Okay . . . armed with the patience of a new morning, I'm going to rewrite the post that "the new Typepad" destroyed yesterday. Don't you love it when something in your life is working just fine -- and you don't mind spending the money it requires -- and then, through no fault of your own, it completely goes to hell but still costs you money? Kind of like our banking system. And you get condescending little notes from the people taking your money. So, can anyone recommend a better blog program, and guidance on how difficult it is to switch? I don't want to lose the content here, but I'm frustrated beyond words and reluctant to launch my new Making Good blog on this platform. I use a Macintosh with system 10.3.9, apparently too ancient for the cutting-edge "new" Typepad. Way to make your best customers obsolete, Typepad.
Back at the ranch, I got my brochure for next year's Surface Design Association conference in Kansas City. I've been a member of SDA for many years and written for both the Journal and the newsletter, but I've never attended the conference because it was always a busy time of year in my former organic foods world. This one looks too good to miss, though. My friend Harmony is speaking on organic fabric, and there are too many compelling workshops and speakers to count.
I'm very interested to hear Victoria Z. Rivers' talk, called "Textilian: A Career in Textile Explorations," as it sounds like she verily defines the "global textile explorer" way of life, my dream job. Dr. Rivers teaches at the University of California at Davis, where on my more optimistic days I think about applying for graduate school in textiles/cultural studies (again -- I was accepted there once and foolishly didn't go).
Dr. Rivers is the author of The Shining Cloth, a gorgeous book about textiles embellished with metallic thread, beads, mirrors and other glittery forms in every culture through the ages. And you must go visit the beautiful Shining Cloth Gallery Web site that she's created, where you can view a whole spectrum of textiles like this:
For millennia, cultures have used shining objects in textiles for protection against the evil eye, to denote status and rank, and just for beauty. Here's what Dr. Rivers says in her book synopsis:
"The most basic question the book addresses is why humans devote so much of their time and resources into the making or acquiring of shining surfaced textiles, which are hardly necessary like food and shelter, for survival. Glimmering fabrics, dress, and adornment are prominent in the material culture of people around the world and serve societies on many levels. The first important use of shining surfaces, which appears very early in the history of visual culture, reflects ancient solar worship and the gods of the upper world. Over time, substances like gold and mirrors transitioned from symbolizing the deified sun and purifying firelight to banishing evil and protecting fertility. Through deified solar gods, the power of the golden sun was transferred to gold-wearing god-kings and eventually became synonymous with wealth.
The evil eye, the malevolent gaze from an envious person, is believed to ruin fertility and bring about misfortune, but glimmering materials distract the dangerous gaze from the wearer, so that the person is
symbolically shielded. Light reflecting materials play prominent roles in cultural exchange, economic development, and geographical exploration through trade. Shimmering surfaces convey cultural identity and social distinctions such as hierarchy, social accomplishments, and leadership. Some shiny substances are often used to express the male/female metaphor through the contrast of paired opposites like hard shell and bead, or male materials with soft textile, or female substances. Shining embellished textiles and dress are frequently used to symbolize or communicate with the spirit world, encapsulate soul force, and to reflect blessings of one's ancestors. Equally importantly, the artifacts represented in The Shining Cloth reflect the human spirit, sense of beauty, high levels of artistry and skill obtained, and peoples' abilities to constantly innovate and delight with natural substances.
Because they're so ubiquitous, we often take the beauty and power of our best textiles for granted, but these two paragraphs are such an excellent reminder of their meaning. Now Typepad is acting crazy again, so I'm going to post this before it disappears again.