from your own actions — amime-giku

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
— the Dalai Lama
[His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama] (1935– )

This is my first go at the "net" weave, a traditional weave called amime-giku in Japanese. It can be done with one color thread, continuous, or in multiple colors as I have done here, divided into rows. The examples I've seen of this in books have an obi (a wrapped band around the center) but I wanted a continuous woven look. The design starts from each pole and works towards the center; rather than stop and add an obi, I added an extra round to connect the weaving from end to end.

I chose this weave for this quote to evoke the idea of the continuous nature of things, and how all life and all actions are interwoven and interdependent.

Dark moss green thread wrap; S16 division lines in alternating light and dark perle cotton green embroidery thread; embroidery (amime-kiku) in multiple gradated shades of green (light at the poles to dark at the center). The quote by the Dalai Lama is in the bell box along with 7 brass rings. Circumference: 10.75 inches / 27 cm; diameter: 3.42 inches / 8.6 cm. Completed 8 November 2011 (no. 055).


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i wait for my arrival

Beyond myself, somewhere, I wait for my arrival.
— Octavio Paz (1914–1998)

The traditional kiku (chrysanthemum) design, in very non-traditional colors. I think I prefer these without an obi (compare to no. 39), with the kiku petals stretching towards each other without a "barrier." But both styles are aesthetically lovely.

Thread wrap in dark charcoal gray; S16 division with metallic copper; embroidery in rust orange, black, and brick red. The quote above by Octavio Paz is in the bell box along with 16 brass rings (for the 16 petals). Circumference: 11 inches / 28 cm; diameter: 3.5 inches / 9 cm. Completed 08 November 2011 (no. 054).

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in the mists and cloud

in the mists and cloud
for a moment a hundred scenes
brought to fulfillment
— Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)

Another in the all-over wrapped "web" style like no. 34 and no. 36. Simple, yet extremely time-consuming, and if the mari isn't really, really round, one runs into trouble at the end. This one worked out really well, and the colors mesh in a lovely manner.

White thread wrap (which you don't see); heavy cotton thread, like package-tying thread, for division lines (S8 division); embroidery wrap in all silvery grays, blues, and silvery blues (no black, no white). The haiku by Matsuo Bashō is in the bell box along with 11 brass rings. Circumference: 10 inches / 25.5 cm; diameter: 3.18 inches / 8.11 cm. Completed 5 November 2011 (no. 052).

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my philosophy is kindness

My brain and my heart are my temples, my philosophy is kindness.
— the Dalai Lama
[His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama] (1935– )

In the style of no. 44, but a four-pointed star rather than five, I wanted to create an homage to the Dalai Lama, employing the colors associated with him, and 14 rings to symbolize his being the 14th Dalai Lama.

Royal purple thread wrap; S8 division lines in metallic gold; embroidery in two shades of purple, two shades of golden-orange-yellow, and royal deep red. The quote by the Dalai Lama is in the bell box along with 14 brass rings. Circumference: 10 inches / 25.5 cm; diameter: 3.18 inches / 8.11 cm. Completed 2 November 2011 (no. 051).

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out of the nest

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.
— Pema Chödrön

On the heels of no. 48, I really wanted to create a successful piece with the same colors and quotation.

Thread wrap in sky blue; S4 division; wrap in browns and blues. The quotation by Pema Chödrön is in the bell box with seven brass rings. Circumference: 9.875 inches / 25 cm; diameter: 3.14 inches / 8 cm. Completed 30 October 2011 (no. 053).

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so tremulously like a dream

I think, that if I touched the earth,
It would crumble;
It is so sad and beautiful,
So tremulously like a dream.
— Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)

Another all-over spiral, with a chocolate brown thread wrap and embroidery in smoky dusky rose. The quote from a poem by Dylan Thomas is in the bell box along with 7 brass rings. Circumference: 9.5 inches / 24 cm; diameter: 3 inches / 7.63 cm. Completed 31 October 2011 (no. 050).

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the universe conspires

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

Another in the style of no. 33 and no. 35 ("Katydid").

Dark blue thread wrap with embroidery in butter yellow, pumpkin, dark steel blue, and "division" threads in medium steel blue (an S6 division, but these detail threads are where they;d be if it was an S12); a wide dark navy blue obi (20 rows) with "x"s over it at the bands. The quote by Emerson is in the bell box along with twelve brass rings. Circumference: 10.375 inches / 26.4 cm; diameter: 3.3 inches / 8.4 cm. Completed 26 October 2011 (no. 049).

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