Fleur's November Coat: Opus 4

no proper time of day - no vember

no butterflies - no vember

no fruits - no vember

no flowers - no vember

no distance looking blue - no vember

Ambience: Art of Noise "Opus 4" at 0:56 onward with large inspiration from 1844 Thomas Hood poem "No!". Coat, Hat and photography Jennifer H Hock.

Portable, Functional, Wearable Art: Pockets.

Textile art in the form of patches and pockets was my visual focus for CMG18. Plato's "necessity is the mother of invention" rings true considering the historic tradition of quilting - and since one challenge of the Color Me Goodwill fashion event is to upcycle and repurpose Goodwill items, I looked to this tradition for inspiration. April 27th, show day, the pockets were pieced and sewn, but the creation of individual garments required so much time-intensive work - that the pockets had to be pinned to them at the last minute. However, I liked this effect and want to build upon the idea. To be able to transfer a little piece of fabric art from garment to garment is both fun and functional.

CMG18 Fashion Show

Thank you Vanessa Sogan, and in order of appearance - Majesta, Tabis, Ben, Marissa, Kandee, and Savino!

Kitchen Wunderkammer

...from my kitchen window "museum" - all photos Jennifer Hawkins Hock

ebb

light cast through stitching of facing page

coptic-stitch binding detail, recycled book - Jennifer Hawkins Hock 

peek inside at pages - with handpainted edits and stitched wordsmithing

stitched and collaged additions to the original book's artwork

stitched wordsmithing - Jennifer Hawkins Hock at Toile La La

reworked book with coptic-stitching - Jennifer Hawkins Hock

paint-edited text with collage - "Existential ebb" book, JHH

Her 19th century voice sounded to my ears - both 1990s Goth and filled with the sorrow which current events might cast upon a sensitive heart. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnets sat upon a shelf in a secondhand thrift bookshop - unread. Her voice perhaps unheard - because, like life and culture, language shifts to mirror conditions. Barrett Browning's words, written during a time of courtship, are primarily odes to love - but some sadness dulls the shine. E.B.B. weaves within her words an appreciation of life - as well as studies of existence.  In examining each poem, I wanted to snip away the frill of Romantic literature and glimpse something more Zen... minimal. Edited, E.B.B.'s sonnets lend a perspective which feels current. Edited, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnets are like a text message from today - sent to a 90s goth.

Landscape and Emotion - Painted, "Sentient Cartography - Entries" Series.

"Sentient Cartography: Entry 1 - The Lamp", acrylic / collage - topographical painting. Jennifer Hawkins Hock May 2017 - (Detail)

"Sentient Cartography: Entry 1 - The Lamp", acrylic / collage - topographical painting. Jennifer Hawkins Hock May 2017 - (Detail)

"St. John's Bees and Stokes Aster" and "Sentient Cartography: Entry 1 - The Lamp". Paintings by Jennifer Hawkins Hock.

"Sentient Cartography: Entry 1 - The Lamp", acrylic / collage - topographical painting. Jennifer Hawkins Hock May 2017 - (Detail)

 

19th Century Slat or Prairie Bonnet - an Everyday Hat

Attracted historically, not aesthetically, to this bonnet which seems clever in its functional design. Wooden slats helped the bonnet frame and shield the face from sun during work outdoors. The back flap or "bavolet" shaded the neck. 

Gardening last summer, I wore a large cloth sunhat anchored to my head with a rectangular silk scarf tied beneath the chin - but this bonnet seems preferable.

Slat or Prairie Bonnet, 19th C., photo JHH

Slat or Prairie Bonnet, 19th C. - side view showing wooden slat channels. Photo JHH