In the town.

By Misik Kim

         I live in the city.
The city has always approaches me in gray
Sitting on the the 13th floor apartment, I am dreaming of life in the countryside.

Size : 17 (H)ⅹ18 (W)

Dare 2 Dream

I have always loved the water. Some of my earliest memories are of swimming lessons and most of my fondest memories involve the water in some form. Lake, ocean, river, waterskiing, swimming, splashing, paddling. That I never attempted surfing could be attributed to many things: I am a girl, I didn’t see myself as athletic and, possibly most influential, I lived in a landlocked city. 

When a career opportunity to live in California coincided with a knee injury that ended my running hobby, I took to walking the beach. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the grace and skill of surfers. I was mesmerized. One morning I was walking along the beach, morose and complaining to myself that I couldn’t run, yearning for a sport I could love as much as running. It occurred to me: why not try surfing? 

So I did. And I loved it, instantly. Although it didn’t provide the same sense of achievement that running had, it provided a sense of flow and spirituality I had never encountered. Surfing refined me: from noticing that every wave is different, to patiently waiting for the right one, to accepting whatever the ocean deigns to offer. What a lesson for my life, my career. I was totally hooked and began a love affair with all things surf-related.

As my skill increased, I thought I might like to compete one day. Nothing big or important, just to do it. To stretch myself. But one thing I would never dare to attempt is big wave surfing. I mean BIG, like a four story building or bigger. I know I would love the thrill but I acknowledge I don’t have the physical capability. Nor am I that fearless. But I can dream!

Thanks Kate for the opportunity to dream about something I could only attempt if I were sure I wouldn’t get hurt. I would definitely use one of my nine lives to surf a big wave. And, since we’re dreaming, I’d do it in a bright pink bikini.

This piece is titled Dare2Dream and was painted, pieced and stitched like a crazy woman racing down the face of a wave yelling "Kowabunga!"

"Der fröhliche Wanderer"

"La Ville-Lumière", 9" x 27"

Thanks, Kate, for an interesting challenge.  As always, it inspired a lot of day-dreaming.  What would you do if you couldn't fail, if no harm could come to you?  Hmmm.

If I had 9 lives, I'd pack my bags and I would be out of here…..unquestionably, I would hit the road, all by myself.  With a pack, a camera and a GPS (okay, and probably an iPad or laptop), traveling far and wide, the more foreign, the better.  Visiting places where I can't decipher the signs with a cursory knowledge of Germanic languages. I'd visit Zanzibar and Namibia, India and Japan. I'd go to Morocco and Turkey and Thailand.  I'd climb mountains, soak in hot springs and witness celestial events.  I'd attend local celebrations and visit ancient ruins.  I'd wander off the beaten path and into fantastic cities. Everywhere. I'd go where I didn't know a soul or the language or the customs and I would experience it all and take it all in.  I'd send postcards to myself, collect tiny trinkets and baubles in my bag and take a million photos.  I would live in the moment, smiling to myself, rain or shine, humming "The Happy Wanderer".

And at some point, I would come home, briefly.

"La Ville-Lumière" (City of Lights), 9" x 27", was created with hand-dyed silk charmeuse, and silk and synthetic organzas, raw-edge appliquéd and machine quilted.  And, although I chose the Eiffel Tower to depict my travel bug, it would never be a destination in this venture. Far too western and familiar.

Mr. Socks Invents Whack-a-Lizard

When approaching this challenge, it took me several days to shake off the idea that I need to think of a 'risk', some adventure I'd missed doing along the way,  and rather, something I'd like to do if I could but can't.

After we returned from living in Australia in the early 1990's, my husband and I bought a house in Florida where he had been assigned.  We knew we would be there only a month before he would be reassigned temporarily to Seoul, Korea.  We bought a house to hold our 'stuff' until we returned. 

The first night of our moving temporarily into our new home, we heard a young cat meowing in our flower bed.  I inquired with the neighbors as to whose it might be.  They all thought it was ours as we three had appeared in the neighborhood on the same day.

At that time Palm Beach county euthanized 2500 abandoned dogs and cats a year.  (People come for holidays, think because the weather is so benign that their 'short-time' pets can shift for themselves!)

Naturally we took the cat in.  My husband's daughter was attending college nearby and agreed to move in with her rescued dog and house/pet sit until we returned three months later.

Interestingly I had always thought I was allergic to cats.  But Mr. Socks (named because he had four white paws) didn't seem to bother me.  We grew to love him and we have many, many Socks stories.  He was a real character.  Over the 13 years he lived with us, I had convinced myself that I had developed an allergic tolerance to him.

Socks was to be an indoor cat, largely because we are birders, but also because a gator would show up in the pond behind our house occasionally.  He preferred to be in…he'd heard the Florida panthers at night.  He loved to play and made the best of his indoor life.  

His favorite game he invented himself.  He would wait patiently in the screened patio for a lizard to show up…he would catch it gently in his mouth, march to the dining room and place it on the highly patterned rug.  The lizard would run to a shape…try to camouflage itself and hold very very still.  Socks would sneak up and give it a whack and watch it run to another spot to camouflage itself and hold still.  Repeat, endlessly.  It was Mr. Socks' own game of Whack-a-Lizard and he thoroughly enjoyed himself.  He wasn't the least bit happy when his 'person' would rescue the lizard and release it out of doors.

There's nothing quite like self-delusion.  I attributed my severe allergic reactions that came on while we were living in Florida to a plethora of other causes.  Never attributing my increased doctor visits to the cat.

