Flacaknits

Nanny Photo Book

2011-08-24T12:49:00.001-07:00

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Beach Fun and Child Development

2011-07-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Children when given the opportunity to be bored in nature find the most curious and interesting ways to pass the time. Usually the elements of water, sun, sand and mirth are enough to spark spontaneous wackiness and fun. Their contagion is good for us tired and harried adults too. It brings all the memories of our childhood flooding in and allows us to slow our pace and sit back and take in the state of just being. Wish for the day? Do not continue to take away these experiences from our children!

Father

2011-06-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

A letter to my Papi.
You taught me about food for the spirit. You, who had not enough food at times as a boy.
Yet you ventured into a piano store and taught yourself to play the classical pieces that you would listen to all your life; your beloved Tchaikovsky and so many of your other Russian friends. You passed this love to us with care. You dubbed tapes for us and pointed out particular heart notes in the music. Many times we did not understand but the music you loved was sustaining to us. It held us up as we danced the dance of life.

You embraced the beauty of the Redwood tree and drew its strength to you. It flowed onto us as we gazed up hundreds of feet to the heights. Now our sons and daughters gaze up and their sons and daughters too. We walked among the giants on father's day and I thought mostly of you and your awe before them.

You found sustenance in the word and though I mostly remember you active and always doing something with your hands, you still found time to lead me to books and poetry that became the food for thought I needed to grow into my own person with strong ideas and opinions.

¿Y tu Perú Papi? La tierra de tu nacimiento y fuente de inspiración para Pichi Cuma, los cuentos que nuestros hijos crecieron escuchando. Tu aseguraste de que nunca olvidemos de dónde venimos. Tu nos inspiraste el amor a toda su belleza y desaliño. Soy peruana de principio a fin gracias a ti.

The world weighed heavy at times in your life but you never strayed far from the spirit. My dear Papa, your legacy is rich. I am a better person because of you. I miss and love you dearly. La Flacita.

http://youtu.be/RG83EmwJpo8

Brothers

2011-04-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

When I think of the many things I wish for of My boys I think most important is that they stay close. When I spend time with them and watch them maneuver space and time it can be so wonderful. It can also be worrisome as they struggle to hold close while expanding into their own selves. The inadequacies are magnified but so too is the love; sometimes unconditional. I cannot tell them that life will deal some cards that can at times burn bridges between siblings. I can tell them that healing is possible and ultimately worth it. They issued forth from my womb with many compounds in common. This will serve to bounce them back to each other come what may. This is my wish. This is my hope. To call each brother is everything.

Mangy Beasts

2011-03-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

The muse returns? I have had a dead period in my fiber arts life. Not sure that a body can sustain healing, creating and sustaining all at once. Off balance is a tricky venture. Being back in balance has allowed the muse to peek out once more but tentatively. Mangy beasts will be the testing ground. Here is one little dear who has a bit of an illusion of grandeur but he is still so grand. I hope to make more but am trying to get the courage to make them in vibrant fiber colors. A purple cat? A bright blue dog? I will try and see.

Vincentsgraduation

2010-11-19T14:06:00.001-08:00

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2010-11-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

What are little boys made of?

Stinky climbing shoes
Delicious made up recipes
Piano notes drifting through the house
Solo trips to NY
Brewing the brew
Desperately seeking ponchos for Halloween
Sweet early loves
Tattoo contemplations
Music that offends and delights
Big 6'2" hugs
Middle of the night snacks
Walks in the night, mysterious
Laptop addiction
Pacific ocean surf for new untried body
Friends
18 and our son

Dia de los Muertos

2010-11-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

30 years have passed but I recall your face as if it was only yesterday. You had a big heart and maybe it was too big for this world. Your babies have babies. Did you know you are an abuelito many times over? Your girls have the trace of your features and they are beautiful. Your homies are still with us but not all. You are with some of them now. The spirit returns this week of remembrance to visit us who remain in the physical world and I remember you with love dear brother.

2010-08-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here we are once again. Lots of cliches come to mind but in the end what matters is someone there to weather the highs and lows. What matters is someone there who has the same memories of who you were, what you were and still loves you for what you have become. What matters is someone there you can break into song with when you are doing something very embarrassing like playing a Dean Martin penny slot machine or a Village People penny slot machine. (yes they do exist and are the best) What matters is having someone there when your babies find their "someone there" and you are no longer as important in that special way. That's what I was thinking as I contemplate this photo.

gian marco y juan diego flores-hoy.avi

2010-06-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

MAY it all be True!

