Pride

"Pride", 1/25/12

Pride is an interesting emotion.  A mix of positive self-reflection, a sense of belonging, and satisfaction in one's choices and actions.......things we all deserve to feel.

Spirula spirula, detail

Despite our diversity, we are all fragile and perfect, just the way we are.

Going out on a limb, detail

I deeply admire the bravery so many muster each day, to show their pride, despite ignorance, judgement and prejudice. 

"Pride" was created with painted silk organza, hand and machine embroidery, glass beads and a wonderful Spirula spirula I found on the beach:)

hand stitched prayer flags

JenClair has joined The Prayer Flag project.

She's learning and practicing embroidery stitches with each one.

A flag for balance

 
Samantha Conklin with her flag for balance writes:
"Balance in our life is so important to our health and happiness - balance between work and play, caring for others and caring for ourselves, etc. - so I made it the focus of my second Prayer Flag. I had some trouble deciding what color to use for this flag, but in the end I decided on grey as it is the balance between white and black, light and dark.

For Martin Luther King, Jr.

Welcome Joshua Durst, Atlanta, Georgia. 
He writes:
"In July, I moved from Knoxville, Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia. One of the places that I have visited many times since I moved to Atlanta is The King Center and surrounding national park property. Visiting Dr. King's birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the grave of Dr. and Mrs. King are all very moving experiences.

 

In anticipation of this year's Dr. King holiday, my partner, Chris, and I decided to spend our day at the King Center and in the surrounding "Sweet Auburn" neighborhood. In preparation for the day, I decided to create a prayer flag to hang near Dr. and Mrs. King's grave.

 

My prayer flag was created out of my own hand dyed muslin (marigold dye) for the front and a commercial printed batik for the backing. Meaningful words for the day were stamped on the front. The word "dream" was also appliqued on the front and buttons and other embellishments were added. Seed stitching was added to the flag for the quilting.

 

 The day was filled with speeches, the fellowship of all who were gathered, good food, an inspiring parade, and much more. Many people watched as I tied the prayer flag to the fence across from the gravesite including a security guard who questioned my motive. After some confusion on his part, he quickly realized the intent of the prayer flag and its message and gave his assent.

 

I left with a feeling of hope and peace that day. I can only wish that my prayer flag was important to others gathered to remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."

flag for Vibrant Health

Samantha Conklin joins us on The Prayer Flag Project. She writes about her flag:   It seems like everyone I know is sick this winter, so I made this flag to send out my wish for Vibrant Health for all.  To create this flag, I sewed strips of fabric in various shades of green to a muslin backing, couching down a few yarns along the way.   I used my  Cricut machine to make stencils out of card-stock for the words and used acrylic paint to stencil them on the flag.  Hand embroidery, beads, buttons, sequins, and gems were added because they make me smile.

Juliet's flag: Hope for the Health of her Friend

Juliet Ayer writes about her flag:
This is my first Prayer Flag and it is for a friend of mine who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment and having a rough time of it. My hope is that he returns to full health soon and that the treatment is a success. This is something I wish for all people suffering at this moment in time.

I have hung my Flag out today so that the words can be blown around the world. With the gales that we're currently having in the UK they will be speedily dissipated and working their magic.

I like to recycle & re-use, so I made my Flag out of an old duvet cover & backed it with a piece of an old shirt. I then free-machined a healthy, vigorous plant growing upwards, with a blue bird of happiness perched on a leaf. I used strong orange/red thread for the prayer itself to emphasise the message. It was nice and quick and simple to make as I wanted it to start working as soon as possible.

....and then there were three.

Deborah O'Hare here. I couldn't leave the one flag that I made for Christmas stay solo. Not least because these have again been made from a chopped up quilt, and I have a lot more dove blocks to use.

It is far too wet, windy and gloomy in Wales to take any photos outside at the moment, so these flags are bringing me a bit of peace inside my cosy work shed.

I wish for Peace for you also, (if you need it).

Goodbye Jane

Mary Lachman here. There is a full moon tonight.  My dear neighbors, Rome and Jane, were moved to Kentucky to be closer to one of their sons a week ago. (As you might remember from a previous post of mine, Rome is 94 and Jane is 92 years young.)

So here is my prayer flag for them with a moon for tonight. She liked astronomy and had a telescope. The cloud represents my sorry in her leaving us since she was like a surrogate mother to me. The leaves are for her October birthday.

This prayer flag is made from muslin, wet-felted wool roving, rubber stamped letters, printed paper, and threads.

Jane Smith, paper artist

Jane Smith, from Oceanside, California, joins us. She writes "I am a paper artist and strive to live a Buddhist inspired life of open heart/open mind and loving kindness.  I have these prayer flags hanging outside of my home to send out loving kindness and blessings to all."

Follow Your Heart

Loralie here. I have never been one for resolutions, really, but I do like to set goals. This year, one of my main goals is to give myself permission to follow my heart, instead of rationalizing why what I want to do is silly and unproductive. In honour of that goal, here is my prayer flag:

As you see, there are flip flops (my fave footwear) following a heart - the path is neither straight, nor does it follow the "path" that has been laid out (I was thinking yellow brick road when I made this flag)...

The flag was made using fabric paint over a strip of foil with lots of holes (it has a name, but I have no idea what that is, sorry).. Then, it was embellished with french knots to make a way to hang it, and brads (the feet and hearts). Finally, the word were free motion stitched over a felt outline.

I used different hearts, as sometimes - actually often - I change my mind on things, and I want to remind myself that this is an okay thing to do, so long as it's done from the heart.

Another goal is to make a quilt for myself this year; now that I've put it out there, I have to do it, right?

I hope that this is the year that you decide to follow your heart. If you have any goals that you would like to share, I would love to hear them. Happy first day of 2012, everyone!!