Sometimes simple can be difficult

BWV 225

When we learn something new, we start out with the simple parts, the baby steps, or the familiar.

Then we build on what we know and learn the new, right?

Well, simplicity can be difficult to execute!

Singing unison is tough. If you’re used to locking in the harmony, matching pitch exactly can be really tough. It demands that each singer have either a high degree of pitch accuracy, or that you all agree on who to match.

When I designed BWV 225, I wanted something simple. The Cantata is shorter, clear statement of the Chorale, and the architecture of the hall is not ornate. I set out to feature chains without picots. Little did I know that my design would prove to be tricky!

Those meeting in Georgia in September for Palmetto Tat Days have a chance for all to be revealed. It’s not tricky, really……

What a weekend....

I’ve been having fun with organs in this area. So much, I’ve not picked up shuttles much. A friend of mine traveled down from San Jose to play a concert on the Dobson organ at St. Dunstan’s. It was so much fun! Those who missed it will have another chance. She definitely wants to play here again.

Then on Sunday, a local organist played a bang up concert on a new Allen in town. I neglected to snap a good picture of the organ. I did take one, but I didn’t catch that it was very out of focus. How does that happen using my phone? I mean, it’s so easy to get good pictures on the phone until you really want them to turn out! Anyway, the concert was fun. He invited good friends who sing in a barbershop quartet to sing. Not your average church concert!

I’ll miss posting the rest of this week. I’ll be preparing to visit an organ museum. I promise to check my phone to make sure I have at least one good picture to share. I hope to finish 2 tatting projects while traveling. One is up to that fiddly finishing stage of the last few elements and hiding ends. The other should only take 3-4 hours to tat….once the shuttles are free.

In the meantime, those here in Monterey can enjoy “locals weather” and the less crowded streets. The sunrise was spectacular this morning!

finally!!!!

Well, in the process of finding my pattern sketches, I remembered that I still needed to finish tacking the Blue Saint-Saens piece to the black fabric so I can get the thing framed. Now this is usually when I struggle to finish a project; when the thing is almost completed. My perfectionism usually rears its ugly self and causes me to wish I hadn't made THAT mistake THERE and how should I FIX it. I’ve committed to framing it for my studio wall, which means there’s no deadline, which means I procrastinate since I feel a lower sense of obligation to myself than to other paying customers. BUT….

Yesterday I pushed through all that and finished the tacking down. Wahooooo!!!!!!!

Now, to get to my favorite frame shop and get a frame picked out so that I can measure the foam core that I’ll lace the black fabric onto. Then it’ll be time to get out the tweezers and magnifying glass and bright light to extract all the cat fur that has worked its way into the project. I’ll try hard to get a photo of it, but can’t make promises. The camera was packed away when we staged the house. Getting to it, getting things set up, and then tucked away again may just not be in the schedule.

Tonight I’m taking time to sing in an Evensong service. The ancient sung prayers have a way of creeping into my soul and calming my mind and centering my energy. Something a house hunter needs!

Music events

Lately, I seemed to be drifting away from my core plan. I have wanted to focus on tatting and organ music. That is exciting, with a multitude of possibilities. I try to spend a bit of each day working through all the ideas that come to me. But, lately, well…..

Each December my calendar fills with not just social parties, shopping, preparing our home for holiday celebrations, but with too many opportunities to sing or play or enjoy other music makers. Over the years, I’ve become a bit of a scrooge with my energy and talents. I’m trying hard this year to choose wisely and with kindness in my heart. So far, so good.

Then life happened. Nothing I can’t handle, but time spent thinking and listening wears a brain down; and brainpower is what brings those ideas to reality.

As I mentioned in the last post, Dave Brubeck is no longer playing with us. He has brought his music to the skies. The special blend of old and new that he gave us will forever be in my heart. I feel great thanks for his life.

Then, I received a true gift. A neighbor was unable to use tickets for the Chanticleer Christmas concert. I could hardly believe what I was hearing, but I did manage to stammer “Yes!!!” and then actually managed to get to the concert and enjoy the magical evening. They create more music that has changed our world that I love. I feel great thanks for experiencing it all.

Finally, in the newspaper this morning, I see that RaviShankar has died also. Another musician blending old and new. He never lost sight of his quest and focus.

So, I will continue to focus and create. Don’t get me wrong! I know I’m not in the same league as these folks. I know I won’t garner as much acclaim. I just wish to give just a small bit to the good and add beauty to the world. There’s just never enough hours to listen, to play, to tat, to live!

Shepherd Carol sketch

While sitting in on a class Monday, I had a convergence of tatting and music…..again.

