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what colors I will spread
MARTINA.FRANKLIN.POOLE
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Of Figures and Foldlines; or, The Origami Suit
I had a lot of down time that year. It was not in the sense of having no pressing obligations, but of being indisposed and thus unable to…
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Of Bulkheads and Backstitches
We have spent the past 10 Sunday mornings together in her sewing studio creating dress forms made specifically to our personal measurements. My friend is creating a new…
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Of Plantings and Pencils
There is a section of ground by the front door that has been sheltered by the overhang since this house was built in 1954. When we moved in…
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Of Currents and Coverlets
Last week, as I was getting up to leave my own therapy session, I paused to take a quick photo. The items that sit arranged on top of…
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Saturday Art Adventure: Coffee Shops and Creativity
My daughter was just old enough to have the vocabulary needed to express the intense opinions that she had spent the first few years of her life cultivating.…
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Of Rules and Rebellions; or, A Tahoe Lodge Sweater Quilt Adventure
Quilt making is not my primary focus in the sewing room, but more than a few quilts have come together under the presser foot of my sewing machine…
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A note from Martina
It was an event that impacted the entire globe, spreading fear, uncertainty, grief and distrust across seas and lands without prejudice. It touched everyone. It changed everything.
Things don’t look a lot different now, not at first glance, but small remembrances of pre-pandemic times are sprinkled throughout current conversation. There is wonder at it, a wistful acknowledgement and, occasionally, a sense of relief at the adjustments we have endured. And while the changes may not all be visible, the undercurrents of loss and pain make it feel very different.
Significant changes continue build on the world horizon with the intensity of towering cumulous clouds. Electrifying ideas and plans are accompanied by a downpour of questions and worries, leaving no doubt we are living in interesting times.
Yet is not always the biggest troubles that cause the most distress. Often it is the personal, intimate events that affect us the most as individuals. Like very many of you, my past is full of incidents or attitudes that shook my world but seemed unnoticeable – or ignorable – to those around me.
Although it has been my habit to nurture a good measure of optimism and hope in the face of stress and difficulty, I have needed to spend the past decade learning to simply be myself. While developing new benchmarks against which to measure my expectations, I fight against being pulled down by ailments and distresses, for I have too much to do.
It is the doing that brings me here now, because working with my hands calms my busy mind. Because expressing and creating is much more enjoyable when it is shared. Because sharing the ups and downs of an enterprise or an era is easier than struggling through independently. Because community is a human need.
I am Martina Franklin Poole; writer, artist, sewist and maker. Here are my processes, my poetry and my musings. If you feel inclined, please comment on my posts. I enjoy hearing from you all.
