Search Results for: owl woman
Owl Woman, Coming Together…
After working on my Corona Kimono this morning, I thought I’d make some potholders. I tried making wool potholders with the leftover scraps from my Shirts and Skirts wool quilt, but it just wasn’t happening.
So after feeding the animals, I focused on my Owl Woman instead.
I found some orange silk for her sleeves that match the owl beak. Then I used the leaf-shaped pieces from the center of the applique I had removed from the quilt, above the owl eyes.
I’m almost ready to sew her onto the old quilt backing. And I even have an idea for what might come next.
Owl Woman’s Hair
I spent the morning sewing the hair on my Owl Woman. And then spent the afternoon doing paperwork and sending out more of my Bedlam Farm Dryer Balls.
Now I’m end of the week tired.
Jon brought home a dinner of fresh shrimp and steamers from a shop in Saratoga. The glass of wine I had with it and the drop in temperature makes me want to take a hot bath and go to bed.
I just might…
Owl Woman, Continued…
First I poured boiling water into a cup filled with half a cup of black tea leaves. I brought it to my studio to steep. It’s still steeping. Tomorrow I’ll use it to tea stain the face of Owl Woman.
Then I stitched her eye. Two different browns, orange, metallic gold thread, and black marker for the pupil.
I woke up thinking about her. From 6:15 to 7 am, still half asleep, I pictured how I would stitch her eye and the color thread I’d use. Then the idea of using the same twisted pink yarn I outlined my “Cloud Is A Whisper” tree in, came to me. I imagined how I would sew it down, by hand. I saw her tea-stained face, darker than the tea staining I used on the woman in “Shield of Words“.
After that, in my mind, I tried a few different ways of applying the pieces of applique, that I had removed from the quilt to her dress. By the time I got up, I knew I would be sewing them down, using my free motions machine. I’d create a simplified feather design, leaving the edges untethered to give it a little extra dimension.
But by this afternoon, once I had actually sewed the feathers on, I moved onto the beak and owl eyes/breasts.
There was no question for me what the color of the beak should be. I saw it immediately.
I had a piece of fabric just the right balance of orange/yellow, but then found a piece of one of the collages I’d made earlier. It was the same color except it had some collage layering and I liked the weight and texture of it better than the fabric.
It’s on a piece of canvas with a layer of matt medium over it. I wanted to stitch it down with embroidery thread, but it was so thick I had to poke holes in it.
You can’t see it in this photo, but the blue fabric I used for the eyes/breasts is iridescent. I still have to sew the beads on at the centers, but I’m not completely sure about them yet.
This is what she looked like when I left my studio today. I don’t have any concrete idea how I’ll deal with her arms, legs, and feet yet. But I do know how to make her hair, so I’ll probably work on that next.
Owl Woman’s Dress
I started to take apart the applique that I removed from the quilt that my Owl Woman is on. I pulled out each stitch that someone took so much time sewing together. Then I pinned them onto the Owl Womans’ dress to see what they’d look like.
I think it’s going to work…
Owl Woman
It’s been a while since I’ve gone into my studio and didn’t know what I’d be doing.
My head has been so filled with the practical work of making, selling and shipping the Dryer Balls, I needed to shift my thinking. To move into my creative self.
I felt like drawing so I took out some linen that my friend Emily gave me and a black marker. Then I looked through some of the collages I made last year and hung the one below on my wall. The imagery for it came from some shadow photos that I took of me and the sheep.
I always liked it but never did anything else with it. I looked to it now for inspiration.
That’s how I came to draw the Owl Woman above.
I like her best of all the drawing I had done. I thought she would work well on an old quilt. So I looked through my stash and decided on one that I’d used for another fabric painting.
I had a lot of anxiety today, more than I’ve had in a long time, and was having a hard time making decisions. Towards the end of the day, I realized that I was trying to figure out what this whole fabric painting should look like before making a commitment to it.
Unless I see a complete image in my mind before I start working on a piece I like to take it one step at a time. The same process I use when I’m making quilts or potholders. Making a commitment to a piece means taking a concrete step towards beginning it. Usually, that means sewing something down or cutting something up.
Today it meant removing some of the appliques on the old quilt.
Taking each step one after another is important to me because each step informs the next. And I can’t get to the second step without the first. And even if I take step, like cutting something and it doesn’t work out, I still have to work with the mistake. And that makes me do something I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
Working this way takes some of the control away from me. So trust is a key part of it. Trust in the process and in myself.
I removed two of the appliques. I’m thinking about using some of the fabric from them as a part of her dress. Maybe that will be the next step.
Barn Owl Quilt…
I finished designing my Barn Owl Quilt today. Now for the backing and batting.
I can’t help but connect it to Jon and me becoming Wildlife Rehabilitators. Like so many things the process is slower because of the Pandemic. But we began filling out the paperwork and are now gathering some of the equipment we’ll need, like heavy-duty gloves, a net, and carrier. We still have to meet with one of the Rehabilitators and eventually take a test given by the DEC.
It feels like an adventure that Jon and I are embarking upon. I’m both excited and nervous about it, so I know it’s something that will take to me a place I haven’t been before.
But I feel like this quilt, as well as my Owl Woman marks the beginning and continuing process. And I have a feeling more work will come from the experience.
