A Sea Monster in My Pocket

Clothing has required more attention since I returned to teaching after a long hiatus. At the same time, I remain committed to recycling and upcycling. Sooooo...
One white shirt 

with a hole in a strategic place

and a pretty fabric






inspired an appliqué design that looked like a sea monster at first.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding--it's meant to be worn.














The owner of the shirt in front of a pomegranate tree.

Maybe it's a multi-headed sea monster or a plant from another planet? In any case, I'm certain there will be more appliqués added on because white is so treacherous.

I'm not sure this is the "Professional Look" students are expecting....ahhhhh, but now that I am old I can wear purple with a red hat.....

Linked to Nina Marie's "Off the Wall Friday".

Round 'n Round We Go

Just as I was getting to my textile journal page for the third political assassination of last July, Mohamed Brahmi's death came to the fore again, adding to the long list of tragic scandals and scandalous tragedies that characterize the religious party's rule.

And so, one sunny, summer day...

Toward the beginning of July, information came to the authorities about a possible political assassination to happen the month of July. The 14th of July, the CIA sent a message to the Tunisian authorities warning of an assassination plot against Mohamed Brahmi, an opposition member in the Constitutional Assembly. The PM was informed the 15th, but, not the Minister of the Interior...for some reason. In any case, nothing was done and Brahmi was gunned down in front of his house July 25th.

The plot thickens.

At the beginning of September, the CIA note was leaked to the press, creating a furor. A government spokesman said the note had required verification.

Well, verified it was a week and a half later.

This reads like a cheap, barely plausible, espionage or detective novel. Except that a popular novel ends with some kind of resolution: problem solved, even if a big stretch of the imagination is required.

However, guess what?

No problems solved for Tunisians. The government has made no effort to conduct a serious, non-partisan investigation to determine responsibility. A number of criminals have been arrested, however, judges have become notorious for acquitting extreme right militant thugs and the assassins will probably be set free. All this smacks of duplicity and complicity. 

July 25, 2013, Mohamed Brahmi assassinated.
They knew, and did nothing.

Is anyone surprised?

And yet, a shred of hope remains. A courageous group of lawyers, called "Initiative for the Search for the Truth about Chokri Belaïd's Assassination," is taking the Tunisian government to court in France for State crime (crime d'Etat). Thus, they hope to bring international attention to this affair. If the French courts should determine responsibility, then it could go to the international court at The Hague.

That should be interesting.

Will Tunisians remember all this? Certainly, yet because the Tunisian government goes from scandal to scandal, one scandal will erase another. 

Already another scandal is in the making.......

Process photos here.

An Open Letter

Dear Blogging Friends,

      First of all, I would like to thank all those who left a comment about comments over at MulticoloredSnippets. As I explained, my work load has increased due to family circumstances and a teaching job that starts tomorrow, and I had debated about shutting down the comments section since I am simply unable to respond to comments. I truly appreciated the feed-back and so I have been able to decide (without feeling guilty) that I will leave the comments section open with the understanding that I won't be able to respond for the time being except to specific questions, which I will try to answer immediately in the comments section. Like everyone else, I enjoy getting comments and on certain rough days I live for those comments. I appreciate the recognition of my work and this is the only place I get it, for the time being. Now I will look forward to visiting your blogs and leaving comments during vacations--this is such a creative community of which I want to be a part. 

      Secondly, I went to Tunis today to see my dentist (you needed to know this, right?). Wouldn't you know, two days before classes start, I had a sharp broken filling that wounded my tongue. Tomorrow I have to talk all day [my husband says I talk too much. I say it's lucky I got a job that pays me to talk] and how do you do that when you can't move your tongue? Thus, the visit to the dentist. 

       The point of all this is that I was thoroughly horrified by the filth of all kinds in the big city. Street vendors have taken over quite a number of streets--the word "rabble" comes to mind. The police seem totally overwhelmed (or else they're not getting orders to keep order), the situation is chaotic. My dentist, who owns a lovely apartment for his office in an old colonial building is now seeking another location--mind you, this is prime real estate in downtown Tunis. I've never seen the capital like this and I feel so sorry for all the Tunisians I know. They are just as horrified. And, of course, the state of the streets reflects the state of the State.

