jerseymurmurs

An impassioned argument for empathy: “…We must not isolate. We must stay in community. We must help the vulnerable. We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future, one that is beckoning, welcoming…there will still be love, there will still be love, there will still be beauty, and there will be an ocean of truth to swim in. Let’s make it so.” — Jane Fonda in her SAG Life Achievement Award acceptance speech February 23, 2025 ♦ “Your enthusiasm makes this seem, I don’t know, less like a late twilight of my life and more like a ‘Go girl, kick ass,'” the 87-year-old actress and activist told the crowd. “Which is good, because I’m not done.” ♦

The positive power of a compliment — for both the giver and receiver. “You have the poise of an apex predator, but the eyes of a kindly woodland creature. It’s a devastating combination.” (British comedian Milo McCabe has created a character — ‘Troy Hawke’ — who excels at handing out complements including this one.) ♦ The background photo is from “The Gates” — a temporary site-specific work of art by Christo and Jeanne-Claude @christojeanneclaude  ◊ In February 2005, steel gates were installed along 23 miles of pathways in New York City’s Central Park, each hung with a panel of saffron-colored fabric ◊ @centralparknyc ♦ On my visit to The Gates I was carrying a cross-body bag that I had designed, knitted, and felted; a woman stopped me and asked me if I had made the bag  — that compliment was the frosting on the cake of a magical day. ♦

Peacebuilding ♦ “Instead of cutting foreign aid, the U.S. should increase spending on diplomacy, humanitarian aid, and economic development, funded by cuts to unsustainable military spending. A more peaceful and secure world can be realized through diplomacy, direct engagement, joint ventures, and support for addressing global needs. By lifting up others, we will also lift up ourselves. This is how the U.S. could create real safety and live up to the values that it says it holds dear.“ — American Friends Service Committee @afsc_org ♦ the background “mural” was an experiment in textures, shapes, and layers ♦

“Artists showcase the range of life’s emotions — the loftiest heights of joy and the depths of grievous despair. They hold a mirror up to the world — reflecting who we are and echoing our stories. The work of artists doesn’t always make us feel comfortable, but it sheds light on the truth. Much like our democracy itself, artistic expression must be nurtured, fostered, prioritized, and protected. It is not a passive endeavor; indeed, there is no clearer sign of American democracy at work than our artists...” — Deborah Rutter, in a statement Wednesday [rump fired Rutter as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — the national cultural center of the United States located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. — and arranged for himself to be appointed chairman] ♦ the background “mural” on graph paper was an experiment in making an art deco design ♦

High Priestess says Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection beats miserly hate and spiteful meanness any day of the week. ♦ T-shirt artwork by @theeddyiconic ["Eitligi Iolair Eitlilt" = "Fly Eagles Fly" in Gaelic] ♦

The colorful motifs are taken from a wooden candleholder (that artist’s signature is in bottom left corner), painted in the traditional folk art style (“Petrykivka”; featuring flower patterns and natural elements), that a dear one brought back from Ukraine.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was created in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy to partner with countries around the world to implement long-term development efforts and work together with individuals, communities, countries to improve everyday lives. Recent projects include aiding famine-stricken regions in Sudan, providing textbooks for displaced schoolchildren in Ukraine, and training healthcare workers in Rwanda. [020225 News Headline: “Trump moves to wrest control of USAID as Musk says, ‘We’re shutting it down’” — WaPo]  

Thinking of all those being stung by the venomous spite of a certain presidente.

I knit a striped “Chamonix Cap” to try and quiet the “orchestra of madness” (to quote a dear one’s recent lament) swirling in my head. The cap is warm and jaunty; it was fun to knit the German short rows that shape the crown. Pattern Design by toqu.tigu for Purl Soho.

January 20, 2025 (re-mixing Quarantine Still Life 69)

“Flight suits are modular tapestries, their surfaces are designed to be decorated, but work just as well left blank.“ 

“Throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s flight suits were found and worn by speed freaks, by artists, by gender non-conformists, by techno-dreamers, by punks, by travelers, by children who wanted to fly...”  [Quotes are from “Flight Suits Take Off” by Maxwell Neely-Cohen] ️

My modular, tapestry-like Flight Suit is on display at the National Liberty Museum at 321 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia until April 3rd 2022, part of the “Deconstructing Bowie” exhibit that celebrates “the timeless power of music and art to challenge cultural expectations and drive both personal and societal change”.

