Up and Coming Up!

Well, I'm in Massachusetts and as soon as I get my shit together, I'll be driving on down the road towards Snow Farm!  The Snow Farm summer arts program (www.snowfarm.org) is an amazing arts-driven summer camp for high-schoolers.  The campers get to take 2 studios (ceramics, photography, glass blowing, flame-working, metals, drawing/painting, or fibers) throughout the session.  They have both classes everyday and the afternoons/evenings are devoted to open studio work.  I was lucky enough to teach the fibers program last year as well and I was AMAZED at the brilliant work that my students could produce in only two weeks!  I'm sure I will be updating my blog with stuff that they've done often over the next two weeks....  

Anyway, I also wanted to to remind everyone to submit art work to the show that Melanie Frazza and I are setting up!  It's a show about Queer and Feminist History.... and we need more work!  Now's you're chance!  Pad your resume!  Come hang out with the cool kids!  Just send us anything:  an idea, a proposal, an image of work you've already completed... ANYTHING!

To see the poster larger and in it's own window, go to:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/ns_dreads/CloserToFineSubmissionCallProtest.jpg

Now!!  

The Accidental Catharine St Container Farm

So, I have kind of a lot to do at the moment what with moving and getting ready for camp and... pie... and... more moving...  Anyway.  Can you say STRESSS?!?!  'Cause I can.  One thing that is keeping my chi a little better balanced is my garden!  Remember those seeds that sprouted a couple of months ago?  Well:

An accidental container farm! 

Almost all of my seeds sprouted a bajillion years ago and I'm so sorry for not posting pictures sooner!  We've even had to weed out many many seedlings in order to make room for the really strong ones.  In the above photos you can see carrots, squash, tomatoes, musk mellon, 3 types of basil, some mint, and some unidentified flowers that haven't bloomed yet.  I love going out and visiting the garden as often as I can... which isn't very often.  (So thank goodness for Jimmy who is amazing enough to make sure the plants get watered every day!)

Free compost!

A couple of mornings ago Jimmy and I finally got around to doing what we've been talking about for months:  we took advantage of having my parents car and drove out to the Fairmount Park Recycling Center (at the ass-crack of dawn) and got ourselves a bucket of free compost each.  The compost gets mixed with commercial soil and then the plants will have all the food the need to grow big and strong and healthy.

Squash Blossoms!

The Lazarus Lemon Balm!  

This whole plant grew in the course of 4 weeks.  No joke.

Lando Calrissian guards the onions.  Stay back, onion theves!

Summer Cuddlebug

I'm moving this weeks!  And in the interest of "finishing projects so that I don't have to move knitting on the needles"  (aka... not wanting to pack)  I've finished the gauntlets that I started a small eon ago!

hiya!

This was a really fun pattern that I a co-worker passed on to me sometime in November.  I tried to find the link in the back-logs of my myspace inbox but, no luck.. sorry!  let me know if you're interested in knitting it and I'll look harder.  

Anyway- they're great!  The pattern is designed to make the gauntlets come all the way past the elbow and allows for the knitter to decide how far up on the hand it covers.  I made mine go just to where the fingers start, thinking that would give me the greatest dexterity, say, on my bicycle.  The thumb hole, which is knit on different sides for each hand, is nice and wide, making it possible to wear a pair of those cheap, stretchy gloves underneath for warmth.  (Too bad it's, like 90 degrees out right now....  But one can only hope winter will come again!)  The back is ribbed and cozy!

Ribbed for my pleasure.

I decided to knit them in an "I'll match everything" slate gray merino-silk dk weight yarn by Valley Yarns:  a yarn company local to the area my parents live in.  I bought the yarn at Webs (where else!)  and they are soo soft and comfy.  The other nice thing about the pattern is that it uses almost exactly 2 50gm skeins, so there's no just-enough-to-sit-in-my-stash-forever pieces leftover!

Summer Cuddlebug.

As you can see, the gauntlets have a panel of dragon scales traveling the length of the arm on the front side.  The pattern called for a "create stitch" along that middle row and at the sides... but partially because I couldn't find a nice, indiscreet create stitch to use and partially because I've recently been really into lace work, I decided to replace the "create stitch" with a "yarn over."  Ooooh, sexy.

One project down.... damn.  I suppose I have to pack now.

In Other News!

