Adventures, Textile and Not

We have sunshine! Whoohoo!! We had sun yesterday too. I was so inspired by it that I went out and pruned these roses that I had neglected last summer and fall.

Unfortunately, while I was out in the side yard DH came home from running errands to make a quick pit stop before going to the movies. He saw my car but didn't see me anywhere so he locked the back door before he left the house again. He also locked the front door on his way out. Get the picture?

Yup. Locked out. And our spare key had been used when DS#1 was here but had not been put back in its' hidey hole. Long story short, I had to call DH out of the movie theater to come home and let me back in. He was not a happy camper. But then neither was I! I was fortunate in that I'd at least had the sense to put on a coat before going out (the sun was out but it wasn't necessarily warm outside) and I had the dog with me to help keep me warm while I waited to be rescued. But I had to use the neighbor's phone, and hardly anyone's house is as safe as my own in terms of air quality. It had also been too long since my last meal. I was not in the best condition when he finally arrived. Happily, we're over it now. The emergency key has been put back in its' place and DH watched Nicole Kidman in the latest version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers on DVD to make up for missing out on National Treasure 2 in the movie theater. Then we watched Becoming Jane together. (I was a little disappointed in it but will probably watch it again.) I just wish I'd slept better last night. I was hoping I would be able to sleep off the effects of the exposures yesterday but it doesn't seem to have worked this time.

Now, on to textile adventures...

This is the journal "page" I pieced back in June of last year. It was the precursor to the piece that became "Helpmates: Body & Spirit." At the time it wasn't working for what I was trying to convey. In casting about for something to do for this month's Bead Journal Project I pulled the top out again and had another look at it. I thought I might be able to use it to represent the transition from verbal to visual that I go through in making art pieces.

I took parts of it apart and repieced it to get this:

My intention is to use beading to highlight the arrow shapes on the left, pointing to the right. You'll note that the white fabric has letters and typographical symbols printed all over it. At the extreme left it's all right-side-up, but in the arrowheads it's been turned upside-down. I thought that was appropriate because I often have to turn my thoughts upside-down to get to a visual that has meaning for me.

There's probably a word or phrase for people like me who may be more inspired by verbal expressions than imagery. I can't remember what it is at the moment. I've never felt like a very visual person. I have words and feelings in my head and my heart, not pictures. I think that's part of the reason I've had such a difficult time moving from 'safe,' traditional forms of needlework to more expressive pieces. But, the more you do it the easier it becomes!