Miriam Badyrka is The Doodler

Embroidery #9

                                                              (Slow Doodle 9, embroidery floss on canvas, 8x8 inches)

This is another embroidery in my Books & Needles series.

I have finally figured out that the link between them is the dream state. The folding of the books is directly linked to an actual dream. The embroideries are an attempt to induce or replicate a dream state.

The passage of time in a dream is often different in a dream. When we speak of dream time or use dreamy or dreamlike to describe something, we are speaking of a state where time seems to slow and drifts.

As you all know, I think doodles are the drawing version of dreams. Like a doodle, the embroideries are spontaneous and unplanned. The embroideries look like doodles, because they are doodles, done while my mind is busy with something else.

The act of doodling is altered by my choice to stitch rather than draw. Embroidering is a much slower process than drawing with a pen. The time spent doodling is changed, stretched as it would be in a dream.

The Books & Needles project is on view at Albina Bank .

 (Detail Slow Doodle 9, click to see full size)

More Inspiration and Procrastination

It has been awhile since I have posted anything but doodles. So I thought it is time to show you what I have been looking at on the web so I can clean out my bookmarks.

Click through the galleries of the From Atoms to Patterns exhibition. In 1951, scientists and manufacturers collaborated to produce patterns based on x-ray crystallography. The patterns were translated into textiles and surface decorations for a variety of products. It pretty much sums up the 50’s aesthetic for me.

I am in love with Decopix! If it is Deco, they’ve got it here. This is a rather sad photo of an abandoned gas station, but I love the Mobile Pegasus. Ah, nostalgia.

The Textile Blog. How cool is that? I ran across it while researching the Atelier Martine. 

Paul Poiret , the fashion designer, founded the Atelier Martine when he branched out into textiles, wallpapers and carpets. He didn’t hire designers, he hired teenage girls with no art training. He figured that would be the best way to achieve that Folk Art feel. Rather ingenious of him, and the designs are charming. Love and Thrift has a nice piece about it too.

Ben Butler is amazing. His work made me gasp. Do yourself a big favor and look at his work.

 The galleries at sytes.org are a wonderful resource. Somehow they are easier for me to look at than flickr. Look at this collection of spiral images.

So, I Took a Blogging Break...

I do still like blogging.

I figure this out when I write about them, but I am deeply involved in my current project and it has been taking all my time. I have a backlog of cool doodles, I just haven't taken the time from my project to scan  and write about them.

I am working on two separate things which are somehow connected. I just don't know how yet. That is the problem with this whole thing. It is so compelling to me, I absolutely must do it, I have no choice. But, I have no idea of what I am working towards. Will it meld into a single project or will it remain two separate things joined only by the fact that they are done in the same period of time?

There is no fixed star to guide myself by, no destination on a map. The end keeps moving as I approach.

There are lots of rules I have to follow. My current thought is that the rules themselves may be the important thing in this project, more than the objects themselves.

I have to fold the books in total silence. That the work must be done in silence reminds me of monks and religious discipline, of duty and presence.

I have to work on the embroideries with a mental distraction, like a doodle. I am no longer working from doodles, I am working on them without any kind of guide now. They are doodles, stitched doodles.

I have also started a third element. I am embroidering on the books once they are folded. I am not just decorating them to decorate the surface. The pattern of stitching is rhythmic. It may even another alphabet, represent an a language. Or emphasize the silences.

I just don't know.

Silly Fun With Color

Ever wanted to know what your birthday color is? Want to know what it says about you? Check out colorstrology.

My color is Ibis Rose (aka Pantone 17-2520).

"Financial security is important to you. Resist the urge to obsess or get stuck in limiting circumstance. Your depth of feeling can at times be overwhelming. Your personal color combines the passion of red with the detachment of purple. Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Ibis Rose allows you to share your insightful perceptions without getting bogged down by too many emotions."

Hmmm....

Time Made Visible

I need to think about the embroidered doodles.

In general, I work from compulsion to do, rather than from any fully formed sense of purpose or goal to achieve. Work is a process of discovery, a mystery like an archaeological dig with clues being unearthed one at a time. There are always questions.

Embroidery has probably been around since people first discovered that they could use thread to sew two cloths together to make things. The minute after someone figured that out, someone realized that designs could be made with thread on the fabric. Some people like to sew, and they embellished what they made with stitches. It is human nature to add decorative touches to things they make.

Embroidery makes me another woman in the chain of women who carefully stitch, who sewed, and who will sew throughout human history.

I think embroidery is Time made visible, Time made physical, in a distinct way that painting is not.

Brush strokes blend together or layer on top of one another with only traces of individual strokes remaining. Individual brush strokes are only distinct when there is a change of some sort, in direction, or brush size or color.

Stitches retain their individuality while forming part of the whole. A stitched piece is a record in a much more physical way than a painting is. Stitches occur in succession from the past, through the present, to the future.

The embroideries have direct lineage to the doodles, which are a clear part of my aesthetic and the foundation for all my work. This work is the most literal translation of doodles that I have ever done.
 
Stitching has been an element of my work since the early 90’s, when I was working on paper and began sewing them together to make larger sheets. Then, I started using embroidery to add, or emphasize detail, or simply for textural reasons.

