Banner Born

To website or not?....that is still the question...Have to do a build for an XHTML class in a little brushing up of the ol' skills set...its all balance baby...mind/body.spirit.
So wish to share cos right now I'm lovin it!

DIY Re-Fashion

Ready to rip; but a little timid? Try a class in Recycouture or start with learning some basic sewing skills. New classes will be forming in July. Check out the FashionEthos blog Summertime Sewin' for more info.

Mother's Day

In 1872, Julia Ward Howe tried to start a Mother's Day for Peace. A year later (June 2, 1873) women in 18 cities across America participated. The holiday was honored by women in Boston for another decade, but it phased out after Howe stopped funding it.

Anna Reeves Jarvis started Mother's Work Day to raise awareness of bad sanitation in West Virginia. Her daughter Anna Jarvis took on the mission with added agenda in 1912. Her efforts met with "success" when West Virginia adopted an official Mother's Day . Then two years later(1914), Congress passed a Joint Resolution. It was signed by President Wilson which established a national Mother's Day. However it emphasized the role of women in their families - and not, like Julia Ward Howe's campaign, in the public arena. (True Woman ideals)

Never a mother herself, the celebration of Mother's Day was Anna Jarvis’ lifelong mission. As the holiday expanded, Jarvis became dismayed by its commercialization. "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit," she is quoted as saying.

In remembrance of all great women,

Happy Mother’s Day

for it isn't the birth. its the caring

Choose to Evolve

I wonder how many creative, intelligent people take some refuge time in the left brain? It seems to be a good way to get the hemispheres communicating - a way to balance.

If that is true then the vice versa would probably be true as well. Whole brain = whole thought = wholistic.

Sustainablility and ecosystems are wholistic expressions that smash into the old Industrial Age concepts. The narrow and singular can't embrace open, complex, wondrously intricate and harmonic ideas of "the next." The planet is one big ecosystem that we are a part of and despite our vanity, we are expendable and given that ...I should think we shall learn to play nice with the whole package as well as with each other. I suspect our true hearts are born into it, we just get sidetracked.

P,S. Don't blame a dinosaur for thinking like a dinosaur; pity the critter but don't let it bully you... It's a mere remnant of dying ideas.

Real Art

I love this piece but don't know who created it. If anyone knows please tell me and I will give them the credit they deserve!

Greenfest Surprise

These Earth Day events are getting crowded, frequent and all over the place. April 13 & 14 was the Seattle Greenfest and it filled the Convention Center that Sunday. I had volunteered for Swap-A-Rama-Rama which is a recycle and sewing gig and then went to explore the business side. It is astounding what a year can do when a good thing is growing; good design, innovation, variety and choices are now the trademarks of sustainable entrepreneurs.

The heart warmiest surprise for me was all the young sewers that participated at the Swap. My first student was around 6 years old and we pulled a princess dress from a cocktail cast off. She was in charge of the foot pedal and did an amazing job. My camera died so I don't have a picture of her delighted swirl at the end but tis in me heart.

The 11-15 year old crowd was amazing. In fact they were the sewing majority and as a promoter of the tactile creative experience...well "the kids are all right."

We Need Fashion

We need to know what is in style so we know when we are not.

djb 2008

Thanks Mr Photoman

Lest it all look so tragic...the outcome is uplifting...Trust me!

Where have all the..........

....gone? Every day we add more flora and fauna to the list. We seem extremely capable of destroying life and when I ask why, I hear people say that it is in our natures. They point to history for proof and if you buy the past performance argument, you will be disheartened.

Don't buy it!

Never before have we had the technology, the diversity in education, the global connectivity, the capacity to understand and the willingness to change. We have the means for transformation!

We can forgive past ignorance but we cannot tolerate the way of life it generated. We have the heart, the courage and the intellect to create the world we believe possible. Pick your passion and recreate it, re-fashion it, re-purpose it or invent with sustainability in mind. Wow, we may really like ourselves after all!

Mourning garb1 dress started from a thrift store satin 1970s jumpsuit. The leaves are re-puposed from old "silk" flowers. Tulle is new but trims are sewing leftovers.

De-Tails

Funereal

Mourning garb2, dress from thrift store shirt, recycled trim and taffeta from the local Jo-Ann Fabrics. The rustle of taffeta makes a woman feel elegant even when sinking into rain saturated grass.

Show must Go On

Well, I haven't heard from Bumbershoot so I am guessing this year is out; however new support opportunities for this collaborative installation are peeking over the horizon and I am courting them because this isn't a mere flirtation. nope this is the real thing.

How can a fashion, video, photo, music, painting interconnect /mash up with an activist backbone and a sustainable heart, how can that not be exciting, interesting, fun, informative.....As an installation it will be more than entertainment. it will be a catalyst that grows possibilities; for once a person sees through an idea or theory or they challenge a construct of culture, they change their perceptions of the world and their place in it.

We humans thrive on change and challenge (see Brain Fitness on PBS anyone?) so beyond the eco, enviro, socio and politico issues it's also good for our health.....kind of proves the shake it up instinct!