The news here in New York City, more specifically Manhattan, is that non-essential shops, restaurants, etc will continue to be in lockdown. Tell that to the Irish Pub less than a block away that is a thriving hive of activity, selling burgers and free shots to any who “need” it. As we were hit harder than anywhere else, this means that for some of us, we have been doing the whole #stayhomestaysafe thing since the end of February. Hence the Irish Pub giving out shots and being deemed “essential”. Which, I’d like to just say here, is both funny and kind of tragic at the same time.
The pub, a hub of activity.
The good news is the gym remains shut, and therefore I do not have to wake up at 6:00am and think – should I go workout or remain in bed staring at the ceiling wishing I could go back to sleep, knowing I won’t be able to, and then going, begrudgingly, at 6:30 or even 7:00 to the gym anyway, having spent the last hour facilitating between whether I should or shouldn’t go, thereby losing not just an hour of my time to the gym, but more like two hours, which really starts to piss me off.
The bad news is I’m at an age when going to the gym and getting exercise really shouldn’t be optional, and is therefore “essential,” but since I feel like I’m still in my late 20’s, I forget. Maybe I should get that drug made from jelly fish that’s supposed to help with memory loss… And then there’s the emerging new fad – running. Not running on a treadmill, but actually running outside. For those younger than 40 this will strike you as “new,” for the rest of us this is one of those – oh right, I remember running when I was in my 20’s, when everyone wore those nylon running shorts that looked like two petals overlapping and when you ran they’d kind of flap. For many of us it wasn’t attractive then and still isn’t now, though I hear that running attire has vastly improved, except I wouldn’t know firsthand as I have zero intention of going for a run down the still-sort-of-empty streets of Manhattan.
Anyway running is more a re-emergence much like culottes or what we called in the 60’s petal pushers, but that are now referred to as capris. Amazing how a new name and a little marketing can make any old thing seem new and tantalizing. (This was less a regression and more a tangent, but really what does it matter? It’s not like you have anywhere to go or anything else to do, right?) The point is, running has become a ‘thing’ again. Or so I’m being told. One of my girl friends runs now daily, though she insists she doesn’t run as much as she jogs or, as another friend of mine called it, a slow slog. Later I learned that she had actually said “a slow jog” but I mis-heard it as “slow slog,” which I like better. AND it made me reconsider my whole – You won’t catch me running unless it’s away from something or someone and I’m in grave danger of being physically injured. I even caught myself thinking – I could do a “slow slog”… tomorrow. Clearly I need the magical elixir that only a jelly fish can provide. Which, by the way, whaaaaaaaaaaaat?????? Who knew jelly fish had these super powers, let alone magical ones and how does whatever they have, have anything to do with memory and memory loss? I cannot be the only one asking these questions. Or am I?
Don’t answer that.
So another few weeks or maybe months of #stayhome, making the whole #staysafe part of the hashtag questionable, because really, who is “safe” when you’ve been cooped up inside for going on three months or more? Or do we need to redefine the word “safe”?
Regardless, I have some stitching to do and another couple YouTube videos to record, edit and post.
Don’t forget to #stayhome and do your best to #Staysafe and if you’re feeling really adventurous go for a slow slog.
Every morning my husband and I read something we find interesting and thought provoking, and then we discuss. It’s become a ritual of sorts and has been incredibly helpful, even transformative in many ways. Not least of which is that I so often am reminded of creativity and stitching, and how both are a process and ideally, embraced.
Every day I sit in my little creative room and I stitch. Each day that act of stitching is a new experience, an exploration of the physical, but also of the emotional and even the spiritual. I gather together my materials, usually beginning with colors, and then I either sketch out an idea or just begin stitching something. What’s interesting is that sometimes things just unfold beautifully and without interruption and 45 minutes to an hour later I have something I like or, if I’m really lucky, something I love. But there are other days when that just doesn’t happen. I struggle, I tear out, I undo, redo, undo again. I walk away, I come back, I sketch an idea, I start again. Hours can go by and eventually I end up with something that I’m okay with, although perhaps not thrilled with. Still, I’ve learned to leave it alone and days later I may come back and think – I love this! Or not. The point is, it’s all a process and it’s the process I’ve become increasingly fascinated by and have learned to love.
Circle #42 took 45 minutes start to finish. Circle #44 took several hours… (And I made up a variation on the whipped woven circle that I’ve not seen before, though I do not claim to have invented this, I’ve just never seen it before, so if it exists, it does so without my knowledge of it.)
