spirals - a universal pattern

Sonja Hinrichsen draws in snow. Her landscapes are collaborative, experiential and temporal. Her goal is to further the appreciation of the natural world. She says it this way:

These works correspond with and accentuate the landscape, and I hope that they help arouse appreciation and consciousness for the natural world. Modern society is becoming increasingly more disconnected from nature. I believe, however, that for a successful future of humanity it is essential that we re-gain a greater awareness of our planet’s nature. - Sonja Hinrichsen.

Sonja Hinrichsen snow drawing at Catamount Lake, Colorado

Spiral meander, Paula Kovarik

Those of you who have followed my work may see a strong resemblance to some of my doodling. That's why when I saw Sonja's work I was immediately attracted to it. I wondered about how universal patterns like the spiral become part of an intuitive vocabulary we all recognize and use --the pattern that connects (see Gregory Bateson for more discussion of this). I know that I am entranced by them. My work intuitively follows those patterns.

Spirals are everywhere: shells, leaf whorls, water currents, dna, wind patterns -- even the path of the moon around our earth and sun and the galaxy within which we live. (There is a wonderful discussion about fibonacci spirals here: Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci and Being a Plant by Vi Hart)

So I wonder...since we are part of a spiral galaxy does this influence the way things grow and the way we interpret them? Is the answer in the spiral?

fleeting shadows

Time moves too quickly. 2014 is coming to a close, holidays rushing in. No time to reflect...only to do. I read something the other day that reminded me to seek a stillness of mind. I think that is why I am drawn to this art form. It requires me to be still, to think slowly for long periods and to contemplate the detail while allowing the whole to exist.

This shadow stain on a sidewalk reminded me that the time we have is precious, short and easily washed away.

All I need is a cot and a hot plate

Walking into the studio this morning I was welcomed by sun streaming into the windows, six different projects on the tables and an intriguing list of research subjects to pursue. The studio was reorganized from top to bottom this past weekend due to the helpfulness of my wonderful husband. We installed new shelving that allowed for more floor space and direct lines of sight from my sewing station to the design board.

Now all I need is a cot and a hot plate. I never want to leave this space.

cold snap

The weather maps I have been collecting for the past year are decidedly blue and purple in cast -- a sign that arctic winds are traveling south. So it was with a sense of joy I noticed these colors in the kitchen. The rescued tomatoes and the first winter lentil soup.

the [ is it worth it? ] debate

Inevitably, at some stage in every project, I come to a point where I have to ask: is it worth it? Yesterday was one of those days. While working on the continent portions of this world map quilt I decided to add a running stitch horizontally across the space defined by the continents. Thus:

horizontal hand stitching

Those horizontal hand stitches added a nice texture that contrasted with the machine stitching nearby. Needless to say, there are a lot of continents on this map and the time it takes to add the running stitch is not inconsequential. Then, I experimented with another set of running stitches at a 90 degree angle. Thus:

90 degree stitching for new texture

Double the texture, double the time. And, did I mention the number of threads I need to bury where the machine stitching hits the continents?

So, is it worth it?

I decided yes.