Post #3156: Things keep happening

You might have missed this on Friday, but I sent out March’s Comfort for the Apocalypse mailing titled Shelter in Place.

If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to do so and to subscribe if you like what you read. The monthly mailing is my attempt at writing longer reads on a theme – quite a different offering than this blog.

The month of March, particularly the latter half was a bit of a rush. I was in Vancouver for a week, then in rehearsals and the studio with Brian (and many others) for five days, I got sick, and then I had a union-related trip to Masset (in Haida Gwaii). I’ve been home for a few days now, with visits from friends, and I am so glad to have landed for a bit! Hearing the sea lions and watching the sun rise from my home office are grounding forces, and what connects me to a feeling of place in this turning of the season.

Through all of this I have somehow managed to keep up daily yoga, and meditation, and to some degree a regular creative practice. At least enough of a creative practice that I turned out an essay this month. My plan for April is lots of textile studio time. I’ve got plans to get one of the looms warped with a simple project, plus lots of sewing and textile collage ideas in mind.

Also – I have a large deck on my studio building that goes unused (except for the occasional time that Brian and I sleep on it). I’m planning to build a couple of work benches that will fit under the eaves and house an outdoor dye studio where I can experiment with plant-based dyeing of fabric and yarn. My goal is to have enough length so that I can paint warps if so desired, but also have a workspace for multiple people to come together for a workshop or learning event. To this end I’m going to build two tables with wheels that are 8 x 3 feet. These will store nicely under the roof overhang for the winter months, but can be pulled out and placed either end to end or side by side to create a long table or a square. Having not done much dyeing, I’m not sure how far down that path I’ll go – but work benches are always useful and all other supplies (buckets, pots, utensils, a coleman stove) are being sourced from the local recycling centre. It’s not a big investment except for in the time it will take to build the benches (a couple of days).

I’m home for all of the month of April (with a couple day trips to Nanaimo/Victoria) – so hopeful I can make some studio headway for the first time in awhile!