keyshape

I found these on one of my lazy searches on japanese textiles, and it turns out these pieces are owned by a Brooklyn gallery owner Stephen who runs Sri Threads, who gave me permission to use some images from his Flickr stream.  Many of these works are pre-19th century, hand-dyed with indigo, and meticulously pieced together - including the very first selection.  If you visit his Flickr you can see some beautiful close-ups of the hand-work.

I returned from my fourth summer spent in Alaska.  As always it was very helpful to help clear my mind and bring me serenity!  My favorite thing to do is look at the forest floor.  It is especially dramatic in a temperate rainforest, where water is acting on everything in a thousand different ways.  I love pressing my hand into a patch of ground moss, and seeing it become submerged in inches of water.  I love seeing a rotting log, soaked in water, slowly getting eaten by lichens and bugs, becoming reabsorbed into the earth.  I also love the efficiency of the forest in channeling moisture.  Many times it would begin showering and barely a drop would hit us due to the thick canopy above.  It makes me sad coming back to the city and seeing all the water careening down the indifferent pavement, collecting pollution into the sewers and throwing it out to sea.  Which reminds me...



Isn't this incredible?  Oysters are one of nature's most efficient filters.  It's too bad their populations have become decimated in the waters that most need it...

On another note, here is a photograph of water, in the form of a cloud hat, sitting on top of a mountain:

That is Mt. Vestovia, which Brian and I climbed the first time we visited - it is where I encountered my first ghost!  More photos from my trip can be found on my Flickr page.