India

Alright, it's been a long while since a post and it is time to get back into the swing of things here on this blog. We've had a slew of changes (good ones!) in our household and I hope to be able to share more about them in the coming weeks. For now, it's good to know that we bought a house in the fall (!), Adam has started working night shift (that's been ok), we had a good holiday season, I took an little trip to India, I'm trying to get some new work lined up but in the mean time have started volunteering at the Little Loomhouse.

Even though I want to share so much about the last few months, I feel really out of practice with this blog so I think for now I'll just start by posting a few pictures from India and go from there.

Dye bundles

This weekend I had a go at dyeing some shirts using the bundle method to see how much dye I could extract in a 24 hour period and trying to be attentive to the process, both before, during, and after. The shirt on the left is silk and the shirt on the right is cotton. I collected some leaves from outside to use along with an assortment of items from the kitchen: yogurt, egg, vinegar, coffee grounds, purple onion skins, lemon juice, beet root, and purple carrots.

It was a fun process. Messy and unpredictable. The notion of the unexpected, the unknown, is one of my most favorite things about dyeing this way. I love the way the silk shirt came out and I figured it would take the dye better than the cotton shirt. The cotton shirt still ended up pink but with less definition.

I'm excited to have the students taking my class try this method out in a few weeks! I have a lot of neat thoughts to share with them first, and then all of you!

Class Details

Here are some more details on the class I am offering mid-August:

If you are interested or would like more information please email me.

Also, I blogged over at the MAS Blog earlier today. I would love for you to go check it out and read a little bit more about what I'm thinking about these days!

A short poem

She whispers
"I am here"
i hear you
but how do i know
who You are?

i have known my whole life
in the stars
in the trees
in the birds
You flow out of everything
the earth exhales You.

not compatible
not compatible
not conpatible.
This does not line up.
You can't possibly be You.

what about Him?
what about eveything they say
about Him?
but i know You.

i have known my whole life
in their faces
in their voices
in my heart
You flow out of everything
the earth exhales You.

The last few months: In Pictures

1. Adam's graduation     2. Beer flight at the Louisville Beer Store     3. Road trip to Nashville

4. Berries and flowers from the Farmer's Market     5. Terrarium     6. Fresh cherries

7. Before & After: Strawberry cake     8. Lemon Blueberry ice cream     9. Cooking

10. Watching fireflies & listening to cicadas     11. Dye project     12. Indianapolis

13. Abbey of Gethsemani     14. Lightning storm     15. Wilco at Forecastle Fest

16. Shakespeare in the Park     17. Cincinnati Art Museum     18. Mama's visit

Updates

These past few months have been a whirlwind of activity for Adam and I. Adam graduated from nursing school, began the search for a job, and was hired. I have been trucking along at work and after Adam's new job opportunity, I gave my resignation after two years of incredibly difficult but rewarding work. We are in the midst of transitions right now. For months I felt like I was on the edge of something new, but couldn't quite reach out and grasp it, and now, here it is.

As Adam begins orientation for his new job and I begin to move out of mine, I've had plenty of time to ponder what exactly I'd like to do with my time. So, starting in August, possibly September, I will begin doing part-time interpreting work with Spanish speaking families, forming relationships and hopefully acting as an advocate. With the rest of my time, I am hoping to really focus on my last year of my Masters in Spirituality program--all of the writing and practical aspects of it that I feel I have't had a chance to engage enough over the last two years.

This summer I have had the opportunity to do my learning practicum at the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center here in town. I've been helping with the Discovering Sense of Place series which seeks to understand how we effect and are affected by the Ohio Valley Bio Region we live in. It has been truly fascinating to research our soil, our food, our local wildlife, and to have had the chance to participate in discussions of sustainability and energy efficiency. The rest of my practicum entails a class I have been working on putting together entitled "Natural Fiber Dyeing as a Spiritual Practice: An Intersection of Eco & Women's Spirituality" in which the participants will be repurposing a piece of clothing and exploring how to work with their hands, how to be present to the earth and to themselves, and learning to be conscious of the relationship they have with the world and how it is affected by what they wear. It will be a space to engage with natural fibers, natural dye products, and to see what happens to the spiritual life by being present to the rhythms of work and prayer. I am really excited as this really a tangible place of intersection of all my thoughts and I am really excited to be able to share and explore these ideas with a group of individuals who may or may not already be on the same page!

After this class it will be an adventure to see what direction my practice will go.

Free-lensing

I was reading Whitney's blog, eat.sleep.cuddle, the other day and saw that she had given free-lensing a shot. Inspired, I set out for the tutorial over at A Beautiful Mess and tried my hand at the technique. Here's what I got:

They didn't turn out quite as expected, namely that everything came out blurry, but I love the light and shadows playing in these pictures anyway. I think a camera lens upgrade is definitely in my near future. Trying to keep the lens zoomed in while shifting the angle of the lens was harder than it seemed. not to mention the aperture on my lens is not the greatest, hence the shadows. No worries, I'll keep trying! I'd love to get this technique down!