a little red hen: Feminism

Old stockings

Steve asked in an email, "Still blogging or only Facebook?" Excellent question, of course he would ask.

Short answer, I keep hoping the spirit will become actual. Long one has to do with my expectations of this form when I began in March 2006, the height of enthusiasm for the blog form. Happily joined with peers known as Elderbloggers. Though I did not like the title.

What did I want from it? To connect with other aging women wondering about life after work, women who lived in other cities. Through incredible luck + synchronicity, spouse and I had been able to retire from a too-big house in Baltimore to a right-sized apartment in Manhattan. The move jump-started life as a conceptual artist. Began modestly with an essay, "Composting in Manhattan," written in a weekend writing class. Moved along in various permutations to knitting 150 red wiggler worm interpretations and This Dirt Museum: the Ladies' Room, an installation at Queens Botanical Garden--opened eleven days after 9/11/01.

As blogging receded in popularity among younger people, seemed to offer me less juice. Moved again 2009--last one--Portland, Oregon. Couple of years ago jumped into Facebook primarily to connect with local political scene. Found Amy Meissner, fiber artist in Alaska. Amy along with Steve in D.C. inspired today's post.

In The Final Boxes of Mystery Amy ended her crowdsourcing Inheritance Project. Having discovered her on Facebook midway, I went back to the beginning. Women's stockings led to the image here. Why did I keep for too many, many years discarded hose--mine and my stepmother's? First to use as stuffing for knitted animals for our first child, Rachel--the one who lives in Portland.

But she was born in 1968. Why so long dragged from place to place? To make necklaces for my installation in another century? Truly cannot remember except that I still have this one--think it was pantyhose--copper wire and tube, vintage bead. Have I found the where and the how for walking forward in these dark days?

Posted by a little red hen on February 12, 2017 in APPLIED Feminism, Baltimore, COMPOSTING, Elderblogging, Feminism, New York City, Portland, Oregon, Yarn Life, Fiber Art | Permalink | Comments (2)

My Hillary rant--Brenda reminds me

Sitting in that chair last week. That iconic chair, one step away from therapy--or maybe instead of. Brenda raised the scissors. First, "So you want it shorter this time?"

Settling into my answer, "Where are you in the latest Hillary thing?"

I sigh. Immediately taken back to 2008, and disappointing my daughter by opting for Obama.

Back to Hillary and the sigh. Sure, a woman president would be transformative--for me, for the world, for our grandchildren. Because they would finally have to hear our voice. (link to "Speaking While Female" in January New York Times; read comments too).

Exchanging back and forth with Brenda, turns out we agree. Email controversy is a waste of time. But why does this very smart, competent woman so often get herself into struggles that lead to her being the beleaguered woman--unfairly attacked by detractors.

Then it occurred to me why I personally have a problem with Hillary.

Never as impressed as others, women and men, by what she said in Bejing in 1995. Something missing in her strong words to China, to the world about violence against women thriving when there's a

"crisis of silence and acquiescence"

Et tu, Hillary? It was at that moment, a very womanly one centered around the special-chair-ritual of beautifying through hair cut, that I said to Brenda. "It has always bothered me that she did not leave Bill Clinton." That she experienced this serial abuser by turning the other cheek, keeping this deceit going as an acceptable response for herself and as a model for her child.

"So," Brenda asked, "what else do you think she could have done?"

My answer, "Imagine, what a powerful message to women if she had left him!" Yes, it's a politically incorrect response. Only people with very different politics from mine are on my side--particularly Christian right wing, anti-abortion women. I shudder at the connection.

Okay. Maybe you can ignore the intractability of domestic abuse--physical/emotional/sexual/social/financial abuse, and its connection to gun violence. Not me. Yes, I live in Oregon with women as governor (not the first), Secretary of State, Speaker of the House. And yet the statistics for my county, Multnomah, the largest:

1 of every 7 women aged 18-64 was physically abused by an intimate partner during the past year.

