Patty Van Dorin

spring

While I am away doing some spring cleaning and studio maintenance, here is an old journal page to bore you with.
Dots, they are a recurring element.

simple scrapodex cards

The scrapodex cards have taken on a less complicated collage.
Lately, I have been sewing on random scraps from current projects to the original cards that came with this rolodex.

this one has the button card left over from making the wool shirt and sewn over it is a scrap from the silk scarf project

I like using bits and pieces of stuff that would be swept into the garbage.

Which has me thinking of Mottainai.

**From Wikipedia**

Mottainai  is a Japanese term meaning "a sense of regret concerning waste when the intrinsic value of an object or resource is not properly utilized".The expression "Mottainai!" can be uttered alone as an exclamation when something useful, such as food or time, is wasted, meaning roughly "Oh, what a waste!" In addition to its primary sense of "wasteful", the word is also used to mean "impious; irreverent" or "more than one deserves".

 Usage in Japanese

Mottainai in Japanese refers to far more than just physical waste (resources) as in other cultures. It can refer to wasted and wasteful efforts and actions, activities, time, souls, talents, emotion, minds, dreams, and potential. It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Mottainai activities commonly lead to anger or protest when the person who is observing the utter waste is incapable of holding back their emotions. Those who do not dwell on the negative and are resigned to move on are more capable of sadly regretting.

Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto (もったいない事).

__________________

I have a love of items that are patched and mended. While living in Nothern Japan, I fell in love with Japanese Boro.

This has ideas forming and is something that I want to explore creatively.
Using what I already have, repurposing, and creating are all things that I love.

Mottainai.

recycled scrapodex cards

My super tiny studio is limited in space and work area so I had a custom corner table made. 

The shelves still need to be put up and everything is a mess.
In the process of moving out all the stuff for the desk to be brought in, I found a box of unfinished projects.

Some are projects that didn't work and there are a few class samples.
They are perfect for cutting down for the latest scrapodex.

Trace around a rolodex card


I don't spend much time cutting perfect tabs because once the card is in the rolodex, it isn't noticable.
I do cut the tabs holes a bit on the big side so the card doesn't bind.

The Scrapodex is perfect for recycling.

I also made several simple cards just sewing down scraps I found while cleaning. These were made by sewing onto the original rolodex card.

and found a couple of old altered books with collaged pages

 

viewed from a different perspective

I had the step ladder out and was dusting the top shelves of my studio and realized how everything looks slightly different from the top of the step ladder.

I think I will carry this thought into the new year, to view things with a bird's eye view and look with a different perspective.

I love Fabric

many fabric related projects are in the works
the studio is a disaster when is always a good thing

wishing everyone the best of the New Year
take the vow this coming year
make it the year to use the good stuff

the orb

It only takes just a tiny whisp of a fiber to make me swoon, leave me weak in the knees and fall head over heels in love.

This one had me with the yellow.

Yes, I admit it. I am in love with Harris Tweeds.

Madly in love.
A love of this wool from Scotland that has no limits. I love it all.
A Harris Tweed junkie, I dream of Harris Tweed, I obsess about it and amass large collections of it.

A completely crazy infatuation, since I live in a tropical climate and maybe have two weeks a year if I am lucky, that I can wear anything made of wool.
Like so many loves, this one is mostly unrequited.

Excuse me now while I go turn up the A/C and refold my Harris Tweeds.

Do you have a love of something that is totally impractical?

forever tangerine

My dear old friend succumbed to a frozen click wheel.
Forever, she will be playing "Tangerine" as her swan song.

ribbon, roses and beads

today's inspiration

- a very shabby edition of "Modern Priscilla" cookbook
- owl carved from shell
- ivory colored bakelite flower piece from something
- ivory mahjong stick
- odd fabric button with metal studs

inspiration board