Author: -N-

Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

On 7/26 I had an arthroscopic resection of the distal clavicle of my right shoulder. Arthritis was the primary cause, with a loss of cartilage, a lot of bone spurring, and a slight tear. The tear was minimal, and could be cleaned up very easily, letting me get out of the sling and into limited use on Friday. Funny how little things, like putting on a shirt, were suddenly so difficult. But, every day, things are getting easier.

These pictures may gross you out, but given how bad my arthritis was, I’m happy to see these! The clavicle area in the shoulder had 12-13 mm (about 1/2 inch) taken out. The picture below shows you how awful it was – rough, uneven. No wonder I hurt!

To do the surgery, I had three small incisions made in my shoulder, with a camera inserted, an instrument to ablate, and one to cauterize. Other instruments were used to smooth the bone, and all sorts of things. I have a really cool DVD of it all!

This next picture shows how the bone was cut away, to finally create a smooth surface for tendons and nerves, and eventual healing of the periosteum (bone covering). The process was begun here. The silver instrument actually grinds away at the bone, and the auger-quality of it slurps up the bone as it grinds down.

This next picture shows you the bone shaved away, exposing a “new” surface, one much smoother than the old, and which will heal with a smooth covering on it. It is raw, but the healing process will cover it very nicely, like a fracture repairs itself.

Today, I really don’t feel bad at all. There is some tingling in my hand and forearm, and a general ache in the area where they took out the bone. I expect Celebrex is masking some of it, and the cold pack (a Polar Care 300 unit) is helping. I think I was probably overactive yesterday, and I didn’t sleep in my sling – but I am taking it easy today, and tomorrow – and I will definitely sleep in my sling.  I was asleep during the entire process, which took a couple of hours.  Getting me out of the anaesthesia was a different story altogether….

I feel better than I did 3 days ago, and expect I will continue to improve.  A skilled surgeon is certainly an artist, and someone to be as appreciated as talented as your favorite painter, actor, or singer!

Flight of the Albatross*

Whew!  What a relief it is to get those socks out of my life!  I’m glad I did them, but the frustration – combined with guilt – about finishing them was a burden.  I had no energy to do anything.  And now they are gone I’ve been on sort of a rampage – cleaning house – gardening – and finishing up a heap of UFOs.   I’ve got a number of berets and a pair of socks now, with loose ends woven in and toes woven shut, and a dropped stitched secured.  That makes me feel really productive, and here are the results:

A grey Meret for a birthday last February:

Two berets for a friend’s May birthday:

A Porom for myself, out of handspun grey yarn plied with an orange (sounds ghastly, but really very nice!):

A watch cap for a different February baby, to match Christmas mittens:

And socks for me – or maybe a gift for someone with the same size tootsies:

And finally, a model for a pattern which I may post, or submit to a magazine . . . . but that picture will remain a secret for now!

Ah . . .

The Four Treasures: Ink, i

Ink sticks – sumi sticks – are made in China and Japan, and most likely in Korea as well.  Bottled ink is also available, but lacks many of the qualities preferred by traditional painters and calligraphers.  Pouring ink from a bottle is not the same as being able to take the time grind a fine stick on a lovely stone, to enjoy the task, and focus one’s energy.  Most ink is also poorly made, and contains chemicals which can damage a fine brush or stone.  It is very important that if you do use bottled ink that you wash your brush thoroughly afterward, blot it, and reshape the point prior to hanging it to dry.

In this video, the artist Hirokazu Kosaka discusses ink sticks.  While he does not go into great detail about their production, he does show some interesting elements of their construction and packaging.  Opening a pawlonia wood box, he shows a “color” chart for the sumi stick.  The light and dark capabilities of the ink are demonstrated on a piece of paper inside the box lid.  He also shows the mold used to create the ink stick.  Many ink sticks are embossed with symbols or pictures, which are later colored with gold or silver or colored paint.

The quality of a sumi stick varies, from very poor (as is most sold in the U.S.) to student grade, to professional.  They also vary in size and shape, from very small to very large and colored.  There is some argument as to which is better, the Japanese or Chinese; I have both and will say that the professional quality Japanese sumi is one I prefer.  I also have some Chinese ink sticks, and their quality tends to fluctuate.  Also, the Japanese ink tends to be a bluer-black color, while the Chinese ink is more brown-black.  Both have their beauty.

