Collage Series 2: Three Graces

Collage 2.8- Three Graces, copyright 2020 Linda Farrelly

Do these ladies look familiar? Sandra, Tina, and Nancy from Three Fates, another picture taken on the same day. These three, in many ways, were the center of my life. My grandmother Sandra was the head of the family. Aunt Tina had no children yet but loved to "borrow" my brother and me for outings and weekends. She was like a second mother to us. And of course, my mother Nancy. She enjoyed having us around but wasn't always sure what to do when things went south.

One day we were driving somewhere on the Long Island Expressway. Me and my brother were bickering (big surprise) and she had asked us to knock it off several times. Exasperated and about to blow her top, she pulled over on the side of the highway and told us to get out. We did, and she pulled away. We just stood there, unsure of what to do. We were both in grade school at the time. A few minutes later she came back and pulled over in front of us, just sitting there with the motor running. We promised to be good and got back in. It was never spoken of, at least not for a loooong time.

All of us have had these moments as parents. Nobody can drive you nuts-er than your own progeny. Were we scared? You bet. Did we simmer down once we got back in the car? Indeed. You have never seen two quieter children in your life.

Lately, I have become fond of using negative space in collages. Sometimes the cut-away "background" is at least as interesting as the figure I cut out. And what a fun way to talk about people's "internal" space, thoughts, feelings, moods. With these three women, everyone is smiling, but there's a lot going on inside them and between them. Lots of history, lots of emotion, lots of backstory.

Collage Series 2: Three Fates

Collage 2.7- Three Fates, copyright 2020 Linda Farrelly

Rummaging through the family pictures again. I found some pictures of (L to R) my aunt Tina, grandmother Sandra, and my mother Nancy. Not sure of the year, but I think it must be the mid to late 1960s. They were the universe from which I emerged, running through the woods in my red coat and hat.

I really did get to grow up running through the woods in Bald Hill Ski Bowl, something for which I am eternally grateful. We played in hollow trees, sledded down the service roads, rode bikes on the paths, took the shortcut under the fence that the neighborhood dogs had dug. In the winter, they flooded a basketball court for ice skating, renting out skates and selling hot chocolate. Sometimes I came across treasures in the woods. I once found a tiny bible, about 1.5" tall, and the pages pivoted out of the metal cover. I don't know what happened to that, but I do have the silver ring with a man's face on it that I found when I was about 7.

According to Wikipedia, the Three Fates "were the white-robed incarnations of destiny...Clotho ("spinner"), Lachesis ("allotter") and Atropos ("the unturnable", a metaphor for death). They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction. Both gods and men had to submit to them..."* Sounds about right, sounds like the women in my family. 

I like how their bodies sort of rise up and grow out of the picture of the nebula in the middle. Also, I enjoy how the trees at the top look like birds wings or feathered cloaks wrapped around the sisters, enclosing them, and protecting my world.

The nebula pic and the starry background came from Scientific American, and the trees came from Spark, put out by the most awesome Anythink Libraries.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moirai

Collage Series 2: Inner Light

After I cut out all those pictures for Playing Ball, I realized the backgrounds were every bit as interesting as the figures I removed. What to do, what to do...

Collage 2.3: Inner Light, copyright 2020 Linda Farrelly

Using the negative space is a fun way to talk about internal vs. external reality. I look at that little girl and see all this sweetness and joy, and just a bit of mischief. When you take away the physical form, what lies beneath?

Collage Series 2: Playing Ball

I enjoyed the whole family pictures idea, so I decided to play with trio of photos my father took of me when I was a small child. He had a double lens reflex camera, the kind you look down into to take a picture. I like how these three pics tell a little story and I have them framed together in my home. I decided to use some of the cloud pictures I have been taking for the last 7 years. When I got my first cell phone, I fell in love with the sky and took hundreds of pictures, something I still do (but not as often). I printed out some skies, and I printed out some me-s in different sizes, and I got to work.

First, I tiled some sky pictures to cover the background. Printer paper in 8.5x11, and the bristol is 9x12, so I moved everything around until I liked it, then taped it down and trimmed the edges. Cutting out the me-s was fun, cut out a bunch more than I used so I am sure they will pop up again sometime. Plus, so cute! Moving them around on the page felt kind of like playing paper dolls. I glued those down and got out the colored pencils.

Playing Ball in progress

At first, I thought I would just color the balls, then I drew one in the corner so she (I) would have something to chase. I posted it to the group, but it didn't feel quite done. A week later I got the pencils out again and kept going.

Collage 2.2: Playing Ball, copyright 2020 Linda Farrelly

I wanted to blend the cloud images together so it looked more cohesive. Also thought the idea of more balls scattered in the clouds sounded fun, so I went for it. I did a little and set it aside, off and on for a few days. Deepened the blues of the sky. Darkened the colors on the balls. Made some shadows. Drew a cloud under the me that was floating in space. I don't think my white colored pencil has ever gotten such a workout! Touched up a few spots with sharpies. I was afraid I would go too far, but I think I stopped at the right time.

It's funny using pictures of myself, especially ones where I was young enough I don't remember anything. It's like looking into another world (and it is, really), or looking at a storybook. Once upon a time, I wore a white jumpsuit and a bonnet, and all I needed was to be out in the sunshine with a ball to play with and I was in heaven.

Back to work!

Truth be told, I did get a lot of knitting and planning done over the holidays, but not a lot of documenting. Plus the internet has been fickle, only letting us on for a while at (very) odd hours. So, no pictures, no blog. But lots or fun, and lots of rest.

It was great spending big chunks of time with Kevin and the kids. It's quite rare for everyone to be home at the same time any more. Over break, we all went to Solabration and danced, all went to the movies, all went to Christmas Eve dinner with Kevin's parents. We even hung around the house all day more than once. I must say that the kids are shaping up to be very interesting human beings. It was nice to have the time to talk with them at length about what they're up to, what they're thinking about. Now that the girls are in high school, it doesn't happen much.

Kevin has another few days before he goes back to work, so I'll have him all to myself, at least in the daytime. When we're all running around doing stuff, sometimes I forget how much I enjoy his company. Since he's been working less, and been off work for 3 weeks, he is much more rested and relaxed. I am too.

This week I'd like to finish weaving the silk noil shibori warp and wind a warp for the towel exchange that's coming up. I'd like to block a few things that I finished in December, but that may not happen until next week. I do need to cast on some lace for a show I'd like to enter at the end of the month, a Niebling design called Veronika. If I have time before the deadline, I'll do a smaller one as well.

Our new front door has a lovely, large window in it that's just begging for a lace curtain. I do need to dig out the linen yarn I put in the shed to make room for the Christmas tree and see what kind of pattern to use for the design. It's supposed to get very cold and snow again in the next few days, so I guess the trip to the shed is a "today" thing.

Back soon, with pics!