Each circle has its own personality and each one was a different experience to stitch. What I’ve learned from years of designing is that I must trust the process. I must trust myself. I must trust that if I stick with it, something magical will reveal itself, even if it’s not always in a way that I instantly recognize. It can be said that this is true for life as well.
My Tendril Circle. I can’t remember how long this took, but I had an idea and went with it. There wasn’t any ripping out and beginning again, but rather the steady process of continuing to let it unfold.
Every Wednesday I am devoting a video to creating, designing and the creative process. Those videos can be found ‘here‘. Stay tuned for a new one coming tomorrow!
This is the title of my latest YouTube video where I talk about how easy it is to talk oneself out of creating something new. Ever had the experience of thinking – “I’m going to design something new, I don’t know what yet, but something!” and then you sit down and suddenly you’re thinking about all the laundry that needs to be washed, the floors that need mopping, the faucet that should be looked at, the emails that need answering, suddenly, even your taxes seem like a good idea? Yeah… I know. Crazy. I’ve been designing or creating something, in some medium, my entire adult life and yet, this still happens to me (ok, I totally exaggerated about the bit about how I consider doing my taxes instead of creating. That hasn’t happened yet, but all the other things I’ve contemplated, I swear.) I’ve learned a few things over the years, and I discuss a couple of them in my video.
When I wasn’t taping and editing that video, I was trying to figure out how to make an Instagram Story. For anyone younger than 50 reading this – I know, I know, but I didn’t grow up with this stuff and it can seem pretty daunting. However there’s hope, even for me. Below is my very, first Instagram Story that I posted yesterday afternoon with a lot of guidance and help from my friend and chef extraordinaire Vikki, @Chefvikkik. Thank you Vikki! ❤️
My mother is a wonderful source of humor and joy, particularly during this pandemic when she’s taken to sending us (her children) videos, photographs and sometimes text of things other people have created. Here’s one of them – this one is from Daniel Emmet singing his version of Nessun Dorma. Wonderful!
And then there’s this from Taavi Metsma coming up with a great new exercise routine, which I won’t be able to do because we don’t have that many spare rolls of T.P. in our house. He’s clearly flaunting his stash, making the saying “compare and despair” all the more real and distressing!
A number of people expressed interest in seeing the pieces I use to illustrate a particular stitch I’m demonstrating during my YouTube videos. As I’m showing how to do a stitch, the camera is focused on my stitching, and doesn’t pull back enough to see more than a few inches of the piece I’m working on, so I made a “Studio Tour” video.
Which got me thinking about the other question I get a lot of, “Where do you find your inspiration?”
And the answer to that is – everywhere.
What follows are a few things that have inspired me over the last few weeks. I’ve included a couple of quick tours of buildings that caught my eye on a recent stroll I took with my husband a few days ago. These are just random buildings that we pass all the time as we walk about our beautiful city. Inspiration is literally around every corner. Welcome to the beauty and inspiration of Manhattan!
This is the cheesecake I made for our very small family dinner on Easter Sunday. It reminds me of the Raised Cup Stitch. The recipe is from my mother. I cannot remember where she got it from. Perhaps she will remind me!
The beautiful iron work grill above a doorway right around the corner from where I live in Manhattan. One of thousands – a building’s facade reminding me to look up!
Built in 1906, I couldn’t find out anything more about what this building once was; it is now an office building.
Built in 1900, this building was originally a button factory. But look at those lion’s heads. Amazing.
During this time of quarantine, particularly in New York City where most of us do not have a back yard we can wander or just sit in, to get a little fresh air, doing something that connects us, feels less like a luxury and more like a necessity. A connection to our planet, to one another, things once taken for granted are what call out during this time of forced isolation.
My mother sent me a video from an unknown source that uses works of art to underscore what we are currently going through and what many are feeling.
A man in Barcelona plays John Lennon’s Imagine from his balcony, courtesy of YouTube.
In Florence Maurizio Marchini serenades his city
Art – the ways in which we express the wonder and beauty of life through our emotions, creativity and talents is how we connect to each other, to ourselves, and to this world.
I haven’t stepped foot out of our house since Saturday, but I have had hundreds of interactions with people from all over the world, which is both amazing and delightful. Community. During a period when we cannot actually be with our friends and extended family, connecting over common interests is all the more desirable.
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