Hillary could have sent the most important feminist message of her life by walking away. The woman I want for President will not be just another smart politician.

Posted by a little red hen on March 17, 2015 in AMERICAN VIOLENCE, APPLIED Feminism, Everyday Politics, Feminism, Grandmotherhood Now, LIFELONG Learning, Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (10)

Ron Bloom's tapestry fills our life...

Last Friday most of Ron's show came down--tapestries on the walls near the Terwilliger auditorium. Still on display are the eleven in a glass case in the cafe. People keep coming up to him to say they wish the work was still on view.

Our California friends were in town for the opening; Toni Van Horn created this collage. It has everything: Ron giving his lively talk about early influences on his work, Mark Rothko's paintings, for one. And the weaver, Sheila Hicks, whose small weavings he saw at an exhibition in New York before we left. Her big book, "Weaving as Metaphor," filled with images continues to inspire him.

Pat Crown, artist and art historian neighbor, worked to bring about the show and did a lovely intro. Never one to miss a teachable moment, Ron brought unspun yarn and his single-heddle loom. (Talked him out of the spinning wheel.) He wanted visitors to have a sense of the elements of his craft. They could see what a warp looks like--with a tapestry-in-progress.

Event evening was a whirl. Friends we've met in town came--Al and Toni, our hosts in Santa Rosa two years ago. Michael and Sandy and Steve and Mikki from our collective dedication to Portland Playhouse. On to Carolyn Savage's, lives on another floor in our building, put on one of her lovely celebration dinners in Ron's honor.

Our local grandchildren have visited the show. Zach, the 12 year old, admired the salmon. Most people were biased toward the other salmon. One cannot go wrong with this particular fish in Oregon. The one smiling at the camera is Ellie, the 6 year old. Zoe, 9, is paying more attention to the weaving.

Ron has been teaching both girls how to weave. Sometimes I'm support staff. Zoe is especially motivated with her younger sister not far behind.

The beat goes on...more later on his first sale and our continuing yarn discoveries.

Posted by a little red hen on October 27, 2014 in Feminism, Little Red Hens, Portland, Oregon, Yarn Life, Fiber Art | Permalink | Comments (6)

Full Moon tonight...Ron Bloom Tapestry show tomorrow...

Something quite wonderful happens tomorrow. Ron Bloom will have his first show, "Weaving to Tapestry" here in Portland, Oregon, at Terwilliger Plaza where we live.

He began to spin wool on a wheel made of PVC pipe. That was in New York, 2002, after he enjoyed the craft at a weekend at the two-acre Shady Grove Farm in Apex, North Carolina. Judy Tysmans was a patient teacher. My article on his early adventures (including my being butted by a goat--twice--during sheep shearing) appeared in the book, For the Love of Knitting under the title, "The Accidental Spinner, or Husband Discovers Wheel."

Long trips upstate to Countrywool in Hudson, N.Y, provided his first spinning lessons with Claudia Kriniski. When we visited family in Portland, his instructor was Laurie Weinsoft. (Her daughter is now our internist). It was and is a moveable feast.

For a while, Ron focused on spinning for his hats. He purchased a finer, beautifully crafted yew wheel, from Wallace van Eaton at the Eugene, Oregon, Black Sheep Gathering on another visit west. Took it back to NYC. He made, continues to knit his own variations of a button hat. Next, Ron began weaving on a rigid heddle loom; Linda LaBelle was his first and most significant teacher at her studio in Brooklyn, N.Y. Weaver, yarn dyer and writer, Linda now lives in North Carolina, travels the world working with indigenous populations to reclaim their fiber crafts.

Sheila Hicks, the noted fiber artist, catapaulted him further into weaving and tapestry. Hicks' 2006 show, "Weaving as Metaphor," at Bard College moved him deeply. Walking through it many times, he recognized In Hicks' work his direction, experimented with weaving small pieces on 6 x 11" picture frames. Hicks sensibility about her work resonates for Ron: this is tapestry because I call it that.