      Suddenly, I didn't want to be here anymore. Like in so many other countries, the city is moving out to engulf the agricultural regions. Our farm will not be able to resist much longer, especially with the total lack of local authority and rampant, uncontrolled construction taking place. Maybe I can face changes with more detachment, now. Or maybe the status quo will continue, but we will entrench ourselves and not go into the city unless necessary. My artwork will probably reflect this more and more--a terrible, wrenching cry from the guts.

      Today was a hard day. And yet, the sun shines, a warm breeze rustles the leaves, I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and loved ones around me. Tomorrow will be a better day. Thank you for listening and understanding. Thank you for your virtual presence and encouragement. Thank you for clicking and taking the time to read.

best, 

nadia

Sparkling Garden

Last year at about this time I complained about my Gasping Garden (here) and the relentless heat that went from June into October. This summer has been pleasant, with only a few excessively hot days in August. In fact, it has rained off and on over the past couple of weeks, causing my garden to sing and to sparkle. The result: my succulents have been multiplying when I'm not looking, to the point of overrunning the nursery corner under a lemon tree. Take, for example, my kitchen patio plant table that now looks like a jungle--to my delight.

Just love all that green. The bidet (on the right) has been engulfed. The walls have had a fresh coat of whitewash and I painted all the wrought iron black to get rid of the rust that was eating it away.

The white painted barrel tucked behind the table will host a small tree once the temperatures drop so I can transplant safely.
But, what has me jazzed today is my new plant table in the patio on the opposite side of the house, a result of using up junk from the garage as I clean it out (still an ongoing project). I tried to figure out a way to get rid of some unused gas bottles (we don't have city gas) by making a table base with them and putting a leftover piece of wrought iron fence on top. I was desperate. Then my husband told me he had found a buyer for the bottles (finally). So I went on to this idea:

The boulders came out of a field behind our property. We suspect that there was a Roman house built there as the rocks I collect look very much like the rubble at Uthina (here). Next, leftover floor and wall tiles sit on top of the wrought iron to make a table top:

The lovely, built-in tile benches still require grouting, but are almost finished. I'm particularly fond of my shabby chic shutters on the old wall. My husband rigged up wires then attached bamboo to give shelter, with the intention that the jasmine plants on each side will eventually grow over it. I rounded up some plants:

And then along came some rocks, including the foot rocks. I just LUV those old rocks in all shapes and sizes. Come to think of it, this is a table that would look good in Fred Flinstone's house.

Unfortunately, plastic containers have crept into my garden. I can't seem to make enough mosaic pots. I'm planting everything and anything to keep up with recent high reproduction rates. Indeed, my garden sparkles!

Memories of Summer

The little people have come and gone, and daily life has settled into quiet routine. Like last year (here), Grandma's Boot Camp included piano practice, sketching, painting, conversational French and Arabic, reading, math, beekeeping, 




learning to be handy,







visiting Roman ruins,

making a fairy house,


and, of course, several birthday parties and a few days at the beach--an exotic Mediterranean beach at that. They were sad to go and I was sad to see them leave, however, everyone seems happy to get back to their schools, friends, and busy lives. 



Me, too. I finally found time for my textile sketchbook, for which I have several ideas. To start with, "Memories of Summer", for which I used one of the stitched shell sketches mentioned in a previous post. 
I drew over the lines of the fabric with a black permanent marker. 
This seemed rather stark and dark, which might have represented this summer well because of civil unrest in Tunisia. 
However, the threads on my shelf called to me.
































That wraps up the summer fairly well. All in all, it was a good summer...

**************************************************************
My granddaughters first reaction when they returned to the States was: "It's so clean." Yes, the sad reality of Tunisia right now is a vacuum in authority resulting in filth at all levels. In the absence of dialogue and responsible governing, large protests against the government will take place today. Calls for government leaders to step down [their mandate ended October 23, 2012] have been ignored, so opposition parties are formulating plans to force them to do so. 