According to Wikipedia:

Inksticks (Chinese: 墨 pinyin: mò; Japanese: 墨 sumi), sometimes known as sumi (Japanese transliteration), are a type of solid ink used traditionally in several East Asian cultures for calligraphy and brush painting. Inksticks are made mainly of soot and animal glue, sometimes with incense or medicinal scents added. To make ink from the inkstick, it has to be continuouly ground against an inkstone with a small quantity of water to produce a dark liquid which is then applied with an ink brush. Artists and calligraphists may vary the thickness of the resulting ink according to their preferences by reducing or increasing the intensity and time of ink grinding.m Sumi sticks after it has been used), and delivered.

Ink sticks need to age, just as wine.  A well-made sumi stick may be very old and very valuable.  Commercially, such ink sticks are available, but not readily in the U.S. or Europe.  There are various importers, but as the market is limited, they are unlikely to carry the variety available in China or Japan.

Most ink sticks sold in the U.S. are inexpensive ones, whether originating from Japan or China.  If  you cannot grind a dark ink in a moderate amount of time, if there are grainy particles which scratch your stone, you do not have an ink stick worth using as far as I am concerned.

This video from Yang Hai Ying (“yanghaiying” on YouTube) gives a few more details about the manufacture of ink sticks:

And finally, another one by Yang Hai Ying showing both bottled and stick ink:

For us ink stick lovers, it would be sheer heaven to walk into a shop filled with ones to choose!

A Foray into Toe-Up Socks: The Pattern, Version I

I haven’t quite finished the socks, but thought I would create a rough pattern for those who might like to have it. It is just too hot to knit wool socks, and as it is also summer, the urge to be outdoors and wandering around is far more attractive than sitting still.

I think that, overall, the socks are rather pretty. Will I become a toe-up convert? Not sure.

Given that, you may find it in the Patterns section of this blog!  Or, just click here.

The Weng Collection and Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library

I have a fairly decent knowledge of different time periods in western art history, and some familiarity with many forms in which it is produced.  I’ve worked with oils, acrylics, watercolors, done etching, stone lithography, and other forms of printmaking.  Being familiar with techniques gives an appreciation of the process the artist goes through to create a work.  I’ve also studied art history a bit, and know what occurred in what time and place, understand the evolution of styles, and can recognize a fair number of renown western artists.

Studying Chinese painting is very different because there is not the cultural context of brush and ink, nor a sense of the symbology of many of the subjects.  To the western eye,  it has been written, much of the painting and ink art of Asia is not understood.  I’m inclined to agree, because although I love the elegance and simplicity of sumi ink painting, my cultural background and training can make the art of Japan and China at times difficult to appreciate.

The Weng Collection – “Treasures Through Six Generations – at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, was eye-opening.  Spanning about 900 years in time, from the 1200s to present day, calligraphy and paintings, large (a 53′ scroll) and small, filled a couple of rooms.  There wasn’t so much that it was overwhelming, but enough to appreciate a sense of time and history in Chinese painting.   It was through this continuum of paintings that I got a sense of history and development, as well as an appreciation for the symbolism, the individuality expressed within traditional subject matter, and, I think, a sense of Chinese cultural time.  I was able to look at a painting and recognize how it was done – the movement of brush and ink, the addition of color.  Brushwork and style was recognizable, as both fine line and more spontaneous styles were shown.  The calligraphy was beautiful, ranging from “letters home” to loved ones, to a large, magnificant scroll of “hu” – tiger.

Newly completed in 2008, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance is nearby the exhibit.  After leaving the exhibit, we wandered down the hill, and into a grove of pine trees – so like the ones depicted in the scrolls in the exhibit, and so like the ones shown as samples in The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting. From there, a setting of young black bamboo.

The grove leads to the ponds and streams which have numerous koi, trees (willows and native oak), pavilions, and bridges.  The eye is led here and there.  Details small and large wait to be noticed. Architecture, plants, and water create a living handscroll.

The Weng Collection, the Chinese garden, The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, and my monthly Chinese painting class have conjoined into a single experience.  Somehow, I understand the history of Chinese painting better – nearly a millenia of tradition has been seen (and who has touched these paintings?  who made them?  who unrolled them in lantern light to enjoy them?) – a garden of trees and flowers, an earthly aesthetic – a “how to” book that is about 500 years old, and still being printed – and finally, doing the brushwork myself, as generations have before.

The catalog which accompanies this exhibit is well worth the 25.00 price – I know I will continue to enjoy this exhibit long after it leaves the Huntington. It gives the history of the collection, and detailed information about the work displayed. These pictures will give a sense of the contents.

If you ever have the opportunity to see this exhibit, go! And if you are in the Los Angeles area, visit the Huntington Library. The grounds are incredible. The gardens are beautifully laid out, one leading to another. We went on a Friday, had a picnic on the lawn (you cannot bring food into the gardens), and wandered through galleries, gardens, and had a peaceful time. In four hours we could not see enough. We shall return!