2010-05-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

The month of May is a special one for me. I have so many memories of this month that can take me to the edge of the abyss. It is the month of my birth but also the birth of my wonderful Papa. He sits there on May 17th with his music, stories and big heart ways. He waves to assure he is only waiting and holding our spot. Still I miss him and have to watch the big whole in my heart so I do not fall in. May 18th holds death. I dare not even think too hard to remember but it is not easily ignored. My brother sits there and he smiles his angel smile. Then there is the May of every year when those I love, love me back in celebration. Wonderful birthdays with thoughtful gifts of music, art and handmade things. Food! and getting older. May is also the month of celebrating the awe inspiring matriarchs of my family. Tia Cucha, more than 80 and still teaching us so much is there on May 3rd. I hope to enjoy life and family as she does when I get there too. May 29th and SISTER all rolled into one. My sister is my friend. I need her to help me hold all the rest of May and not collapse. We are often partners in thought if not in action when it comes to REVOLUTION around mother's day. We promise that next year we will just take Mama out and have a great time. But we are mothers and long to spend the day with the four generations all gathered together for better or worse. Mother's Day is also in May! What can we do but live and love and take it all in and die a little bit each year only to see another May full of more love and life and renewal.

The ancestors

2010-03-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Here are my Grandparents with nine of their children. My mama is the older little girl. Out of all of them came more than 100 grandchildren and counting. Each counting so much in our world. I am one of those as is each of my sons. Their ancestors can not be underestimated in the power of their legacy to my sons. Integrity is of utmost concern in my mind.

Knitting Muse Dolls

2010-03-19T18:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I just never know how things will turn out when I have an idea in my head. How do ideas come to fruition? I think of all those years of making sure the house was overflowing with materials so the boys would not be inhibited in their imaginative quests. "Hey mom do we still have that old wolf mask?" "Yes, it's in the shed in the Halloween box!" This exchange took place just recently with Vinnie as he worked on a mask photo project . I feel that in my fiber work I also get ideas by surrounding myself with lots of beautiful materials and books. My knitting muse came to fruition this way. She did not like her first wig and I quickly yanked it off her little felted head. Then I saw it, a braid of wool mohair with colors that I love. It was the perfect hair for her and as luck would have it I also had other fibers in the same colorways for clothes and capes. She is very happy now and I am happy looking at her. Now she needs a little chair to sit on while she inspires other projects. Did I tell you how much I love fiber yet?

Life Coursing through!

2010-02-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

I love this photo because I look so happy. If we try to notice we can have these real and organic moments daily. When my son and I share a private thought. When I sit and listen to a song from when I was 17 and I still love it. When I still look forward toward an evening alone with my partner of 30 years. When I finish a project that is so just what I thought it would be. Life courses through and I fly. It was a simple bingo game on another new years night but we were all still here and another year was about to start and it was new. It was Bingo with three generations having a time together. I pray and look forward to many more of these. I hope and wish only this for you and yours.

2010-02-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

I love fiber. It is such an amazing entity. It comes from living beings but does not require death. It can give life if you happen to have fallen through the ice and need to get warmed up fast and furious. It is so patient with creative endeavors as you poke it with barbed needles and lay it every which way. It does not mind being tacky. Hey, if you like it, it is OK with whatever you make it wear. Once in a while, when you least expect it, it forms itself into a form that makes you very giddy. It is pretty! It is unique! I like it! But what is it? No need for clear purpose. It simply is a happy finish. I really LOVE fiber!

Juxtaposition

2009-12-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

The juxtaposition of my son and my past is like the connective tissues I have so often twanged as I moved from one life to the next. I do not know why he chose to include this in his photo project but when I saw it I was drawn to think about it. I usually fall so deeply into the roles of my present life that a sense of mourning for my past ensues and at time permeates its fabric. Part of the reason for this I know is that I want those who I love to know what I was. Who I was. Why I was. Seeing my present and most important identity as represented in my son holding my past is affirming in a strange and elusive way. I think my son looks at me and does see the layers which make up my being. I hope so. To see more of this project go to:
http://lucasbriffa.blogspot.com/2009/12/persona-project-fall-2009.html

2009-10-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

I have listened to this several times in the last few days and wonder why it is so alluring for me. I hope anyone who hears it will like it. It is a homage to Peru. I often play homage to my country in little ways such as my decor at home, the food I bring to gatherings, the clothes I were some days, the yarn I mostly buy if I have a choice and then there is the music. I now know I want to go back there some day and explore more my connections with my birthplace and listen to as much of its music live as possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An77pmw3mQ4

2009-09-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here my parents and aunt and uncle are younger than I am now and it is blowing my mind. It must be circa 1960s. I want to know what were they thinking and how did the world look to them then. My Papa was so good looking and my mama so stylish. Did they wake up each day and yearn for days gone by or did they yearn for their futures in a new country, a new life. So courageous! So naive too. It had to be as who could guess that in the near years to come we would lose a president, a civil rights leader and run head-on into a war and race riots. Not yet though. Not yet.

2009-08-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

ALL INCLUSIVE!!!!

Unlimited blue sea
Unlimited hot days
Unlimited food
Unlimited booze
Unlimited Mayan smiles
Unlimited entertainment
Unlimited pool water
Unlimited guest services
Limited but very real guilt that some have so much while others work so hard for very little.

