true companion

I was very selfish today and spent a considerable amount of time sewing. Though I did take a break to visit my friend JC, who is recovering from hip surgery, with another artist, Kristin. And later, to read to my son before bed. And, did some laundry/housekeeping. But mostly I sewed. Taking a break the past week, from dyeing and stitching on "Going to Seed," to work on something that spontaneously arose -- "Cure for Pain" -- see below for an image. It's all hand-dyed and recycled fabric, and hand-sewn. And yeah, it's pretty abstract. I'm letting it happen. The other piece, GtS, has an objective -- or feels like it does -- it's larger, with a complex composition and recognizable imagery. It will take longer. It requires my full attention. This other little piece has arisen out of the seduction of recently dyed silk and organza...the feel of worn-out pillow shams being put to use...the repetitive hand-sewing that counts itself as it calms. Stitching a grid, like a tiny quilt its layers come together. But too the stitches feel like hypodermic marks, or minute points of light. And all of it, in its dense attention to marks and layers, is therapeutic. Time is marked away. Hurtful conversations come and go, along with good moments, and a lot in between. Maybe I should call it "Marking Time." But when I started this, the song "Cure for Pain" was what popped into my head, and maybe that's more to the point. There have been lots of difficult days again lately. This activity is sanity.