The class focused on this bit of thread

Frauber square

My brain made a string of associations:

Frauberger translates into English literally as Female Shepherdess.

Into my head pops the “shepherd carol”.

The version in the Oxford Book of Carols has a canon in it. That reminded me of how the rings are circled by chains.

I know, I know……I’ve lost a bunch of people, my brain works in a unique way.

This is what I have so far:

sketch of phrases (each color a different phrase)

We’ll see where this leads me.

my brain is faster than my fingers

Well, have you ever misspoke, saying what you were thinking instead of what the sentence really should finish with?

I miss-typed yesterday. In my last post I paraphrased Purcell, but was thinking of the Handel piece I wanted to find and look at. So, I typed Handel. Sigh.

The choral piece I was intending to reference is the “Bell Anthem” that Purcell wrote. We often use it for Evensong. The phrase that has been stuck in my head is “rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say Rejoice” (no s on always…..Purcell and his contemporaries didn’t always say always, but frequently said alway)

My apologies to those who caught the miss-type and let me know at rehearsal yesterday evening. <grin>

designing progress

Well, two steps forward and one step back. Sigh. I promise a pic when I have something to share. So far, the reject bin is getting pretty full!

I need to set this aside for a day or so. There are preparations for next week, a day trip to tour an organ factory, singing in the choir for a large Memorial service, and an Evensong I’ve been looking forward to for several weeks. There will be a mini concert afterward. I hope I can stay. I may need to be available to others for preparations for the next 10 days. It’s not like my input will be critical, but it will be appreciated and everyone is used to Mom being available. I’m gently trying to extract myself from that dynamic, but it is nice to be needed.

I think I just have time to test out a design idea that came to me as I was driving yesterday. If it works, I’ll get a sample up later today.

A New Season

The holiday is over. We start a new Season. This year, the last few days was a three-for-one. Normally, Passover doesn’t impact my personal schedule, but with it occurring on the day it did this year, I found myself paying more attention to the traditions observed. This gave me so much to ponder, I hardly picked up my shuttle all day yesterday. The weather was also lovely. A true Spring day. Of course, I have more design ideas to explore now in my head. Now I just need to find the time to get them out of the grey cells into a form I'll be able to work with and pass on to someone else.So......

On to a busy week. I want to finish work on the squares bookmark pattern, prepare for April classes to teach new patterns and established techniques, write a couple of columns for newsletters explaining my interest in tatting to non-tatters, start the Intatters Spring Exchange project, and start a new pair of earrings for myself. Can’t promise pictures as I would like these earrings to be 3-D and my photography skills are not up to the same par as my music or tatting skills. Perhaps my daughter will help me out…..

On your mark, get set, ready??? well.......

I’m slow in getting around to the task list today. A gorgeous sunrise slowed me down. Aw shucks. Sigh. I really like living where I do.

But, today starts a very busy short burst of 4 days of singing, friends, family, teaching, demonstrating, singing, more family and friends, and more singing. I need to set aside the tatting designs and projects and focus on chores and preparations. BTW, I decided to add something around the edge of the squares bookmark. It’s not ready for prime time yet. Maybe next week.

in anticipation

It’s fast approaching one of the most intense days in the Choir Loft. The Vigil. Easter is good. Easter is a lot of really big music. Easter is family home and feasts. But, the Vigil… It’s history, it’s ancient, it’s modern, it’s darkness, it’s light, it’s quiet, it’s noise, it’s when the light bulb goes on and you see the “I get it now” looks. There’s a chant we do at St. A’s at the beginning of the service. One of our female clergy who’s pleasant to listen to usually chants it without amplification. Haunting! Musical! Vibrant! Repeated over and over are the words “This is the night….” Every time I think of it, rings and chains dance in my head. Maybe this year they will begin to come together. It’s one of the times that I hear the answer: “This is what I gave you these gifts for! Now do something with them!” Now the ball is in my court. I hope the shuttle hits a home run.

Bookmark donations

This is a good time to explain my fascination with bookmarks.

I sit in the second row of Sopranos in the choir. They are a very creative and fun group. Like me, several of the ladies find it hard just to sit. So, they needlepoint and knit and crochet during breaks in the singing. Better than and less disruptive than talking during those moments when the director isn’t asking for music. Like many folks who knit and crochet, they have begun to make prayer shawls for use in caring for cancer patients, those in grieving, and others in need of a warm wrap. They invited me to try….so I agreed. I know the basics of knitting and crochet work. My daughter knits very well. My attempts are…..well, let’s just say…..amusing! But, I know such volunteerism is badly needed and valued by many. So, what’s a tatter to do?