Contemplating the future

2009-08-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

My son says he is an atheist! When did that happen? I am not sure what to say really. He is too young to be cynical but is that what he is? I have not imposed religion on him or his brother and neither has their dad. Yet it is worrisome that he does not believe in a higher force of some kind to explain what I feel sure must be so confusing at times for him. Or maybe it is just confusing for me? I have been more spiritual in recent years than since I was a teen when I identified as a "Jesus Christ Superstar" follower. It made sense to me and believe me the 70's were quite difficult for teens. I am not sure what if anything I can offer Vince that might help him open some possibilities for spiritual practice. Love and compassion I do show him and I guess that will have to do for now.

There and Back.

2009-07-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

Is it possible for music to span the ages tugging hearts across many generations and crossing whole oceans with the roots of culture firmly attached, pulling back the "lost to other nations" and drawing anew the young longing for those roots? Yes!! Mi Lindo Peru calls to me so often even though I hardly know her. Her music especially is attached firmly to heart's strings and I drink from her fountain often. Hay la musica Creolla y del Norte! Yesterday mama and I listened to lots of Los Panchos videos on Ytube and she told me stories of her youth when one of the guys serenaded her friend with his guitar. It was wonderful. Take a listen to the music of my parents roots and mine as well.

SURREAL is:

2009-06-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

SURREAL is:

Having a birthday margarita that a few small birds could bathe in.

Having a son who was not even 21 inches at birth measure in at over six feet.

Having a brother who gives you a shaving apparatus for your face as a birthday gift. Ok i guess he is not known for subtlety and I could use it.

Getting stuck in a 53 year old body when really I am still only about 23.

Mothers are so much fun!

2009-05-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

At our recent gathering of the Mothers we had a blast documenting the making of the Picarones. Here Mama holds one up for us to admire and droll over. This is a treat that my dear Tia Cucha has been making at family gatherings for the past many years. This year some of the younger mothers gathered to watch her and get the recipe. Then the PAPS aka(Peruvian American Princesses) went a little crazy with the laughs and hip movements. We even got Tia to shake a little booty. These are my wonderful mamas and we are a bunch to contend with. What fun and joy to be with them.

Evening

2009-05-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite times of day is early evening in late spring or early summer. I sit and listen to birds calling out and have a sense of fulfillment at the day's events. Tummies are full and light fades gently and invites for a walk. Tired but content I look forward to the night and quiet activities and then sleep at last. My favorite time of day.

mothers

2009-05-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

With Mother's day fast approaching I reflect on mothers. The umbilical cord stretches across the distance to Mama and son. I am a mom, I have a mom, I crave a mom as I mourn the passage of young mother into old mother. Taking care of mom and reliving mom as that one who feeds and watches over with tenderness rooted in the reality we call life. My womb remembers being full of life. Grateful to have been given the gift of life. Mothers are connections between people who love each other. I am a mother. I am connected to life.

Creative juices

2009-04-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

When those Creative Juices start flowing there is no stopping them. Or rather who would want to? Yesterday was one of those days when a sunny sitting spot, beautiful materials and upcoming celebrations called out for some time out to create. I love my little hearts most because they will go to people I love. It is so hard to create for profit because you do not know who will hold your creations in hand. Eventually duty called but not till I had created 5 little projects for Mother's day.

Filling space

2009-04-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

I have always loved containers. Little boxes, baskets of all kinds, bags made of wool, tule or lace are my favorite things to collect. I make them for loved ones or simply to hold little wonders I find. I have them on every available surface and they bring a sense of order to small disorders. Little soaps in the bathroom, rings in the kitchen, keys by the front door, precious jewels on the dresser. They are comforting in some intangible way. I think I'll make more containers this month.

2009-04-18T20:02:00.001-07:00

Easter. Why do I find this photo so haunting? It has so many hidden or not so hidden implications. The towel on the ground is there to protect. The dress is there to display. The lack of shoes implies a sense of throwing off conventions maybe? I hope so.

Letting go of the apron strings.

2009-04-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

Letting go of the apron strings. 19th birthday and away. We try to connect the best we can. Technology has made for a bizarre interaction across space and time.

2009-04-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

Pin cushions. Adventure in felting, adding details and examining the possibility of artist juices. Art versus craft. Craft.

The visual image

2009-04-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

I realize how much I love the visual image. I hungrily look through old videos, photos, and artifacts kept in old boxes. Y tube holds gems for me now too. My sons have their creative outflows archived there and every so often I take another look to see if I can gain any more understanding into inner lives that will most probably never truly reveal themselves to me. And that is as it should be. Does not make it easier though. I have posted some of those videos on this blog.

What to say?

2009-04-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

My first blog entry. What to say? Puzzles are not my favorite activity. I have done them with my preschool children. I have done them with my two sons. I often puzzle about life. Is that a legitimate verb? I will puzzle this situation out too.