After his death my symptoms slowly subsided.  We will never be able have another cat.

The risk I would take, if I knew there'd be no complications, would be to rescue another ginger cat.

Mr Socks: 9"x18"

Mr Socks detail

One of his toys

The Way WAY back machine

 When I first read the challenge, the first thing that came to mind was my long fantasized alternate career, that of a paleontologist.  The adventures of the early fossil hunters really captured my imagination when I was little, and the sight of fossilized remains brings an almost hallucinogenic sense of time travel.

Which of course led to the thought, why not time travel?
After all, Kate promises we won't get hurt!
I'd love to go WAY back, 300 million years ago, long long before the age of the dinosaurs, to explore paleozoic earth in the Devonian era.
Although life had begun to creep out onto land, the seas were full of amazing creatures- gigantic armored fish, trilobites of incredible diversity, and ammonites of all sizes teemed.
Crinoids, which I have depicted here, had evolved earlier, but reached incredible dimensions- the longest stem found to date is 130 feet long!

Crinoids, 18x18"

Crinoids were incredibly abundant, in fact there are entire limestone beds made up of their fossils.

They are even found on top of our Sandia Mountains, in smooth grey rock that has been pushed to 10.000 feet above sea level over the eons.

This piece was made on a piece of silk that was painted, then flour paste resist coated.

The fossils were sketched freehand, then stitched, and finally painted.

Thanks so much Kate for a thought provoking challenge!

Outer Space

When I was 13 years old, I wanted to be an astronomer.  I read extensively about the solar system, the Milky Way, galaxies, the universe, and everything.  But one day I discovered that to be an astronomer you needed to study and know a lot of maths. Unfortunately I was terrible at maths at school – it was a closed book to me – so that put an end to the idea of pursuing a career as an astronomer.  A great pity!  as I still have a strong interest in all matters related to the universe – from spinning galaxies, red dwarfs and black holes, to the subatomic particles that are being discovered in the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva - like the Higgs boson.  I am fascinated by, and watch, and read, a lot of stuff on astronomy, geology, physics and chemistry – although I still keep well away from the maths.

Recently I saw the film Gravity, and I thought that if I couldn’t be an astronomer, maybe I could try being an astronaut? However, the risks are great, as shown in the film – from debris in space, and other things. 

I am not normally a person that takes serious risks - although I have done occasionally in the past – but if I could be guaranteed not to get hurt by being out in space, and that I will land back on my feet, that’s what I like to do – be on a mission in a space station.

My textile vision of outer space was achieved by printing on fabric, heavily photoshopped photos I took of trails of Christmas tree lights – achieved by moving the camera while set on a very slow speed.

Alicia

Spelunking

spe·lunk·ing - noun: the sport or practice of exploring or studying caves

If I had 9 lives, I'd spend one of them swimming through the craggy caves and hidden passageways under the sea. 

I would call myself somewhat claustrophobic, although I can usually overcome this fear when I need to.  Touring caves on land, taking a tiny tram up to the top of a mountain or climbing a narrow staircase for a bird's eye view of New York City are a few examples.

The one time I went scuba diving, I loved it and would definitely do it again if I have the chance. But I just cannot imagine exploring caves under water.  Especially the ones that have long dark passage ways, with such tight spaces you have to remove your scuba tank and hold it in front of you to swim through.  Even picturing that in my head makes me queasy!

My challenge quilt is probably the closest I'll get to swimming through one of those tunnels. I added some colorful fish to make the "cave" seem more inviting and less scary. Good enough for me; I don't think I'll be underwater spelunking in real life anytime soon.

Technical details:
Commercial and hand dyed cottons and batik fabric, rayon thread
Raw edge applique, machine sewn and quilted
Finished size 18" x 18"

 

If I had a boat

One of the things I fear the most is sailing. I don't know why but I am not an 'on the water' person, unless it is extremely calm sailing! So this small 27" wide x 9" long quilt  If I had a boat  goes some way to giving voice to a braver me, which is what Kate's challenge has inspired.
The right piece of commercial fabric was in my stash; painted boat and letters added, then machine quilted.

May you have calm seas in 2014 or if not, be fearless in conquering your obstacles.
 

Life Celebration

by Lin Hsin-Chen

I have to admit that I’m not a smart enough woman. Being down-to-earth is my principle of doing things. People might think that I am a serious person, but that’s not true. I’m more like a self-motivated person. I have high standards for myself. In Chinese culture, the concept of accomplishing a goal can be described as a circular ring. It’s just like a flower head wreath which is filled with celebration. This challenge reminds me of the worthy achievements in the past and the celebration of life.

I would not say that the past is something hard to bear, because I’ve learned a lot through the times. If a woman’s wisdom is accumulated by countless ordinary fate, then I strongly believe that every challenge I encountered is sweet processes of my life journey. They are just like flower wreaths for our heads. Every painful challenge is worthy to try and experience because you will substantially benefit from them.

I used many small pieces of fabrics to make this quilt. Because of my poor health condition, I took a few days off from work. Therefore, I have more time to create this piece in a detail way. I enjoy the sewing process of this piece a lot because it was just like piecing my bright and happy memories together. This is the “Life Celebration” of me and thanks to this quilt, I recovered faster than I had expected. I cherish everything I have. Thank you, Kate, for this challenge.         

Materials: Commercial cotton, ribbon, beads, metallic threads

Techniques: 100% hand-stitched, appliqué, pieced, 3-layer quilted

Size: 64x45 (cm)