the uncanny

A while back I was driving down a long highway listening to a podcast about the iconography of halos in history and art. The halo, a perfect circle, often glowing, is situated above a person’s head. It’s a signifier of holiness, otherness and mystery. But then, as my mind wandered over the ideas of perfect circles and mystery, a car drove by towing another car that had the words broken halos printed on the back.

That’s what I mean by the uncanny. There are messages buzzing through this universe that, if I pay attention, if I concentrate on the now, if I notice what is odd or exotic, I may get a glimpse into the magic of being in this universe.

Gestation, Paula Kovarik, 2023

Have you seen those photographs of the universe lately?

I’ve been thinking about species and the vast number of them that are disappearing. I’ve been thinking about politicians and how they are lured into power vortexes where progress and empathy for the other is thwarted. I’ve been thinking about our species and how we seem to be pre-disposed to war. I’ve been thinking that life is short—too short to answer any of my questions with reliability.

I’ve been thinking. What if we are just another Petri dish in the grand experiment of the universe? Which vectors will finally bring us to nothingness? What will be left? Will new species emerge?

Sniffer skin, Paula Kovarik

Sometimes I just have to shut it all down. The questions are too big. They bring anxiety, anger and worry. Stitching helps. If I consciously tap into the motion and method of stitch I come closest to BEING HERE NOW. I think that all artists, writers and musicians seek that motion. Maybe the politicians, judges, generals and bosses would benefit from a little stitching. A little ripping out. They could get their own perfect circle hovering above their heads.

A new species

A litter of sniffers, Paula Kovarik

I created a new species this week. Using the stitched canvas shown above, these little guys emerged from the ooze. I’m naming them Sniffers. I have a litter of eight. The little slideshow below introduces each one of them.

Sniffers, a slideshow of fiber art by Paula Kovarik

If I place them just so, they create a perfect circle. Sniffing the air for answers. Big questions or small, my focus is on noticing. Change. Mystery. Differences. Words. Species. Developments.

The Uncanny.

Beasts

Some movies, like art, stick in your mind and haunt you for years after you have viewed them. Back in 2012 I watched Beasts of the Southern Wild, a brilliant allegory about love, danger, courage and chaos. The raw story covers themes of climate change, health care, coming of age rituals, family loyalty and dysfunctional government. It touched my heart and lingers there still. In it the Beasts were represented by an ancient species called Aurochs. These are the creatures that the cave painters illustrated. According to their DNA, they are a precursor to our modern cattle.

Playing with three dimensional forms I found a way to change a square into a 4-legged beast.

Here one day, gone the next.

While the aurochs were a robust species they went extinct around 1600 because of over hunting and loss of habitat. It’s a sad but all too common story on earth. 

Cattle are followers.

In our modern day, one may ask: should we act as cattle? Can we decide for ourselves what is right or wrong? Should we succumb to the barrage of media and managed images aimed at twisting our minds to follow or forget? As another failing species, do we not know that war is wrong, lies do wound, and a society built only on individual freedom is bound to hurt us all? When do we change from an I, ME, MINE society to the WE that will heal the rifts?

These guys are not so much an invasion as a reminder that if we go brainless into the future our future will be fraught.

My beasts are cuddly.

Creating headless beasts from previously made quilts is a way I can process the chaos and dangers I see and hear all around me. They are huggable in their innocence. They are each defined by their raw materials. They make me laugh and I imagine them herding together for safety. 

I hope they regain their heads. 

I'm a little worried

Being away from the studio can disrupt the momentum I have in my work. Having just returned from teaching in San Diego and about to leave again for the East Coast, its hard to think about big projects. So I have been doing little things in preparation of the upcoming trip—experimenting with texture, stitching a series of mandala shaped studies (see my previous post here), organizing paperwork, scheduling next year and doing some research. It all feels very minimal.

These lovely bubbles animated the coast while I was in San Diego.

These lovely bubbles animated the coast while I was in San Diego.

I’ll be driving around the Eastern seaboard in the next 5 weeks. Breathing in sea air and exploring new spaces. I get to teach again in the mountains of Tennessee for a week. That always brings inspiration and ideas. I have decided to bring a sketchbook this time. I don’t normally work in a sketchbook. I have several laying around with the first few pages filled and then nothing. Maybe I can build that practice during this trip.

I’m still a little worried. Breaking momentum tends to loosen the strings of ideas. I flounder, get inpatient and ping pong around the studio. I like being isolated in my studio for hours. And, I like traveling too. Both contribute to my stream of consciousness. Both bring insight and energy to my work.

bubbles broke - 1.jpeg

I think worry is a baseline in my personality. High expectations, subliminal doubt and a sense that I can’t control everything contribute to it. I’m saying it out loud here so that I don’t dwell too much on it during my absence from the studio. Maybe that will work.

Click on the book cover for a link to Alibris booksellers.

Click on the book cover for a link to Alibris booksellers.

Thank you to all of you who have purchased my book. I’ve had so many people comment that they have enjoyed reading it. It’s a real boost to me to think that I can inspire people to try new ways to stitch. I love teaching these techniques. If you are interested in checking it out you can purchase it online or order it from your local independent bookstore. At Play in the Garden of Stitch provides new ways to think about using stitch in artwork and includes exercises, sewing tips and quilt stories.

Books on my side table

What are you reading?

Recently I did a presentation for the California and Nevada Studio Art Quilt Associates chapter in which I mentioned that I read a lot in order to be inspired in my work. I am an eclectic reader and it shows in my work. Non fiction and fiction both have pride of place on my reading chair end table. I often have more than one book going at a time—which can be challenging I admit, especially if it is two novels. Characters can seem to float from one story to the next if I don’t pay attention.

I schedule my reading. Every day at around 4 pm I stop what I am doing and crawl into that chair to start another journey of contemplation. If I am lucky at the end of the evening I can squeeze in another half hour before bed.

Several of my pieces were directly influenced by books. Knowledge has Raw Edges was made in response to Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas is a constant inspiration for all the details within my quilts: ant trails, embryos, insects and roots.

Knowledge has raw edges, detail

In response to an inquiry during the presentation I am listing some of the more recent books that I have read as well as some all time favorites in no particular order:

The Overstory by Richard Powers, Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel, The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester, 1491, New revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann, A Column of Fire by Ken Follett. Mink River by Brian Doyle, Late Migrations, A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl, The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin, Life after Life by Kate Atkinson, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, Memory Wall by Anthony Doerr, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, The Man Who Planted Trees by Jim Robbins.

And mysteries, too numerous to list. I like Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, Brenda Chapman and Louise Penny for this escapist grouping. Give me a mystery any day to while away the too hot days of summer or the too cold days of winter.

Tell me what you are reading or what inspires you in your work.

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An interview with Jane Dunnewold

I had the delightful opportunity to talk with Jane Dunnewold last month as part of her Creative Strength Training interview series. Jane has a robust and comprehensive variety of classes and lectures for artists that are recognized world wide. Take a moment to learn about her practice and her class offerings here. I just registered for one of her lectures today.

Here’s the video recording of our conversation.