Truly astonishing. That I am using a sewing machine to create outdoor sculpture.  I essentially flunked Home Economics — back in the day. Until now, I’ve only used my ancient Sears Kenmore portable once a year, maybe not that much.

Why now, I wonder? Could it be that I’m channeling Claes Oldenburg and his soft sculptures? (To be so lucky.)

I’ve been stitching and stitching and stitching—in between test runs of the silk panels. I’m thinking of the sewing machine as just another power tool. Which takes away the yucky association with home-ec.

I decided to add a base layer of satin, which is heavier than the silk, to function as something of a ballast for the lighter weight silk. It responds differently to the wind, and so adds a second tier of movement.  Hard to explain, but it works.

But I wish now that I had kept to the white palette. The blue feels like cliche.  Oh well. I’ve maxed out my puny budget for this project. This work has been about experience and process. In this, it’s been highly successful.