Category: Code

Prayer Flags in San Luis Obispo

Today we hiked a trail that we haven’t hike in several years. And at the top of the hill we found this–

Prayer Flags

I have been thinking about using the idea of prayer cloth/flags in my work. It would be a different way to display my coded messages. I have used the idea of prayer beads in previous series.

My series From Evil has several objects that refer to prayer beads.

From Evil

Bad Habits–The Seven Deadly Sins,
Each tin contains a rosary with the sin and Forgive
Yourself in code. There is a mirror for viewing yourself.

I also made a series of cast soap cups and soap filled vessels as part of my Cleanse Your Palate series.

Cleanse Your Palate

Cleanse Your Palate Series
Forgive Yourself. Forgive yourself is coded into the beads.
Soap, Cloves, Wood, Metal, Fiber, Salt, Wax

More images of the prayer flags:

Prayer Flags

Prayer Flags

I like that the flag bits are in the bottle.
Prayer Flags

Some information on prayer flags can be seen here:

Prayer Flags

Tibetan Prayer Flags

The Prayer Flag Project

More images of my work:
From Evil series

Cleanse Your Palate series

First Harvested Palm Nuts

On January 25 I was given some palm cuttings. This is one of the small cuttings.

Palm Cuttings

Over the weekend I harvested the first of the palm nuts.

Palm Nuts Detail

Palm Nuts

So many possibilities. I could use them for coding. I could stitch them together. Have want to try using a water soluble stabilizer to hold bits together for stitching. Or I could use straight pins to attach them to a surface to make fabric.

Work In Progress–One and a Half Years

I was diagnosed with Pernicious Anemia several years back. Each month I receive an injection of B12. I have been saving my B12 vials and syringes thinking that they might become art materials. Now, maybe some of the vials have found a place.

I was working on a design for a woven piece to cover a bathroom window. I looked at several materials that would be the least likely to mold. While looking through my materials I ran across the B12 vials. Unfortunately, I did not have enough for the window design. Got to thinking about the importance of those little vials, each vial represented a month in my life.

For whatever reason I tend to use certain numbers: 3, 5, 9, 11, 18, any grouping of 3 or 9. When I looked at coding the word life, I could use 18 vials. Each vial would be bound in a square that 9 spaces by 9 spaces.

One and a Half Years Layout

Recently ran across the Medieval Mosaic embroidery stitch and liked it quite a lot, but it is four long, 4 short. Not one of my numbers. I added an additional to each.

Slightly Altered Medieval Mosaic Stitch

The stitch would cover nicely if I had not planned to use waxed linen. This is a work in progress using waxed linen.

Waxed Linen Stitches

Waxed linen didn’t feel right with the vials. so, got out a skein of cream wool. I laid in a background of a zig zag stitch, then added the Medieval Mosaic stitch over it. This is the result–

One And A Half Years In Progress

And a detail–

One And A Half Years Detail

There needs to be more of a difference between the yarn color used for the dots and dashes. I have some lovely bamboo yarn that might work better.

I suspect that when the border code is completed the current yarn binding the vials will be more apparent. The border code will be: One and a Half Years. The code will start at space 17 on the top, and procede clockwise each space a dot, dash, or spacer. The rest of the border will be stitched in cream wool. There is also a 3/4″ border that will either be bent and stitched to become a frame or bent the opposite direction to elevate the piece from the wall.

When the stitching is finished, it will be time to age the piece.

Some information on pernicious anemia:

Johns Hopkins Medicine

National Institutes of Health–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

New Potentail Art Materials

My neighbor trimmed his palms. The cuttings were on the way to the dump. Instead, some will become art material.

Large palm nuts:

Large palm nuts

Stored in my greenhouse:

Large palm nuts bunches in greenhouse

Small palm nuts:

Small palm nuts

The palm nuts will be a great new material that I can use for coding.

Lichens found on an olive branch:

Lichens on Olive

Interesting information found here:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Corporate Document Repository: Date Palm Products

My New Bag

I have been looking for a small everyday bag (that is not leather) for a few years. I found this one yesterday at an Avila Beach shop.