Tomorrow, eight years later, Ron Bloom continues to explore--colors and a wider palette of yarns, abstract designs, a tenement building, the Brooklyn Bridge, masks. A work in progress.

In awe, I admire his work and believe tonight's full moon is filled with symbolism for my spouse, self-trained, latelife artist.

Posted by a little red hen on September 08, 2014 in Feminism, LIFELONG Learning, New York City, Portland, Oregon, Transformation, Yarn Life, Fiber Art | Permalink | Comments (4)

In Brooklyn on June 14? March across the Bridge for Gun Sense!

Wish I could be in the City

for this one.

Ron and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge for

a woman's right to choose

in 2004--that terrible year--

when Republican convention

left its dirty mark.

#51231700 / gettyimages.com

Began blogging two years later. I need to find my own photos, write about the two extremes of the very hot day. Exhilarating and intimidating with police photographing from posts above marchers.

Found reflections from others. From a Planned Parenthood site, an older woman, out-of-towner, uncomfortable with visiting notorious NYC-- nervously rides the subway to Brooklyn--and finds community among the 25,000 who join her on the Bridge.

Matthew Weinstein, native Brooklyn guy and blogger, a choice supporter, writes about the dark mood in the City, took many photos. He ended up eating dim-sum in Chinatown--just like Ron and me.

Posted by a little red hen on June 08, 2014 in AMERICAN VIOLENCE, APPLIED Feminism, Everyday Politics, Feminism, Food, In and Out, Little Red Hens, New York City | Permalink | Comments (2)

Clearing the red off desktop

It could be time to quit longform writing. Too demanding of the wrinkled writer.

My computer tech noted that Ron has a less busy desk top than mine.

Maybe. Though there's a comfort in long held images. I open the computer and there are red plastic appliances. Once I had grand thoughts of writing on the dominamce of red in my household.

When our last glass coffee pot used to boil tea water broke, the online search revealed these Italian made beauties. We went to Kitchen Kaboodle, "locally-owned since 1975"-- a thrill to go into a real live store, not be forced to select a new object in space.

There was a choice of colors. Would have been adventurous to select green. But no; I'd bought into red when I moved here, downsized to a smaller Cuisinart food processor in red. Left behind my beautiful kitchen for charmless current one. Maybe red would distract.

Goes along with the Italian tomato crusher I bought in New York for Ron. Excellent device which he took some time to appreciate, now extols its value to all. Italians have always excelled at design. Chose red Bodum, electric water boiler, Danish not Italian....close.

Have long craved an Olivetti typewriter. Noun, vintage shop on Belmont Street, near our daughter's home, had one I resisted. This 1960s green Lettera 22 whisks me back to New York summertime, unairconditioned busses, demurely dressed Eastside career girls perspiring. We did not sweat till we gave ourselves permission later in that decade.

I'll end with this big pot of tasty, red tomato sauce, made by Ron, aided by the Rigamonti Velox crusher.

No success at short form writing here. Did clear desktop a bit. Hard to retire the anti-suffrage button (pre-1920). Seems so relevant.

Posted by a little red hen on May 26, 2014 in Everyday Politics, Feminism, Food, In and Out, HOUSING OURSELVES, New York City, Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (6)

Wishing for a new, improved America...she dreams

Was it so long ago I'd wear a tee-shirt?

Not any one of those,

Kind with the corporate logos that show up in

other countries

where American excess lands.

We sat around a table last night,

Eating cheese & grapes

Drinking wine--except me downing

way more bubbling cider than usual.

Older now but glad to find

friends slightly younger

who beleve there's more to do

than complain.

Lucy signed my gun pledge,

said she'd go with me

to downtown Portland to get more.

Old people like me really, really

need younger friends--

like these cheese-eaters in their sixties.

There's a semi-revolution to be made--

Watch us!

