Month: April 2015

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Finished, and now you are invited

Intentions Needle

Last night I placed the 1,476th and final intention on the blanket. Done. I must say my body will be happy to have a break from the work, which has been physically demanding. Each of the sewn squares required six separate, knotted stitched. As the weather has gotten warmer I’ve wanted to be outside more but finishing has kept me standing at the studio counter. So today I will be out walking to catch up on fresh air and sunshine.

One more interesting statistic from the blanket: one small sewing needle was used for the whole job. Not one type of needle. Just one, individual needle. When I started, there was only one needle I could find in the studio. I meant to get more, but didn’t get to it. And then that needle began to take on ritual significance. Now and then I would drop it, but it never when down a radiator or anything. It always came back!

And now it’s time to celebrate.

As promised, an exhibition of the blanket and other recent work will be held in my temporary Riversdale studio. The details are below, and all are welcome. Hope to see you.

A Gathering of Intentions

Open Studio

Saturday, April 25 — 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

208 Avenue D South, Riversdale, Saskatoon

Look for the yellow door!

 

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A Gathering of Intentions

  

After three months, I’ve almost finished the prayer blanket. Like a lot of projects, this turned out to be a bigger thing than I imagined at the start. There are about 1,500 little squares that make up the blanket, each of which is like its own mini painting. But it’s been a soothing and uplifting task to work on — gathering names and having conversations with people, painting, cutting, stitching and making intentions. Along the way, I’ve realized that people have a profound yearning for prayer, meditation, just sending what we used to call good vibes. 


Also along the way, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has gotten into the mix. I keep up with his website (yes, he has one!) and began devoting some squares in the blanket to his words of wisdom. His squares are done in gold — of course!

I’m going to be celebrating the completion at the end of the month with an exhibition of the blanket and some other recent works. It will be called A Gathering of Intentions, details to be announced. In the meantime, I want to thank everyone who has participated so far — thanks from my whole heart! There are still a few squares left and some work to do, so if you have names of loved ones to add, feel free to send them to me.