piper ewan's tenth anniversary in the suspended garden of disbelief

it is almost may, which brings my tenth year to a close. i have come a long way from making custom weddings out of my studio apartment. i have gone through 3 miles of ribbon, survived ten wedding seasons, put on 15 holiday sales, made over 1200 garters and i don't want to know how many flowers! please help me celebrate my tenth anniversary by coming by to say hello this month. the official date is 18 may, but i will be offering 10% off my accessories line and 30% off regular price ready to wear clothing (excluding sale and custom items) for the month of may. bring me some champagne, and i may be persuaded to make a better deal, no promises...

which brings us to:
First Friday May 2nd
6pm-12am
FREE! ALL AGES!!
OPEN TO EVERYONE!!!

the egg

534 se oak street (at grand & 6th)


Featuring LIVE MUSIC at around 10 pm by The Rostropobitches, an all-womens side project of the Portland Cello Project, sets by DJ NEALIE NEAL, DJ B.HILL, MR. ROMO and a special secret live music guest!

AND UPSTAIRS: more paintings by brent wear, fashions by piper ewan, faith jennings and a FANCY MAMMAL SUPER SALE

“For this group of paintings I have abandoned my usual practice of putting characters in my work, and allowed myself to explore the subtle abstract imagery that is present in many of my paintings, but not always noticeable. For me it is a return to the true nature of painting, to stream of conscience over composition and representation. The resulting images reflect not only complex dreamscapes, but also organic and machine like structures.

The idea for me is to create images that encourage the viewer to spend time in meditation, as if visiting a sublime, lush garden, and that the viewer will have their own emotional experience with the paintings.” ~Brent Wear

come see me first friday or by appointment. looking forward to seeing you!

xoxo,

kirsten a. moore
www.piperewan.com
shop: www.piperewan.etsy.com
blog: www.piperewan.blogspot.com

in the well worn path between where i sleep and where i work

there are a few efficient ways for me to walk to work in that diagonal nearly straight line of the mile between where i sleep and where i work. the walk is by no means monotonous. there are the neighborhood cats and chickens, the birds (i know where more than a few good nests are), the giant papier mache chicken timer on someone's porch. lately i have made two discoveries that have me torn in which direction i take on the way there.

the first is the vacant lot surrounded by a cyclone fence where grass and weeds has grown up where a building once stood. in there is this family of killdeer. at first you see nothing but weeds and garbage, but you can hear their call. if you look carefully, you can see them; they blend perfectly into the landscape. i have been watching this particular family for weeks now. there is a pair of adults and four chicks. they have long stilt legs, and their bodies glide along when they move about in their search for insects. when the mother sees me she cries out in this panicked call, and all four chicks scurry about in circles and eventually disappear underneath her. her mate is nearby. he lays down in the grass; extending his tail feathers moving them so that they look like they are fluttering in the breeze, or extends a wing to appear injured. 'come eat me.' he pops up occasionally to see if i am still there, and then resumes his charade to protect his family.

the other is another filled in hole where a building once stood. now it is a field of blue flowers. that doesn't sound all that exciting, but when is the last time you stood in a field surrounded by blue flowers?

i puzzled over these choices this morning as i sat on the end of my bed sewing flowers. the sporadic weather forces me to try and time my walk to work, so i don't get drenched. i genuinely believe that the sun wants to shine. it has been this way for the past several days. the weather people keep predicting rain. i felt torn between the killdeer and the blue flowers, but today i opted for the former. as an added bonus there were a pair of canada geese. and when i was one block away from the egg the first raindrops fell, as the sky turned dark for the impending downpour, for once i had timed it just right.

photo stolen from brent wear

biding my time

this is what a week's worth of work has looked like lately, give or take. all the special orders have been made and shipped, and etsy's replenished stock is hidden away in its plastic box lest it be confused with the rest of the menagerie. this has been my best month by far on etsy, and i have replenished my ribbon stock, and i even have added a few new colours to the mix. big porange flowers with feathers will be ready for next first friday. the ribbon that i make the garters has just offered new colours for the first time in nine years. i finally got that turquoise and red combination that i have been wanting to make since 2001, and i have lilac now too.

but this week of making garters and garters and garters has made me feel like i was biding my time. the accessories line has been taking off, and that is what i will be focusing most heavily on (russian birdcage veiling here i come!). no big announcement here, it's just what people are buying now. it's not like i can sell big couture gowns in portland, oregon during the big recession. after so many months of struggling, i have gotten to a place where i can start to feel like myself; which is an entirely foreign feeling. i am so used to being under constant duress, that i don't always know what to do with myself when the biggest thing i am obsessing over this week is whether or not to take the loan i have been offered to do that last big ribbon order.

at the cusp of my tenth anniversary, this isn't where i pictured myself. i am not complaining (i seem to be saying this a lot to myself lately). i am not sure where i thought i would be. i am not entirely out of the woods yet, but not struggling is a good place to start.