For the moment, color is not an issue with this work, only contrast. Color has always been such a dominant component of my art. It is a challenge for me to take color out of the equation. Most likely, color will begin to creep into this work at some point.

Embroideries are the sum of the progression of one stitch to the next, about consistent recurrent effort, patience, harmony, and repetition.

Doodle Related Happenings

Google has been running a contest for kids to make Google Doodles. Google is my homepage, I see it every time I open my browser.

Takes me awhile, but I finally clicked on the link. You can vote for your favorite.I like this one, and it's  story.

A Fish Swallowed a Google

What if a fish swallowed a Google? He might oogle, zoogle, or boogle. He might get full before the gle and eat only the Goo. Poogle! The Goo comes out. And the fish goes swimming about. (Drawing by Sean Staats from  Paden City Elementary in West Virginia.)

Today is National Doodle Day! Or the May 8th-18th is anyway. Guess "National Ten Doodle Days in A Row" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

As part of NF Awareness month, celebrity doodles will be available for auction on eBay from May 8th - 18th. 

These doodles have a very important aim: the funds they raise will benefit NF, Inc., an organization dedicated to providing support to individuals and families affected by neurofibromatosis (NF).

Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that affects one in every 2,500 births. NF is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy and Huntington’s Disease combined. Funds raised from the Doodle Day auction will go to support education, advocacy, coalitions, and research for treatments and a cure.

You can find a gallery of the doodles here. The auction is on eBay and runs through May 18th.

But It's Not My Fault

I couldn't post last week's doodle because of "upgrading" of our computers.

Of course, nothing is working right. I am sorry! I will post it when I am able, but at least this week I can write a post or two.

And, to those of you who have emailed me, I will be answering as soon as I can!

Simple Gifts

Mixed media (or collage) artist Debbie Overton had a neat idea for her 50th birthday. No cake, no party, just share happiness in a blog post.How is she going to do this? By simply asking us to post things we are grateful for in our lives.

Sharing the things you are grateful for can’t help but make you happy, and it reminds other people to think of what they are grateful for.

For life, even though I have squandered far too much of mine.
For love, which I have given freely.
For love, which I have received, far more than I deserve
For laughter, compassion, strength and kindness.
For light, warmth, colors, shapes and forms, which allows us to see beauty and smiles.
For ears, which allows us to hear music, voices and laughter.
For hands, which allow us to touch, to make and to share.
For the people and pets which keep us from walking through this world alone.
For the stars, and the sea, the mountains and forests, plains and deserts, which remind us that we ourselves are insignificant, and just a small part of something which is much greater.

Thanks, Debbie,and a Happy Birthday to you!

Things I Am Looking At

With the holidays and travel, I have not been not painting or even doodling much, even though I should be panicking over my show which opens in a few weeks. I have been looking and absorbing lots of eye candy which I thought I would share because it is too cool to keep to myself.

I found this image on my desktop. It is of fabric samples, but I have no idea where I picked it up. I have done a lot of bookmarking of textile sites because of my dovetailing interests in pattern and love of fabric and needlework.

This is an embroidered beauty from Yorke Antique Textiles. It is an Italian Embroidered Panel from the 17th Century. They have a very nice website with lots of detail images in the galleries.

I recommend you peruse Meg Andrews for antique costumes and textiles. You could even wear some of it!

Have a napkin ready to drool in when you look at Thomas Cole for antique rugs and textiles, beautifully shot and well worth spending time with. This shawl from Turkmenistan is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Marla Mallett is another one. Can you believe that something this stunning was a saddle bag?

My favorite new artist is Laura Splan. She started out to study biology, before turning to art. Her work combines scientific and medical imagery with familiar materials, like needlework. The result is an exploration of dicotomy: comfort and discomfort, beauty and horror. I found her in Discover Magazine, of all places. Take a look and wonder at the work. It is breathtaking.

I also ran across Elaine Reich's samplers. I especially like this one, White Magic. I like the random symbology. It reminds me of my own work, especially the embroidered part of So the Story Goes.

Finally, just because I love how graphic these cows are, take a look at this amazing beast. It is a breed called Dutch Belted, moooooo-ve over Holsteins, this breed has you beat by a mile. I have had this pic floating around my desktop for a while and I may even have posted it before.

Don't they look like a prank done by a bored farmer? Love it.

Some Thoughts

I ran across this article in the New York Times, about the evolution of art.

It postulates that all art harkens back to the mother/child relationship. I am not totally convinced, but it is an interesting idea.

The idea that art was not designed to be the exclusive property of an elite, but rather a way to bring people together, seems directly counter to the prevailing world of visual art, which is based on exclusion. Art is a luxury item.

Artists and gallerists have the need to educate people about art in order to make them customers.

Maybe that is not the way over the barrier, maybe that IS the barrier for most people.

I know I am overwhelmed with things I have to learn to use. There is a manual for the phone, a manual for the tv, several manuals for my computer.  Only the techy geeks want to plunge through the entire manual, join online forums, go to conventions and product openings. I don't care. I just want to know which button to push so it will work.

Most people are stuffed with things they have to learn about. Buying a painting has simply become too much work for most people. Isn't it time for us to  say that it is to be ok to just like the pretty colors?