Pandora Unicorn siting

by Andrea Elizabeth

From John Renbourn’s album that I can’t copy the cover of.

Harry and the Unicorn

by Andrea Elizabeth

Yesterday evening I heard my daughter yelling, “Mom! You’ve got to come see this!” and when I do, what to my wandering eyes should appear? The Lady and the Unicorn, A Mon Seul Desir adorning Gryffindor Hall in the first Harry Potter movie! We had never taken note of it before. Apparently the other five tapestries in the series are also on the walls.

A stitch in time

by Andrea Elizabeth

I intended to do a weekly update on the progress of A Mon Seul Desir, but I was too absorbed to stop and take a picture. The marks above indicate 10 stitches on fabric that’s 18 stitches to an inch. So I’ve done about 600 stitches that equals an area of about 2×1 inches out of the 36×30 it will be. This is going to take a long time. And I’m very much looking forward to the more defined patterns further down. I don’t know if it’s quicker to keep the colors threaded individually like is shown above, because it takes me so long to consult my pattern and figure out which color is which for almost every stitch. But it is neater and it lays flatter if you go in order instead of doing a block of one color, then filling in between the spaces as I started out doing before I read the “tips” page on Scarlet Quince. Plus you don’t have to rethread needles nearly as much.

My deep thought this week, in addition to the metaphor of God’s sovereignty being the top and our view being the bottom of a tapestry, has been about ludditism. What machines have done is make it so that it hardly takes any time at all to whip out a highly detailed piece of art or equipment to give us more time to do other things. But I don’t think other things are as worthy of our time as hand crafting. It’s what monastics do between formal prayers. They fix and make things. It keeps them out of trouble. The time and personal involvement in a hand crafted thing automatically represents the value of the object. If it only takes a few minutes to produce, a similar object looses most of it’s worth. People want to value and keep their possessions. Things of little value are then disposable and replaceable. I think this leads to discontentment. We don’t want to throw away something that was hand made for us. We feel good about it and treasure it and feel that we have a link to someone. We can dwell in this link. But if that link is broken, then we take no lasting pleasure in the object. We end up forever pursuing replacements, living for the thrill of conquest instead of satisfaction with what we have or have made. This isn’t the only issue as people have always wanted more and better, even when things were hand made. But at least it slows down the process.

Slowing down is the other thing this project helps me think about. I don’t know if my habit of rushing is because in the past there wasn’t enough time to do what needed to be done, such as when I was a young nurse, and then the sudden mother of 5, instead of 2, then 6 when and shortly after I married George. But it has become a habit. And it is a stress-inducing one that also puts pressure on my kids. My M.O. is that if a bunch of things aren’t done, mainly during crunch periods, then the world will stop spinning and everything will fly off into space, further and further apart from each other till there is no connection between anything anymore. But what if you stop and take the time to get your threads parallel, and highlight the stitches you’ve done on your pattern chart, and contemplate which place is the best option to park your thread? What if it doesn’t matter if it takes years to finish this piece? All that matters to me is that I stick with it doggedly. I enjoy the concentration it takes, as well as the multitude of colors. I look forward to getting to the tree and out of the shady background. I like not needing tv or music. It’s freeing, really.

32 down, 346,068 to go

by Andrea Elizabeth

I just finished my first cluster of my first color in “My Lady and the Unicorn” cross stitch. I misplaced the very first stitch and had to go back and take it out, then the last third were too far to the left, so I had to take them out and re-stitch them too. This combined with the fact that it took a week to procure, organize, spool and label the floss is making me think about the long road called process.

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who think there are two kinds of people in the world, and those who don’t. I don’t. Mainly because I resist labeling people. We can label our deficiencies, but we shouldn’t block ourselves from the cure. Wholeness and health are the goal, not segregation.

The following can be diagnosed as two separate diseases: goal orientation (notice I am not using it as an adjective to describe a class of people) and process orientation as I take on this intricate project. I have the deficiency of goal orientation and am impatient and even reckless with details. Process orientation can bring about perfectionism, workaholism, and difficulty completing projects. However, I think we should all seek a balance of being careful workers, simultaneously focused on the end while not losing sight of the present.

If I may add, the Jesus prayer is used in this way. It is not about getting to the end of the prayer, because it is to be ceaselessly repeated. Instead we are to keep our minds in our hearts with each word. And at the same time, keep tuned in to ‘the author and finisher of our faith’.

A Mon Seul Desir

by Andrea Elizabeth

Christ is Risen!