The bag is the perfect size for my wallet, phone, lip balm, notepad, and pencil. I am using my small wallet that I actually bought for my husband at
The Vegan Collection.

The bag can be found on the Roxy site or a bunch of other places like eBags.

My New Bag

I like that it brings to mind the Bargello Needlework.

I have been dinking around with some Bargello patterns.

Bargello Detail

I laid in the code layer under the cream Bargello pattern. One color represents the dots, one the dashes, and the third the spaces between letters and words.

Change–Bound Pods

Been thinking about binding pods together to make a vessel. Gave it a go yesterday, but didn’t feel connected to the piece.

Bound Pods

When I took the piece apart I started thinking about what pods mean. They are containers. The contents can become new plants. What about the pods? New containers for something else?

Change Front

Change Front with 18 Pennies.

Change Front

Change Back, Dots to be Drilled. Then to be Bound.

Some Ideas–

Pods, Containers, Protection, Secrete, Hide
Seeds, Source, Potential
Grow, Growth
Nature
Cycle, Pattern, Rhythm
Origin, Propagate

Change
Alter, Replace, Transform, Evolve, Mimic, Echo
Coins, Pennies, Nickels, Dimes

Change Code
Morse and Tap
c -.-. 1,3
h …. 2,3
a .- 1,1
n -. 3,3
g –. 2,2
e . 1,5

And then there are these beautiful bits. The seeds were on either side.

Interior Bits

Sticks and Stones In Progress—Application of Stiffener

Applied a stiffener to the hemp sections–right, left, top, bottom. Then applied another application of the sittener to the entire piece.

The stiffener helps to keep everything in place. It also can change the color, texture, and visual feel of the piece.

Need to find a rust colored yarn to bind the three pieces together. If I can’t find what I want, I will use the last bit of rust colored wool that I have. If it is not enough, I am will use gray wool to finish the piece.

Stiffener Applied

Stiffener Applied Detail

Sticks and Stones In Progress Content

The work started with my continued interest in words and language.

Most kids are taught the Sticks and Stones nursery rhyme.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?

I added a question mark. Words are used every day to hurt people.

The nursery rhyme is in Morse Code with the substitution of a bundle of sticks for each dot and dash. Each bundle has three sticks and is bound with nettle. A vertical orientation is a dot, horizontal is a dash.

Code in Flash

Code for A, B, and the Question Mark.
Each letter spans 4 squares by 4 squares. I often use Flash for layout. Make a symbol for each code component, with easy peasy replace. It is a quick way to see potential problems before making a paper and pencil sketch.

In addition to the bundles for the code in each 4×4 section, there will also be a stone bound with hemp. This is a detail of some of the completed work. I wait until I am finished with all of the binding before addressing any long strings on the back.

Stones Detail

The size of the stone will be dictated by the code. Letters can have 1, 2, 3, or 4 dots/dashes. Fewer code bundles allow for larger stones. The question mark has 6 bundles for the code.

Sketch in Use

Sketch in Use. I always use paper and pencil for my working sketch. I can write on it. Mark off bits when completed.

The sketch has each square numbered. I taped and numbered the edge of the metal mesh. It makes work easier with fewer mistakes. Depending on the binding, tearing out a mistake can take longer than the actual binding time. The tape is also good for preventing possible cuts. The metal mesh can be quite sharp.

Numbered Tape

The piece will be fairly heavy. The plan is to sandwich a piece of coco fiber blanket between the code piece and an additional piece of metal mesh. Rather like the three layers of a typical quilt. If I stitched through all three layers or hand tied them together, it would be even closer to quilt making. I always wanted to make a quilt, but not keen on cutting little bits of flat fabric and then stitching them together.

Piece on Coco Fiber

Things to do–Thinking about filling some of the open space of the mesh, weaving in nettle or hemp. It probably would feel more like a piece of fabric. Still want to see the coco fiber, especially the raw edges.

There are 3 squares allotted for the border. Haven’t planned what type of binding or embroidery to use. Need to see the sticks and stones bound in before making that decision.