It appears that the situation will worsen before it gets better, making memories of summer bittersweet. 

Linked to Nina Marie's "Off the Wall Friday."

Construction Site

From the tall stately firs of the Pacific Northwest to the scruffier pines and fruit trees of this semi-rural region in Tunisia, I have always loved trees. Yes, I'm a tree-hugger. 









They pop up in journals and sketchbooks; drawn in pen, pencil, and watercolors or painted in oils or acrylics.




They occupy a place in my "Garden" theme when I work with fabric. There are whole trees,







branches with fruit,

and leaves.

Yet, none of this approaches nature's act of creation and it now appears superficial to me. What has changed? A long-term project, my Pomegranate Tree Quilt, has taken over my life.

It grew from the seed of an idea two years ago that paralleled the growth of young trees in my garden. It developed branch by branch as my trees poked out their leaves. 





The fruit ripened with layers of stitching. And I ate the real fruit from my trees, admiring their beautiful colors.

The roots spread. 

My tree gained in height and breadth along with the trees in my garden. 

So I feel like I have built this tree bit by bit. It seems to be a more organic process, one that stems from my guts and reaches outwards, a visceral creation attached to deep-seated feelings. Rather than "create", I have constructed this tree from the ground up, from the inside out. Or this tree has dictated how it would be constructed. Each step has demanded serious time and consideration. The end is not yet in sight--pins still hold parts of it together, white spots need to be appliquéd.

[More process photos over at MulticoloredSnippets]

_______________________________________________________________

In the meantime, others attempt to construct the Tunisian nation, however the end is not yet in sight. It is a slow and tedious process. Demonstrations take place every night in front of the Constituent Assembly at the Bardo Palace in Tunis. The opposition calls for the current government (that no longer has a mandate) to step down and allow for a temporary government of neutral technocrats to run the country until elections are held. The ruling religious party tries to buy time while they figure out how they can swing possible elections and at the same time grab all major government and administrative posts. Given the overthrow of the religious party in Egypt, it appears that Tunisia's religious party may be counting its days in power. Tunisia is now a construction site...

Linked to Nina Marie's "Off the Wall Friday."

An Odd Bit of Creativity

Lately, my playtime has been limited to the few minutes I manage to grab here and there. I feel like a pressure cooker without the safety valve, so any odd project serves to give me a few creative moments of relief. 

 An unused planner--OK, it dated from 2001, but, still brand-new--found its way into the garbage. I fished it out to consider the possibilities of recycling it because my purse sketchbook will soon be full.

It's a well-organized planner (isn't that reassuring?) with all kinds of subdivisions that I don't need like "Communication," "Projects," and "Expenses." (OK, maybe I should use the "Projects" section for my To-Do-List.)

What really caught my attention was the compact size that fit in my hand and the telephone section at the back with extra pages to insert. I mulled it over for several days...

I've been putting all kinds of information in my sketchbook (at least I know where the information is) including phone numbers. I need a better system when I'm out and about. What if the planner could do double duty?

So I glued cheap water color paper to one side of the pages to sketch upon and kept one side with lines to allow for text...or additional sketching. 

The page size will require small work, but, I managed to get around 50 pages with the glued watercolor paper.

Then the hole in the front cover (for a small calculator since lost) required a creative solution.

I dug around in my sack of labels, which I have collected for 30 years (and have never used), and found some interesting words.

I regret I didn't use the two watches as eyes--didn't see it...(ha-ha-ha).

Rules for playtime: 

1. Use only tiny scraps in scrap bag.

2. No pinning allowed--just sew it down on the machine.

3. No hand stitching allowed--just sew it down on the machine.

4. One hour time limit.

5. Neither pretty nor ugly, just useful. NO EXPECTATIONS.

That was fun. I LUV my new planner/sketchbook. I almost feel organized, and definitely energetic and serene! Recycling at its best.

And for those who celebrated the fasting month of Ramadan, I wish you a Happy Eid with your loved ones.