Today I received the cross stitch chart of the Three St. Johns that I wrote about last week. I’m not going to use it as is, because it looks like the computer made a very low resolution chart of the icon, thus blurring the Saints’ eyes and the other finer details. Also, the shading is in black and gray instead of darker shades of the beautiful blue on their cloaks.

Since I’ve also been thinking of cross-stitching illuminated manuscripts, I have been looking into computer pattern makers. The free ones duplicate a pretty low resolution version with huge blocks of one color for shading as well as the blurring of finer detail just described. I may purchase the Hobbyware Pattern Maker professional version as it has gotten good reviews. With it, it looks like you can edit the details and customize it to bring out the things you like in the original. St. Joseph’s sent a large, richly colored copy of the original icon as well, so maybe I can use it to create a pattern that has brighter colors and more detail. Then maybe at some point I can create detailed patterns for illuminated manuscripts.

Meanwhile, in tomorrow’s mail I should receive the rest of the materials to start my new Scarlet Quince pattern, Lady with Unicorn: A Mon Seul Desir, copied from a 14th century tapestry. It is the sixth of the Unicorn series in which the other five depict the five senses. Read here for the meaning of each. Scarlet Quince also has the patterns for them if you want to see them.

This pattern is extremely detailed. A picture of the finished cross stitch is displayed instead of the original piece of art, showing how it will turn out. It has 650 x 534 stitches, 136 colors (DMC floss), and will be about 36″ x 30″ (18 ct). None of my local stores had Aida cloth big enough for this project, nor all the colors, or at least the right amount of particular colors, so I had to order what I still needed. Scarlett Quince patterns take experienced cross stitchers about a year to complete, so if you divide the time into the cost of such a large undertaking, it turns out to be a pretty cheap way to be beneficially occupied.

Illuminations

by Andrea Elizabeth

In looking for cross stitch patterns of Gospel illuminations, I came across the undertaking of Makoto Fujimura to be the first single artist in nearly 400 years to illuminate the four Gospels. The video in the article includes a discussion on the difficulty Evangelical Protestants have with art, though they don’t mention the word, iconoclasm. Nevertheless, I don’t know why they would have a problem with the modern art in this project because it is so formless. The colors are traditional however.

The reason I would like to cross stitch a pattern from the older illuminated Gospels is because of the bright colors and more ornate presentation than is usually found in wooden icons.

“This printed edition of the four Gospels in Church Slavic is lavishly illuminated by hand in gold and colors. It is all the more remarkable because it was issued during the turbulent political period called “the time of Troubles.” The style reflects the “Orientalism” of 17th-century Muscovite design. Here St. John, inspired by divine revelation in the form of rays of light, dictates his Gospel to St. Prochoros.

The elaborate nature of this copy suggests that it was owned originally by the Moscow Patriarch (and later Saint) Germogen.”

from here

Pins and needles

by Andrea Elizabeth

The parcel cannot arrive soon enough. I keep checking the tracking number, and USPS is not indicating that they’ve received the package yet. I ordered it Friday, so… come on already! If my new passion lives up to my expectations, which I won’t know until I get the thing in the mail! Then I can figure out if I want Aida canvass or something else, and if I want to do 14, 18, or 30 count, and then I have to find the floss, and a frame, circle or scroll, and get some needles, and a floss storing system, and maybe a magnifying lense with a light because of my multi-focal needs. Then I can concentrate on the lovely colors and subjects available at St. Joseph School for Boys, no less, starting with this one, if it will come! It’s of St. John of Rila, St. John the Theologian, and St. John of Kronstadt. The blues and the green border first caught my eye, and the three awesome Johns sealed the deal. My daughters both want to get started with me, so I am looking forward to many hours of beautiful, wholesome contemplation.

If this sticks, I will want to do many icons from St. Joseph’s, as well as the famous, beautiful pieces available at Scarlet Quince, especially the ones from the William Morris studio of artists. They sought to depict paradise on earth, with medieval influence, in their development of the Arts and Crafts movement . I really like this one, and so many others that if I keep with it, I will have a hard time picking which one to do next.

This   one of feminine virtues is very intriguing, but a little edgy. My favorite thing is that it lists protection as #1.

Ph.D. student to develop preservation plan for Ukrainian wooden churches

by Andrea Elizabeth

[Click here for slide show and source of article]

Hans Schneider, a doctoral student studying urban and regional science at Texas A&M, has received a Fulbright grant to develop a comprehensive regional plan for preserving eight historically significant wooden churches and other historic sites in western Ukraine. He’ll travel to eastern Europe this August to begin the 10-month project.

Nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010, the eight churches, he said, are unique and exceptional contributions by the Ukrainian people to mankind’s heritage — outstanding examples of building structures and architectural design that illustrate a significant era of human history.

“The wooden churches in western Ukraine are unique architectural structures incorporating Byzantine art with local wood buildi

ng traditions,” said Schneider. “Though extensive interest exists with the local people and academia for the preservation of these churches, international interest is still lacking.”

Schneider’s grant is part of the Fulbright program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. It is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. Grants are awarded on the basis of a statement of grant purpose, support from the host country and references.

Schneider said he’ll work with professors at Lviv Polytechnic National University to develop a preservation plan aimed at drawing local and international attention to the churches while promoting local industry and tourism.

“Ukraine has the talent in skilled craftsmen and restoration experts to preserve these churches on their own, but lack organization and money,” said Schneider, detailing several problems facing the preservation project.

In Soviet times, he said, many churches and other historic sites lost state funding because they were removed from the nation’s registry of historical landmarks.

“It was hoped that with Ukrainian independence, money would flow back into the preservation of these sites,” he said. “However, the government budget for the preservation of churches throughout the country is equivalent to a mere $187,500.”

Though Schneider has been learning the Ukrainian language from a tutor and online classes, his first month in Ukraine, he said, will be spent on intensive language training.

Also, during his first four months, Schneider will research Ukrainian preservation laws and work to develop contacts among the nation’s preservation organizations, government agencies and religious organizations that worship at the churches.

His final six months in the field will be spent developing a preservation plan for the churches that addresses issues at the building, city and regional levels.

“This plan will be relevant and useful to local government, preservation organizations, and other interested parties and will serve as a template for preservation in other regions,” said Schneider.

Schneider’s doctoral dissertation will be based on his work in Ukraine, which will also help him earn a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation from the Center for Heritage Conservation at Texas A&M’s College of Architecture.

“It does not appear that much has changed,” said Schneider, “since Alan Rabinowitz, a consultant sent to Ukraine in 1993 by the International Executive Service Corps, said ‘remaking Ukraine according to standards of more developed nations will take much time — and a whole new vocabulary for both private and public enterprises. There’s a lot of room for U.S. planners to help.’”

My cosmology 2; or, On respecting rocks

by Andrea Elizabeth

See this documentary on Netflix (source of info below) instant streaming to behold how in touch this artist is to nature’s telos.

Rivers and Tides

Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time(2003) NR

This astonishing documentary from Thomas Riedelsheimer shadows renowned sculptor Andy Goldsworthy as he creates works of art with ice, driftwood, leaves, stone, dirt and snow in open fields, beaches, rivers, creeks and forests. With each new creation, he carefully studies the energetic flow and transitory nature of his work. The film won the Golden Gate Award Grand Prize for Best Documentary at the 2003 San Francisco International Film Festival.

My cosmology with help from Aristotle; or, against chaos

by Andrea Elizabeth

I believe and don’t believe in a hierarchy of being. Of course man is supreme above animals, plants, and inanimate objects, but man isn’t human if he doesn’t respect those under him. The artist or craftsman knows how to bring life and health to rocks (building blocks), minerals (paint), plants (wood, or gardens or proper land management), and animals (free or tame. See this documentary on the last wild horses in America and the controversy over the Bureau of Land Management’s roundups).

The question against chaos is what about when things go wrong. If one doesn’t believe in determinism, what does one do with disasters, collisions, and lost things? I believe there is trauma when these things occur. A planet’s moon does not like being shattered by an asteroid. Things inherently want to be healthy. This does not mean that inanimate objects have a rational mind or soul, but somehow they enjoy health. Erosion and chisels hurt rocks, but a rock in the artist’s hand hopes for glory in spite of the pain. Not pain that involves nerve cells and receptors, and not God’s pain so much by extension to His creation, but some sort of existential pain. Rocks, plants, and animals know what it means to exist well. They shine when it happens.

When disasters happen, there are healing forces at work that can cause new life to spring forth from the rubble. I tend now to think that the forces are predetermined, but not the results. The results are contingent on the circumstances, not a prearranged plan. Climate, for instance, is designed to work a certain way at certain altitudes, etc. There is a healthy way of being in all circumstances whether they exist in the far reaches of space, or Death Valley. I’ve been to Death Valley in August, which I would not recommend. A couple of beautiful oases provide some relief, but what about the scorching rubble one finds where nothing at all will grow but the number of splitting rocks? One person’s hell is another person’s health spa. I bet the rocks around Scotty’s Castle are proud, or at least amused.