space and planning a honeymoon. So much I want to do…

I really enjoy Holly Becker’s: decor8.blogspot.com and she has great links to lots of other great places. Through her site I found Michele Maule’s blog. I really enjoy reading about Michele’s process plus I’m really enjoying her artwork. I’m always wanting to check out her blog to see what she’s posted next. She’s a definite inspiration for me to post on a more regular basis. Thanks Michele!

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  • Artist statement

    I’m hungry to learn and it’s through my process of creating that I’m ultimately satisfied. I’m curious about different materials and take on the challenge to incorporate what I’m most drawn to into my work. I’m intrigued to discover the resulting patterns and repetition. As I create, I explore my inner landscape. I’m attempting to uncover a stifled sound. It’s my challenge to express this internal voice through my art and ultimately, boldly, out loud.

    My quest to connect my voice with my work has led me to reexamine my personal history. The threads in my bookbinding and in my collage are entwined in my familial roots. Growing up, I remember a quilt frame my dad made, taking up our entire living room. His grandmother taught him to quilt using scraps of clothing. Years later, I began a quilt when a friend was teaching a class on patchwork. To my surprise, cutting up fabric and piecing it back together reminded me of my work with paper collage.

    As a child I would sew with my mom and what I most remember is the guilt I’d feel as I jammed up her machine. Now, when the threads and material bunch up they become useful fodder for my work. In some ways the threads act as a binding element, as in my books, and in other ways they are a reflection of my internal processes.