The answer came from a good friend who works as a volunteer coordinator at a local hospital. She has a gorgeous voice and loves singing. So, we felt a strong bond. I’m not much for being around hospitals…been there, done that. But, she really cooed over the tatting I was working on between Christmas services one year. She came back several weeks later with a proposal: tat bookmarks for those she works with at the hospital who need a bit of a pick me up; sort of a warm something for those who care for others.  Thus, my bookmark donations began. They’re fun for me, she uses them often, and the stories she has related are just as heartwarming and wonderful as those that come from those shawls the ladies knit and crochet.

So, that’s my bookmark donations.

Now, my challenge to you: what tatting can you donate?

Evensong…….

For those not familiar with this term, it’s a service not unique, but common in Episcopal and Church of England communities. Almost everything is sung. There are very few spoken lines. The choir and cantor do most of the singing, but there are opportunities for the people in the pews to join in if they wish. There's typically wonderful organ voluntaries to inspire your soul. Many a composer has written music for this service. You will hear chanting and a good deal of Baroque music.

Yesterday evening, our little band of choir members sang an evensong service. It wasn’t much for the music critics, but quality music was selected and we wound our way through the rests and semi-quavers. For me, it was a wonderful way to end the day with singing and prayer. My soul was fed.

I had intended to test tat a version of an antique pattern afterward. I found myself quite at rest and peaceful. Almost too relaxed to pick up the shuttle. I eventually did and discovered the pattern within the pattern. That means I need to spend some time doing the math and writing down what I see before I pick up the shuttle. More later. Along with my choice of hearts for the potential class.

learning graphics to quiet the clamor

It’s Friday and I’m a little tired. A long rehearsal on Thursday usually does this to me. Add to that, I’ve been working through some tutorials using Inkscape. I’d like to cut down on the test tats of my design ideas and use a graphics program rather than a shuttle to see how things will work. So, yesterday and today are set aside for learning this program. First off: I am not an artist! As such, I am outnumbered in my family. My brother is gifted; my husband kept my children happy while waiting in restaurants by sketching; my children both produce wonderful photos and computer art. I work with fibers….sort of. For my attempts to be successful there has to be some sort of framework: geometric pattern, grid for foundation, limited color variance, you get the idea. That’s why I enjoy tatting so much. And, given the structure of the music I enjoy (think Bach), that’s where my idea to combine organ music and tatting shuttles come from.

I’ve had some folks tell me I do crafts, not art. I tend to agree. But then others tell me my crafting is high enough quality to earn the designation of art. I agree at times. So, I’ve decided I’m a crafty type that occasionally produces art. I’m just hoping that the time spent learning how to create with Inkscape is worth it to quiet some of the clamor in my brain for new ideas to tat.

Take for instance the tune that’s been rolling around since rehearsal: “Blessing and honour, glory, and pow’r, be unto Him, that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Great fugue Handel. Gotta be a set of DS with picots that correlates with that……….

TIAS Day 6 and Hope

The sunrise was lovely again today. The fog cleared over us, but stayed in the hills. As the sun crested the Eastern hills, everything lit up! Sigh!! It was lovely to watch as I finished my cuppa.

Then, I finished Day 6 of Jane’s TIAS.

TIAS Day 6

I'm thinking legs of something with a square body. But, there are those two beads rattling around on the shuttle. Don't have any better idea to what I am making. Such a fun game!

I have been mulling an idea for a pattern. The background: I support the Prayer Shawl Ministry at my church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal, Saratoga. We as a parish also support seminarians. One in particular with a wonderful bass voice has been working with the Veteran’s Hospital near here. He expressed an interest in having something to leave with those struggling with PTSD. As he spoke of the female patients, my mind’s ear remembered his singing “My Hope is Built”.  Shelve that tune for a moment and back to the Prayer Shawl meeting. I ended up with a bit of left over yarn and a cro-tat tool that was given to the group. In looking for a pattern to try it all out, I picked up my copy of Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. Her patterns are always an inspiration to me. I tried out her Hope pattern.

Hope by Mary Konior using Cro-tat and yarn

Not that successful, but good enough not to “bin” after a scan. I had tatted that pattern in size 10 and really liked how it worked out. If I had a ton, and I mean a ton, of the yarn, I might try to cro-tat something for the group by joining the motifs together. My quick estimate is 16 yards for each motif. That’s a ton of yarn!

Back to Solid Rock (the tune for the hymn). The meter for the hymn is listed as 8.8.8.8 with refrain of 8.8.8.8 for a total of 8 syllables for 8 lines. Some of you are already seeing where this is going. I’m going to try to play around in my graphic program before picking up the shuttle to see if it will work. I may just get impatient and start tatting……

More on this later