Yesterday I read
Which I'd read years ago, forgotten the title, but it's just as gripping the second time. Thanks for reminding me of this one, Pam.
I'm always looking for new Kate Atkinson novels, but in their absence, her writing is great enough to reread anyway.
I'm very tired, probably the emotional fallout from dealing with the eye situation ss well as sudden hot weather. So I've decided not to bravely push on, but to yield and rest. I did make it to the PO yesterday to send off the socks for this month.
And yesterday I rubbed ink. Chinese ink stick, you rub it slowly, meditatively, on the block with water, in preparation for drawing or calligraphy.
Here I'm testing to see how black it is. Making ink is really part of the art, like warping the loom is part of the weaving. It takes time and quiet, and your mind is getting ready for the next stage.
In this case I made ink yesterday to use today. It was so good to be reunited with the block, which I haven't used for a long time.
I had even forgotten I had it, because I'd used the back of it as a block for printing on fabric, then another artist pointed out it was an artwork in itself.
It ended up being exhibited, though not for sale, and came home to hang on the wall.
I only remembered it was my ink block when I emptied the studio, found the ink stick and started looking for the block, which was hanging on the wall right in front of me.
So it's back to its other function.
It's lovely to handle pens again, crowquill from long ago classes, and one of the calligraphy set Judy T. gave me, also long ago.
While I was retrieving the ink block, I also came across this painting on a tote, same period as the fabric printing with the ink block, but this is freehand. I can press this one into service as a Sock Ministry project bag.
I went through a bag painting period a while back, also taught it, nobody knows the stuff I've got into here and there.
Hot today, moving slowly, staying in and cool.
Maybe keeping cool is a good idea in every sense. Some good people are at work, the EU opening candidacy to Ukraine, the Jan 6 committee exposing crimes ready for indictments, maybe we can trust them all to do their jobs.
