Wednesday, January 06, 2010

where are my clothes?

Uh - they're in there somewhere. You can see the edge of my sweatshirt, bottom right, buried in scraps. Not sure I can close the bag but we'll see.I just have to find space for shampoo, toothpaste, etc. If not, there is a Publix on every corner. Ok, I admit it, I am obsessive about taking enough fabric to give me some choices - but I will just have to make do with what I am taking: it will force me to be more inventive. The last time I spent several weeks in West Palm Beach, my mother had broken her hip and I stayed with her till she was well enough to travel. I was working on my book at the time and spent every spare minute hiding out on the porch, printing fabrics. I didn't care what they looked like as long as I could work. Truly, work saved my sanity. It was three weeks of hell. This time I am not printing - I have enough printed fabric for 10 lifetimes if I never print again, and I simply have to use some of it. I will continue cutting/sewing strips and will be curious to see whether it is different in any way because of the change in locale. With all the packing, I haven't had much time to work. Here's today's catch.
In the meantime, after the comments about the fabric I found and posted the other night, I decided to revisit the other fabrics I printed around the same time. Yep, it's a series all right. Pack and Ship? I shipped an extra sewing machine to leave there. I took it to my local, annoying, UPS store Monday. It was in the box with all the foam and stuff it had been packed with when the ebay guy shipped it from Ohio. But my UPS store said it wasn't packed well enough to survive a drop from 30 feet so they wouldn't pay if it got damaged. WTF??? I would have to repack it or put the box into another box (which they would sell me for $13.) Then, they could not guarantee t would be there by Friday. Friday??I'm arriving Wed. and want it there on Thursday. To guarantee a Thurs. delivery, $147. WHAT?? More than I paid for the sewing machine. I said "bye." I went home, repacked the machine in a load of bubble wrap, re-sealed it and called FedEx. They picked up the box at my house and it will be there on Thursday. $56. Can you imagine?? I am obsessively checking my iPhone to see what the temps are in south Florida. Right now it is 25F outside my window and 39F in West Palm. I'm not too worried about nighttime temps because I don't think we'll be out and about too much at night. Daytime forecast for the rest of the week is 55-69 degrees (sounds dowright balmy to me) and rain for a couple of days. Should we pack an umbrella?? Maybe. If I can find room in my suitcase. Fat chance. Working in a Series? Just for the heck of it I decided to post all the pieces I made from fabric printed around the same time as the found one I posted the other day. All of these screenprints were layered on top of fabric I did not like. This first one was printed on a piece I had batik'd. Then I cut it and put it with other fabrics. It's about 24" x 24" (I think) and is for sale. $350.
Aftermath
This next one was also overprinted on a piece I had batik'd and didn't like. It is much improved, to say the least. Click to enlarge.
Whose Woods? (sold)
detailThis was overprinted on a badly dyed piece of fabric. It is currently hanging at the Carnegie Center for the Arts in Form Not Function. This is also for sale - contact Form Not Function for the price. Element
detail
So finally, we come to this. It'll get done when I need a break from sewing strips. Hopefully, the wonderful security at Newark Airport will let me through with all my electronic paraphenalia: laptop, iPhone, Kindle. 2 cameras, 2 camera chargers, 2 card readers, 2 iphone chargers (1for car) kindle charger, computer charger. What did I forget? Time to set the alarm for tomorow morning. I will only have Internet access if I can hijack a signal. I can use my iPhone for e-mail and browsing the web but it is rather a pain to type on and I'm not sure about posting to my blog, esp. with photos. So we'll play it by ear.

14 comments:

Diane Cransac said...

If you think the post is bad there...try moving to France! OMG what a nightmare. The first year here we sent a HUGE box of assorted types of candies and chocolates to my son in the US for christmas. The postage cost more than the chocolates themselves which was quite a bit. They never made it there. I couldnt even get a reply from the PO about why or where they ended up.

Eva said...

What a beautiful art show. Rayna, you are lucky to escape winter. We have Siberia every night -- 5°F peaks.
I wish you a wonderful time.
How long will you stay?

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

Safe journey... just watch what you pack in your undies! ;->
BTW, I love the overprinting to cover fabric you don't like! I'll have to try that...

Diane Wright said...

OMG! I love the series!
BTW how long will you be in West Palm? Teaching at the guild?

Sherryl said...

Have a safe trip and try to relax a bit.

kathy said...

I hope some of this is a vacation for you! Thanks for the preview of your piece from Form Not Function. I plan to attend the opening reception on Friday night...but they are forecasting snow here for the next couple of days, so I am not sure I will be there. I am hoping it doesn't ruin my plans! Have a safe trip.

Fibra Artysta said...

I've come to dread going to UPS. In fact, I rarely ship with them anymore. Seems no matter how I pack it, its never good enough and they want to sell me tons of packaging and boxes. And their prices are ridiculous.

The final straw was when I took a box with a quilt to ship to a show (the show required UPS) and they guy actually *stepped* on it to see if it could withstand the weight of heavier boxes on it. So done with UPS.

Unknown said...

Oh Rayna, those pieces in your (previously created, newly discovered) series... oh my oh my oh my, they sing to me.

I hope your time in Florida is warm and sunny, stressfree (what are the odds?), stripalicious, and filled with high bandwidth (totally selfish hope on that last one- I will greatly miss your blog updates if you can't post them).

Gerrie said...

I am sitting here giggling. I hope the weather changes for you. You would be better off in CA or OR this week, if you want to escape the cold. Hope you have a relaxing and creative time.

Vivien Zepf said...

Have a great trip, Rayna. Looks like you're packed for it! :)

Sujatha said...

wow..you definitely "packed" in a lot ...in words, art and stuff....Have a great time wherever, whatever you are going to be doing!! Just keep the blogs coming ...I need them with my morning cuppa!!

Sandy said...

Hey- we have clothes down here, you don't need to bring them! Also umbrellas. They take up too much room to haul. And I know where you can post to your blog! Sorry about the UPS troubles- those UPS stores are the bane of existence- I have fights there every time I enter. If you are missing any 'necessary' stuff, let me know and you will be taken care of- my only apology is for the freezing weather- though it IS supposed to warm up for a day or two before dipping again to 30's. Sorry- this really isn't normal! Ask Al! Can't wait to see you-

Kathy said...

Good grief. You and Sandy in the same place. I would pay to just sit and listen.
Safe travels - Michigan is sub-freezing and expecting snow. At least you won't have that - though my sister has 20's in Tallahassee. Lots of whining.

Barbara said...

Good for you for figuring out how to beat the $147 by a long shot!

Your work is exquisite! Hope you don't freeze in sunny Florida. It can actually get cold there.

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