My Barn Owl Quilt is sold.
The Owl Out My Window
I could tell by Fate’s bark that something was in the yard that wasn’t supposed to be.
First I looked out my studio window towards the barn. I thought it might be the gray cat that looked into my studio window last week his big green eyes, looking directly into mine.
I walked away from the window when he did, not knowing what else to do. Later I saw him go into the barn and haven’t seen him since, though I also haven’t stopped thinking of him.
But it wasn’t a cat I saw out my window today.
It was a small gray owl. Her back was to me but her shape, even from behind, was indisputable.
I was stunned and awed.
I took a picture expecting her to fly away any moment. But even as Fate continued to bark and I opened my studio door and climbed over the frozen gate, she didn’t move.
Even though there was no outward sign of injury, when I squatted down beside her and she didn’t even turn her head, I knew for sure that she was hurt.
But I got a bit hopeful when I picked her up and her claws wrapped around my fingers.
I was in my early twenties when I worked in an Animal Hospital and learned that it’s a good sign when a sick bird can perch.
But once she was standing on my hand I didn’t know what to do.
I thought that maybe she had flown into something and she was just stunned. Her one eye was mostly closed, but the other opened wide as I held her and she even turned her head a bit and stretched out a wing.
I was hoping she would just fly away.
When she didn’t I called Jon and we decided it was best to bring her in the house. Jon put Zinnia and Bud in their crates and I brought her into the bathroom, a small space where we could close the door in case she did try to fly.
Jon was immediately on the phone to our Vet who gave him the number of a Wildlife Rescue Group.
He texted them a photo of the owl and we were told to put her in a crate or box with something soft under her and keep it warm and dark. The woman on the phone told us she was an Eastern Screech Owl.
A little while later we were on our way to Trish’s house in Saratoga Springs. Trish is a Wildlife Rehabilitator, with North Country Wild Care and the best hope for the little owl.
But when we got to Trish’s and I looked in the box in the back seat, the owl was already dead.
Trish said she was probably hit by a car and had internal injuries.
I’ve tried to save a lot of wild animals in my life, and I know that most of them die. I even stopped taking them home after a while, just letting nature take her course. So I can’t say I was surprised that the owl had died, but I was surprised at how sad it made me.
It was magical to look out my studio window and see an owl sitting on the ground.
And the way her claws gripped my fingers made me feel as if we were connected in a very intimate way. It was like a dream to have her sit calmly on my hand. Of course, she was injured otherwise she wouldn’t have stayed there, but it still felt like she trusted me, like I was bringing her some comfort or at least a feeling of safety.
Driving home from Saratoga, Jon suggested we become Wildlife Rehabilitators.
Trish told us it was a matter of taking some classes and a test. Then we could be the people that rescued injured wildlife and knew how to care for them.
When we got home Fate and Zinnia came with me and I took the owl out into the woods.
I placed her body under the big old Shagbark Hickory. Even though the owl was no longer in danger and she would most likely become food for someone else, I felt like the tree would watch over her.
When I got back to the house, I left a message with the person who trains rehabilitators for North Country Wild Care.
I was actually surprised Jon wanted to become a rehabilitator.
But he too was unusually moved and saddened by our experience with the owl. Traditionally owls are known as messengers and this is just what Jon saw in this owl.
“I think the owl came here to die”, Jon said, “that she or he was a messenger”.
I believe Jon is right. Because the idea of us being Wildlife Rehabilitators feels right to me. Like sinking into an unfulfilled part of myself. And sharing the experience and responsibility with Jon will be another way of opening ourselves up to the natural world around us.
Another way of inviting nature into our lives and becoming one with it.
Branch Woman, Dancing Talisman
Branch Woman called to me this morning. Of course she wanted to be dressed in symbols of the Ancient Goddess. A tiny piece of turquoise for her heart some beads around her belly and a turban of strung beads with charms.
In a little while I’m going to be getting dressed myself for the Holiday Bellydancing Hafla tonight. Jon’s coming and bringing his camera. I’ll also bring a bowl of fruit. Food and dancing, getting to talk to each other, in a way there’s no time for during class.
I can see now that Branch Woman is a Dancing Talisman. I listened to the Hafla Playlist while I dressed her.
She came to me just at the right time.
Here’s links to the two songs I’ll be dancing to with Julz and Kathleen tonight, one fast the other slow. Habibi Min Zaman by Balken Beat Box and Querer by Cirque Du Soleil.
…howling at the same moon
I got my Brother back today. Actually Jon picked it up for me and I’m glad he did. He said the woman who fixed it all but yelled at him that it needed to be cleaned more often, she spent 3 hours cleaning the compartment under the bobbin case etc! etc! etc!
So I got off easy, Thank you Jon. When I called to see if there was anything else I needed to know about cleaning it , the same woman answered, she seemed annoyed. She said “When normal people…. I mean normally people clean their machines every two weeks depending on how often they use it.” She gave me some helpful advise and I promised to clean it often and thanked her many times for all of her help. And I am grateful to her for fixing it and getting it done so quickly. And I’ll be sure to keep the machine clean, I wouldn’t want to have to bring it back to her with the same problem.
I think tomorrow I’ll finish up the Collaboration quilt on my singer, then plug in the Brother and get back to where I left off with Rita.
