Of Stitching and Sloughs

Finding myself in an endless Slough of Despond occasioned by just one too many (twenty too many?) stories about human beings wreaking or threatening to wreak havoc on whole groups of other human beings, I sat down to stitch. Making could be a useless act at this point in time but it might just be an act of defiance in the face of all the destruction and hatred. And making does nourish my spirit, which is sorely in need of nourishment.

So instead of railing against walls and guns and governments slipping into chaos, I will focus on a little 12 x 12"piece I finished, called Spring Thaw, the time when trickles keep expanding into rivers of new life:

This is another of my textured series, with hand stitching creating those wonderful ridges and wrinkles in my hand dyed cottons and silks--lots of silk in this piece. It was supposed to be sent off to the auction benefiting SAQA but didn't make the deadline. There's always next year and  it will be useful for several other shows.

And just to reinforce my decision to return to my studio for a while, this morning I happened upon an article by Carey Dunne about a new study demonstrating that making art (even if you're not very good at it--thanks for the encouragement!) reduces stress hormones in most people. This may not help a family trying to flee Syria but it might help those of us who are trying to find a way to help.