Posted by a little red hen on May 26, 2014 in AMERICAN VIOLENCE, APPLIED Feminism, Books, Everyday Politics, Feminism, Grandmotherhood Now, Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tags: gun control, Move to Amend, revolution

Blogging: too easy to malinger?

Couple of weeks ago, a friend and I talked about what it would take to get our juices flowing on writing. Write Around Portland, a workshop, seemed a fine toe dip into the water. Each of us had been to one of these "prompt" sessions in the past. Mine was five years ago when we first moved to Portland. Since then, been doing onlyl short form writing like this blog.

This morning we joined others at a table at the back room of Hot Lips Pizza--a facilitator plus five others. Two hours to jump start from the wish to the action. Very disciplined, various lengths of time to do the prompts--10 minutes, one minute.

We arrive too late for the first prompt, "stayed up too late." Think my favorite was near the end. Bunch of kitchen tools and hardware were spilled onto a table. We could take one-- or not. The nut pick made me think of jewelry-making, couple of ideas I've had but... Chose the prompt, "on their second attempt." In eight minutes--

A device that will move me on? Oh, I do look for the "it," the object, the key. Creativity is a bitch.

Once upon a time what was it? But back then I was too busy trying to get out. Out of the box. It sides were my time, my place, my gender. Only three sides--what were the others. Maybe a drawing will clarity. [drew two vertical lines, Time and Place, joined at bottom by horizontal unamed line, curved roof at top]

But gender seems to be a curve over the top of my uncompleted box. Needs work. More than a second attempt. Myself as the device needed.

######################################

Delightful experience, intense, the plain room filled up with word imagery. Took pleasure in listening to my friend's take, where the same prompt would lead her. Loved differences in the work by the women and men in the room --some funny, funny plus dark, sweetly relfective, poetic.

Do I have too good a life to write more--another play? So many pleasures (which I definitely believe I deserve on my less political days).

Only aging might prompt me, perhaps.

Posted by a little red hen on May 15, 2014 in Elderblogging, Everyday Politics, Feminism, LIFELONG Learning, Portland, Oregon | Permalink | Comments (3)

Gloria S. joins my decade...

Big, beautiful graphic on the front of New York Times' "Sunday Review."

Who would not want that for her 80th birthday? (Artist: Rachell Sumpter)

Though mine was celebrated more modestly, less publically, than Gloria Steinem's, I'm fine with that. If you're a thinking woman who has lived through all the changes over these years, you know how important Gloria has been to American feminism, to all women and girls. There are others, of course. Many whom we need to know more about before they are simply Archive footnotes on a future website.

Missing in the thoughtful article by Gail Collins was whether this birthday brought her what many octogenarians share: piling up health issues. No toothaches, no newly-creaking joints?

Gloria Steinem seems free from all that. Wrong. A look at her Wikipedia page shows otherwise. But, as always, she's aware that this prominent New York Times article, in women's history month, on her own birthday, is an opportunity to continue the primary focus of her adult life: the message and the actions of feminism.

Her eye is always on the message. And for that I am very grateful.

Posted by a little red hen on March 24, 2014 in APPLIED Feminism, Everyday Politics, Feminism | Permalink | Comments (2)

Deep Thinking about coffee

Dedicated fan of Rachel Maddow--her educated take on many issues. This was the world feminism imagined in the 1970s, one where smart women could be more known for their brains than their beauty--I look at the show's website periodically (check out my blogroll).

Sometimes what I find is quirky like this one about coffee.

Who would have thought that the brew would loom so large in my thoughts? Would not have happened if our daughter had not begun Happy Cup Coffee Roasting.

Couple of months ago thought I'd try drinking something without caffeine. Could eliminating my morning cup lower my blood pressure? Saw this hazelnut substitute; love hazelnut, a taste acquired since moving to Portland.

Teeccino, it's called. Like the taste. Prepare it in a metal tea bag. Beats de-caf in flavor. Fortunately my Rachel, the coffee roaster, does not require a loyalty oath.