Language, Language

Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.

-Mark Twain 

Profanity is an interesting thing. Especially if it's from another English speaking country. Say England. Growing up my maternal grandfather loved PBS, so I was exposed to programs full of BBC material. In high school I had an enlightened English teacher who delighted in helping us figure out that Shakespeare was full of profanity and challenged us if we were determined to swear, not to be lazy in our language, and to find creative ways to express ourselves. Over the years I have made several trips to England and have adopted certain phrases into my repertoire. At work, our administrative coordinator  recently lived and worked in England so she has her own set of phrases she brought back with her that she uses. Early this week we had shared the meaning of those phrases to a co-worker who heard us using one.

There is a trend with embroidery artists to incorporate words into their work. Some are quite in your face, some are more subtle and descriptive. One artist who uses the latter is Joetta  Maue. Last night I was as usual these days,doing the embroidery thing when a good friend called. She is a former English major, working in project management for one of the biggest telecommunications company in this country. Like most large corporate entities, management is bureaucratic heavy and when she telecommutes from home, she finds herself utilizing  phrases like above mentally to deal with insane managers. I decided I need to make her a repurposed vintage linen hoop art with the phrase. The above was a quick prototype. Fun and satisfying. I may have to do a series.

Talk Talk, 'It's My Life':