I decided to get myself a birthday haircut.  Which is just another example of me trying to convince myself that what makes other people excited and/or satisfied DOESN'T make me so!  Gah!  I asked the hair-dresser for something a little shorter, evened out and shaped...  but when I put my glasses on at the end it was like that scene in Beauty and the Beast where they're getting Beast ready for that dance/dinner/date with Belle and they spin him around to look in the mirror and he looks RIDICULOUS!!  There were curls radiating from my head like a product-induced aura... an atmosphere of perfumed hetero-femininity.  It was terrible.  It's settled down a little since I washed out all the smelly goo... but, damn.  I just don't know why I did that.  I really liked my long hair!  I think I really just didn't expect her to cut it this short...  But I always end up feeling like bad hair cuts are MY fault because I seem completely incapable of communicating what I want to someone else...  I think this is why I'm also completely incapable of even beginning a relationship.  Gah!  (Also, I spent about 7 hours in the car over-thinking things today, can you tell?)  

Le sigh.  Happy Birthday to me!  What's Next?

Queers and Feminists: please report to the front desk

(The Oldest Lesbians in the books...  this is literally the first picture on nytimes.com tonight.  Yes!)

On this, the first night of legal Gay Marriage licenses in the grand state of California...  I propose a way to interact with similar history in a manner that doesn't require you to move to CA and get married or even spend a lot of money on cake like the BBC thinks that all gay Californians are now doing.  (Although, cake can be included... I am never one to stifle creativity.)

Melanie Frazza and I have finally gotten our stuff together enough to finish the Call for Entries for our upcoming Art Exhibition focusing on Queer and Feminist History that we have decided to call (what else)  CLOSER TO FINE!  

(To see a decently sized image of this poster, go to:  http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/ns_dreads/CloserToFineCallHistoricL.jpg )

All right- I know perfectly well you can't read any of that.  But basically, we are looking for "works inspired by events in or aspects of Feminist and LGBT/Queer histories.  This includes but is not limited to the histories of Feminist and LGBTQ subcultures, individuals, communities, and issues that these communities have faced."  

(The Stonewall Riot... you know you've heard of it somewhere...)

Now, c'mon folks, I know perfectly well that some of you people already have work that fits this criteria and that you would LOVE to send us a submission, right??!?  (See, I knew it!)  In order to submit work please send the following information via email to:  mjfrazza@hotmail.com (or to me at nora.renickrinehart@gmail.com):

1.  Name of person or groups, address, email address and phone number.

2  Title, media, and size of an already completed work. -OR- A short description of a work that will be completed.  (Any sketches or drawings would be helpful.)

3.  A short description of the work, the historical aspect it involves and why that part of queer or feminist history is important to you.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS JULY 7TH!! 

The show is going to be held at the Philadelphia Padlock Gallery (www.padlockgallery.com) August 29-31.  The event for the show (which is going to rule) will be held on either that friday or saturday.

Please please please send any questions or comments my way!  We are really trying to make this a great event, but in order for it to go swimmingly we need help from YOU!  The Community!  Hope to hear from you all!

HeadSpin

Agh!  Sorry it's been a while... apparently it's Handbag Season, so I've been pulling a ton of over-time hours at the Pickle... which usually leave my body so drained that I am only capable of then coming home and falling asleep in my chair while reading Jane Austen.  But I have been crafting a little around the edges, so I'm going to try to catch my blog up in the next week or so.  Here goes...

pt 1:  "I've named her Dartagnan"  

Pronounced "dar-tan-yon"...  like from the three musketeers?  I thought she looked like a pirate ship and for some reason that's the name I thought of first.  I'm having a figure-head commissioned.  (No, really, I am!)

Yes!  That's right:  I finally got my hands on a spinning wheel of my very own!  It's an Ashford Traditional 1st Generation.... and she's a beaut.  I've had her since February and since then I've also managed to acquire a niddy-noddy and a lazy kate (see below).  I love the crazy names of fibers tools...

pt 2:  20-something Spinster

Since the arrival of Dartagnan I have spent most of my spinning time practicing with acquired fiber (stuff I didn't have to pay for.)  But thanks to Nellie, I have a ton of really great pre-dyed (and slightly felted) wool to work with.  That way, I won't waste any of the really nice stuff I've started to collect through my delusions of spinning grandeur.    