"Armored Freedom, sword raised and cape flying, ... tramples Tyranny and Kingly Power; she is assisted by a fierce eagle carrying arrows and a thunderbolt." [sketch from a detail of the 'The Apotheosis of Washington' — a fresco painted in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi at the top of the Capitol's Rotunda; 180 feet above the Rotunda floor] 

Our Ms. Armored Freedom was gazing down as the mob incited by our Kingly President stormed the Capitol... 

My Presidential Inauguration-adjacent story: On January 20th, 1985 — the day of Ronald Reagan's 2nd inauguration — I was living just outside Washington DC in Maryland. The daytime temperatures were forecast at 7 degrees F with wind chills at -25. I was driving a little Dodge Omni with metal door handles that pulled up to open the car's doors. Something was already wrong with the front, passenger side front handle — it could only be opened from the inside. The morning of the inauguration I unlocked the driver's side with my key (no keyless entry then!) and the frozen-cold, metal door handle broke right off in my hand! What to do?! No way to open the locked back doors so I couldn't get in through them. How was I going to get to work?! Wait! An escape hatch! The car was a hatchback and the key opened that back trunk door. I unlocked and lifted it, ducked my head, climbed in, hauled myself over into the back seat as gracefully as possible, and was able to stretch to open the driver's side door from the inside so I didn't have to throw myself over into the front seat. Then I opened the side door, got out, calmly smoothed my skirt, got in the front seat, said a prayer of thanks for the hatchback, and was on my way. I always thought of it as "Reagan's revenge" as I didn't like the man's policies and never voted for him. Because of the extreme cold that day in 1985, the inauguration was moved inside — into the Capitol Rotunda — where high above Armored Freedom and her fierce eagle were busy smiting and trampling the Kingly...

Lady Gaga sang the National Anthem at the Inauguration and posed in the rotunda with Armored Freedom above:

By my count, today is day 123 of the quarantine. The heat index hit 93 degrees. The rabbits ate all the green bean plants in the garden and there are alarming pools of water that keep forming near the refrigerator. Cases of the coronavirus are increasing daily again and have reached crisis points in many states. Our president has done his best to successfully turn the U.S. into one of his "sh!thole countries". Civil rights and voting rights champion and warrior Congressman John Lewis has died and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has had a recurrence of her cancer. One bright spot is the aqua-blue-sky ceiling in my little screened-in side porch.

"If we do not get meaningful legislation out of this Congress, the time will come when we will not confine our marching to Washington. ... We must say, 'Wake up, America, wake up!' For we cannot stop, and we will not be patient." [from Mr. Lewis' 1963 March on Washington speech]

My “Grab ‘Em By The Mid-terms” oven mitt was voted-in to the “Know Your Meme: Stitching Viral Art” exhibition and is on display at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles from October 20, 2019 through January 12, 2020. In true “meme” fashion, the artwork selection for the exhibit was driven by the power of the people, curated by the number of online votes.

The exhibition explores the concept of the meme as a poignant method to summarize, understand, and critique important societal issues and current events. All artworks must depict, relate to, or reference a meme through a textile method such as quilting, embroidery, cross- stitching, knitting and crocheting, weaving, basketry, etc.

My Artist's Statement: What better way to “grab ‘em by the mid-terms” than with a hardy, handmade oven mitt! Stitched and sewn in anticipation of the November 2018 mid-term elections. The magenta pink harkens back to the women’s pussy hat marches. A Newsweek story about the January 2018 women’s march called “grab ‘em by the mid-terms” a “mordant” slogan – i.e., biting or stinging. A mitt that is useful in the kitchen and when marching in the street…

Anger and rage are driving my entry for this week’s Spoonflower design challenge: chinoiserie (drawn using the 6B sketching Pencil in the Procreate App)🔹 Inspired by a Chinese tile (circa 1700-1724) from the Rijksmuseum and the unforgettable words of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford that were painted outside the doors of the Yale Law School #MeToo #womensreality #ThankYouChristine

This week's Spoonflower challenge was to design a tea towel with a pun ... I found an image from a recent Women's March for inspiration and added a few elements. See also, Fight Like a Girl.

What a kick! My pussy-hat-magenta-pink "Girls Just Want to have Fundamental Human Rights" chiffon scarf is in the just-released CMYK issue of Uppercase magazine! The issue is full of the work of many talented people and pulls together so many of my favorite things (the Folly Cove Designers, Josef Albers-inspired weavings, offset lithography, typography, and fabric just to name a few). There's even a story about an innovative new ink derived from car exhaust, that turns pollutants into artistic possibilities (Graviky).

Each page and that eye-catching drawdown cover by Baltimore Print Studios is a delight that leaves me feeling "hi-res"!

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