Greetings You Mavens of Cloth,
Welcome back to BLOCK! This week's theme: inspiration. The divine breath. I'm just back from an amazing jaunt to Zion National Park, where I took in a long, glorious, breath of it, hiking the switchbacks of Angel's Landing Trail. I don't think it's an overstatement to suggest that one of the best things going for Southern Nevada (where I currently call home) is its shocking proximity to (count 'em) seven national parks!
From my perspective, the National Park's System is a gift to all of us, all Americans; an affirmation reflecting our capacity to appreciate the natural beauty of the United States, and preserve it for generations to come. That said, four local parks down - three to go!
Now, on with the show. This week I thought I'd share a few amazing gems - content created by others - that I've had bookmarked for months now. I wasn't sure if collectively they articulated a particular point about quilts and quilt culture, until I realized how well they speak to cornerstone features of art writ-large, and particularly quilts.
From color to texture, to movement alive in tessellating symmetry - I suggest you stop now, and go grab yourself a hot cup of joe. The videos themselves won't take long to watch. But the spark of inspiration they ignite, at least in me, takes a while to exhaust after the fact.
Wishing you an inspired week ahead - one full of creative making and/or standing still, 'learning to be astonished.'
A-
Messenger
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
—Mary Oliver
HOVER OVER THE PIXEL QUILTS below & LINK TO SOME truly CREATIVE & INSPIRED CONTENT.
Pattern: Simon Beck, the artist, is using simple tools to create jaw-dropping patterns in snow. This video, by #inspirasjonstryn on Vimeo, is particularly breathtaking about 4 minutes in...
Color & Texture: This video by Deluxe's Method Studios was created for the 2016 AICP Sponsor Reel, "The AICP awards celebrate global creativity within commercial production...Motion capture, procedural animation and dynamic simulations combine to create a milieu of iconic pop dance moves that become an explosion of colorful fur, feathers, particles, and more." Amazing.
Symmetry: Dive into a digital kaleidoscope with this compelling flick (warning: those of you sensitive to optical effects - avoid). According to the video's producers, mylapse, the video utilizes a technique they developed called "Kaleidolapse" a, "visual technique that applies a kaleidoscopic effect to different shots taken with time lapse technique."
Movement: Janet Echelman creates remarkable sculpture from fishing line and other specialized materials. The work is exquisite, but her story on becoming an artist is equally as motivating. Watch her popular TED talk, here.
Thanks for visiting BLOCK!