One of the first things I wanted to make was a 2-plied yarn; thus taking advantage of my new lazy-kate as well.  I started by spinning full bobbins of solid color wool.  This was where all the practice comes in.  I haven't yet gotten the hang of "drafting", or, spinning from a cloud of fiber instead of pre-prepared strips like I had been making for my drop-spindle.  (Actually, I'm not sure if I'm bad at drafting or was prevented from success because the wool was already felted).  Anyway there was a lot of preparing long strips of wool, making sure they were even, and starting and stopping the wheel while I connected the strips.  Eventually, I had two full bobbins:  one moss green and the other a fabulous turquoise.

The bobbins were then positioned on the Lazy Kate (That wood/metal dowel contraption in the lower left corner above)  and the threads were then spun together in the opposite direction to how they were originally spun.

After that, the yarn is removed from the bobbin and wrapped tightly around the niddy-noddy (no, seriously, that's it's technical term) which organizes the yarn into a 1.5 yard skein.

(Sorry for the blurry photo!  The lighting in my room sucks.)  The skein then gets "shocked,"  or soaked in hot water for 5 min, stretched and weighted, and left to dry over night.  The shocking of the wool ensures that the twist gets permanently set.  Et Voila!  Yarn!

I have two fairly large skeins of this yarn, and I haven't tried knitting any of it...  I'm half considering just shipping it off to Nell and let her try it out.  For some reason when it comes to spinning I'm always so excited by the product, by the yarn itself, that I don't want to be culpable for it's transition out of that state.  Crazy?  Maybe a little.  Anyway, for the moment I think I'll just continue showing it off as yarn.  :0)  

Past, Present, Future

Thanks to everyone who made it to the quilt show last weekend (special shout-out to Adam, Josh, Katie, Alicia, Nellie's folks, and Juliet... who were the only people I really knew... but the turn out was pretty good in general, and all the art looked amazing!!

So what's next for the quilt, you ask?  Well, Nellie and I are planning on showing the quilt in an upcoming Philadelphia based show focusing on queer and feminist history some time later this summer.  (More information on that show will, be assured, be posted as soon as it develops.)  And after that... the options are: selling it to a museum or seam-ripping the velcro and putting in on my bed.  (My grad-school account says "sell" but my love of gay slumber parties says "bed".)  Yes... Nell and I are in communications with an Underground Railroad History museum, located in Wisconsin, who seem to be very enthusiastic about the quilt... although we're trying to feel out how they feel about the gay sex part.  We'll let you know as soon as we know.

But in the mean time I've got smaller fish to fry!  So, the next few posts will be back to basic crafting:  my new(ish) spinning wheel, the search for sparkle on the internet, and knitting things I'll probably never wear except the once and then only to say "hey, thanks, I made that."

The Code Quilt - The Key To It All

Thanks to Nellie, I have pictures!  So, now I really have no excuse for not providing all of the information that i keep saying I want to provide.  So here goes!  

My hope is that this information, all the research and experimentation, will not only allow viewers to more fully understand our piece, but will open up to them the possibility of participating in the history.  Please, take this knowledge and use it in the world whether that means just being more knowledgeable about the hankies you see everyday, or by going a step further and creating a quilt of your very own sexual identity!

The Underground Rail Road Quilt Code:

This code was used by slaves and other members of the Underground Railroad to pass information and messages that included many details including when to leave, what to bring, in which direction to travel and even the location of specific safehouses.  According to Jaqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard, (the authors of the book Hidden In Plain View:  A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad) each quilt was displayed in a specific order leading up to the exact moment of escape.  In our quilt, Nellie and I have adapted the original translations of the quilt patterns to better represent queer identities.  

Original Meaning:  

Gather the tools (actual and emotional) that will be necessary for the journey ahead.  

Mental tools included cunning, alertness, an ability to discern motives of strangers and knowledge.  

Could also refer to a key figure in their community.

New Meaning:  

Tools, being dykey or handyman-esque.  

Dildos, sex toys or "tools".

Emotional tools for self and social acceptance.

An Out celebrity.

Original Meaning:

Costumes:  dress up so that you blend in.  Especially with bonnets to hide your face from strangers.

Also referred to time and the "4 moments in the sun" (morning, midday, evening, night) from African Culture.  Indicates a need to manage time efficiently and effectively.

New Meaning:

Gender-bending clothes and "passing" in mainstream culture.

Drag or costume.

Original Meaning:

Follow the actual tracks of a bear through the woods.

