g. roslie’s contemplative abstract modern textile art - ‘muse’

i receive inspiration in many forms whether from a beautiful natural landscape, a poem that confirms or shifts my perspective, a word that resonates deeply or abundant forms of energy that exists in this & other dimensions. wherever the inspiration stems from, this form of textile art is a culmination of many things I love including the process of natural dyeing, textiles, modern/abstract design & art. my aim is to create a sense of peace, calm & contemplative reflection through the work i do both for myself as the maker and you as the viewer.

:muse ~ part of a series exploring the feminine archetype. a special muse arrive in my dreams calling with desire to take form in colors derived from nature… inspired by this poem, so powerful & poignant for what it means to be of a female persuasion throughout the ages:

A Muse of Water

We who must act as handmaidens
To our own goddess, turn too fast,
Trip on our hems, to glimpse the muse
Gliding below her lake or sea,
Are left, long-staring after her,
Narcissists by necessity;

Or water-carriers of our young
Till waters burst, and white streams flow
Artesian, from the lifted breast:
Cupbearers then, to tiny gods,
Imperious table-pounders, who
Are final arbiters of thirst.

Fasten the blouse, and mount the steps
From kitchen taps to Royal Barge,
Assume the trident, don the crown,
Command the Water Music now
That men bestow on Virgin Queens;
Or goddessing above the waist,

Appear as swan on Thames or Charles
Where iridescent foam conceals
The paddle-stroke beneath the glide:
Immortal feathers preened in poems!
Not our true, intimate nature, stained
By labor, and the casual tide.

Masters of civilization, you
Who moved to riverbank from cave,
Putting up tents, and deities,
Though every rivulet wander through
The final, unpolluted glades
To cinder-bank and culvert-lip,

And all the pretty chatterers
Still round the pebbles as they pass
Lightly over their watercourse,
And even the calm rivers flow,
We have, while springs and skies renew,
Dry wells, dead seas, and lingering drouth.

Water itself is not enough.
Harness her turbulence to work
For man: fill his reflecting pools.
Drained for his cofferdams, or stored
In reservoirs for his personal use:
Turn switches! Let the fountains play!

And yet these buccaneers still kneel
Trembling at the water's verge:
“Cool River-Goddess, sweet ravine,
Spirit of pool and shade, inspire!”
So he needs poultice for his flesh.
So he needs water for his fire.

We rose in mists and died in clouds
Or sank below the trammeled soil
To silent conduits underground,
Joining the blindfish, and the mole.
A gleam of silver in the shale:
Lost murmur! Subterranean moan!

So flows in dark caves, dries away,
What would have brimmed from bank to bank,
Kissing the fields you turned to stone,
Under the boughs your axes broke.
And you blame streams for thinning out,
plundered by man’s insatiate want?

Rejoice when a faint music rises
Out of a brackish clump of weeds,
Out of the marsh at ocean-side,
Out of the oil-stained river’s gleam,
By the long causeways and gray piers
Your civilizing lusts have made.

Discover the deserted beach
Where ghosts of curlews safely wade:
Here the warm shallows lave your feet
Like tawny hair of magdalens.
Here, if you care, and lie full-length,
Is water deep enough to drown.

~ Carolyn Kizer


14” x 18”

naturally dyed flax linen, organic cotton muslin, wood frame

each textile art is made from naturally hand dyed flax linens. the backing is a natural organic cotton muslin. the magnetic open wooden frame lends a beautiful structure & ease of display while keeping the art tactile & accessible.

note: please keep all naturally dyed textile away from direct exposure to sunlight to prevent premature fading & degrading of fabric.