HIT

HIT – Historically Informed Tatting (today’s a bit of a rant)

I am doubly motivated to pursue designing in tatting that is historically informed.

1. I am the Queen of Repurpose. If I can find another use for something, I will. This leads to boxes and boxes of bits of thread, pieces of paper, pretty bags and boxes, etc. Mighty convenient I live in a Historic home.

2. I look to the past in my music. Those who do not consider how music has been written/performed/composed in the past are doomed to repeat mistakes. Unlike several of my older colleagues, I do not pursue historic performance for the sake of historic performance. I am content to play using current instruments with current knowledge. I just like to fill the air with beautiful sound.

So, when I design in tatting, I spend a good deal of time trying to find out what others have done with the kernel of idea that I came up with. How have tatters created lace based on 8 repeating rings or motifs? I am constantly asking tatters who have extensive libraries if a design idea I’m working on has appeared before. And, I’m always trying to recreate lace I see in pictures or museums or antique shops.

(Here’s the primary rant)

HIT is important. We must honor those who have tatted before us with the respect as graciously as possible. Innovation is important. But, how many of us twitch and have wide open eyes in surprise when an instrument other than a clarinet opens our favorite Gershwin tune?

All this is my way of following in Jane’s footsteps, Georgia’s footsteps, and others; justifying why I don’t have a ton of designs posted, or pictures every single day; spending hours in museums and looking through books; innovating in (I hope) a historically respectful, creative way.

‘nuff said. I’ll go to the corner and pick up my shuttles.

After a cuppa. Join me? There’s enough hot water here for a ton of people.

Atmospheric River aftermath

Well, the best laid plans.

I’ve been busy lately. Mostly dealing with the aftermath of the Atmospheric River. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_river 

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/california-rains-put-spotlight-atmospheric-rivers 

Now, you know you’re not crazy to be reeling from the weather when your state is named in Wikipedia, Science Magazine, and the subject of MIT papers. So, to those who live through hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes, I can relate much better to how your storms are described. That’s not to say our storm Monday was on the par with those weather events. It is to say, “I’ve had a taste.” We lost a smaller tree over the wall into the street. I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with it as a wise consumer and responsible citizen of the city. I’ll get it. Honest.

So, while the people who have the equipment work on the tree, I’ve been working on a design idea. That spawned another design idea. I'm calling it Joy for now. That needs to be tatted up to see how it looks. That needs….was that the door AGAIN? "Yes, I know our tree is down. I've been told by the city I need to get a contractor. Yes, I know the city should clear the street. Do you know a reputable contractor who could handle this job? No, well, nice to meet you. Have a good day. I should get back to the clean up tasks." So, I should have a picture soon.

I neglected to get a photo of the Blackwork sample before I sent it to its resting place. I hope to fix that mistake tomorrow. Along with preparing for the next wave of storm to hit this weekend. Why is it the worst seems to happen on a Holiday or weekend when all the sane people aren’t at work?

It's August...already

Can you tell that the computer does not dominate my time?

With apologies to those who follow this little corner of cyberspace, I have managed to get back to a normal daily life. I think. More on all this as it’s appropriate. I have no wish to show you what I’ve been eating or talk about other mundane daily activities. I have set a goal to post Tuesday and Thursday; at the very least.

As a teaser, I’ll say the posts will include my progress on tatting the patterns in the Master TAT binder, working on the blue version of the Saint Saens, tatting a motif based on a Bach piece, and learning more about web programming to volunteer as keeper of the Homework blog. That should do it for, oh say, 6 weeks!

Section F

Remember the turn? The little 3 note ornament that makes up the fugue theme?

Remember the key? After the delicious melody in the major key, we’re back to c minor.

Remember the rhythm? The 3 notes: da, da, dum?

Well, this all returns in the next section I named Section F.

The sense of urgency returns in this section. It propels us into a repeat of the melody from a previous section with a hint of brass reminding us of the Intro. And you thought this was just a bridge section!

So, how to represent this in DS? Well, again, I ignored the role of the brass. I didn’t work in any indication of the change of key center. But, I did try to work in the use of 3 notes. I did try to work in the dialogue Saint-Saens set up. The best way I could think of was to use the pearl tatting in the chains. I did try to work in the Intro melody and the increase in tension. I decided to use sets of split rings.

 This motif actually took the longest to complete. Maybe it was all those ends I had to hide……

Tomorrow, I look at a the final section in the development.