Known in Philadelphia as the "hand of friendship" and in Long Island, New York as "Duck's Foot in the Mud."

New Meaning:

Gay male identity: a Bear.

Other historical  queer identities or traditional role combinations:  butch/femme, etc.

Original Meaning:

Follow the actual geese.

Often, one set of triangles was highlighted through the use of different fabric to indicate the suggested direction of travel: North, South, East or West.

New Meanings:

A baby-bear or baby-dyke who needs direction from the community.

Moving to a new neighborhood that is more tolerant.

A desire to find one's own community or community in general.

Original Meaning:

Cleveland, Ohio.

New Meaning:

Changing directions or locations.

"Coming out."

Transitioning genders.

Original Meaning:

Vary the direction of travel in order to throw off followers:  use such tactics as back-tacking, walking through bodies of water, etc.

New Meaning:

Bar Culture, drinking alcohol, etc.

Original Meaning:

Indicated places to hide along the journey:  both slaves cabins and safe-houses.

New Meaning:

Being two-faced or contradictory (aka: Log Cabin Republican, etc.)

Original Meaning:

Follow the North Star.

Consistency in travel and spirits.

New Meaning:

Consistency of character.

Gold Star Lesbian (a lesbian who has never had sex with a man.)

A theater star or fan.

Original Meaning:

Related to the Bow-Ties square in that it also referred to costume and strategic dress.

Referred to an actual person who would aid slaves.

New Meaning:

Leading or leaders in the community.

Original Meaning:

Alerted slaves to pack provisions as if packing a wagon (and sometimes for wagon travel).

Bring anything necessary for survival.

New Meaning:

"Uhauling" or a couple moving in together.

For more in depth analysis on the history of the quilt code I highly recommend reading Hidden in Plain View.  Although it has been criticized for shoddy writing (yeah... even I could spot some mistakes) and the history itself has been called into question due to it's unprovablilty (in the eyes of patriarchal, canonized historical terms) I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I thought that it was reasonably well argued/ proven and I was, clearly, thoroughly fascinated by the history.

The Gay Hanky Code:

Finding reliable, historical information on the hanky code was even harder than finding research on the quilt code!  There are almost no official records of such a code ever being used except for word of mouth (aka subculture history) and literary/media references.  But, luckily enough, there are a plethora of websites devoted to the minutia of the hanky code.  Except for a single invention, we had no need to alter the meanings of the color symbolism.  With hankies, whether an individual is a sexual "top" or "bottom" is indicated by which back pocket the hankie is displayed in.  In our quilt, each block received a black or white border, the white indicating a "bottom" and the black indicating a "top."  Here are the other colors we used in the quilts and their meanings.

Lavender:  Drag kings or queens

Navy:  Sex

Black:  Heavy S/M

Red:  Fisting

Maroon:  Two-handed Fisting

Purple:  Piercing

Cobalt:  Cops

Hunter Green:  Daddy (top)/ Orphan (bottom)

Lime Green:  Buy me dinner

Green:  Hooker

Robin's Egg Blue:  Likes to 69

Orange:  Up for anything

White:  Jerking off

Grey:  Bondage

Light Pink:  Dildo

Tan:  Smokes cigars

Bright Pink:  Tit torture/ Spanking

Light Blue:  Oral sex

Peach:  Bear

Yellow:  Urine

Brown:  Feces

 Teal:  Cock/Ball torture

Mint:  Trans (we made this one up.)

For more information on the Hanky Code I honestly suggest you google "Gay Hanky Code."  You'll find a ton of information and quite a few color charts.

Reading the Quilt:

As we were planning the quilt, we assigned a different identity to each square, using the information from the quilt pattern and the different colors to indicate preference and individuality.  But reading the quilt isn't as easy as simply fitting the pieces together.  For those of you who have read Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, we sort of associate the reading of the quilt with the reading of the Alietheometer:  the symbols can mean slightly different things within their context.  For example:  the quilt square in the top right corner of the photo above is a Monkey Wrench pattern made with mint and cobalt hankies.  We took this square to mean:  "I'm a trans-cop with the tools necessary to fighting for acceptance against the grain of society."

Hopefully, this information has provided you with a little more insight and a little more agency in reading our quilt.  I hope you enjoy both the piece and the puzzle.  I would love to see your comments, suggestions, questions or anything:  especially if you decide to make your own quilt!  Thanks so much for taking the time to slog through this blog in the search of knowledge and art!