Back in my single days, before fatherhood and getting hitched, I was into the peaceful pasttime of fly fishing. I also used to spend weekends rock climbing and scuba diving and my motor bike was my primary source of transportation. Now, my motor bike is gathering dust in the shed (I lost the ignition keys sometime during the past 5 years), my climbing and diving gear is in a box somewhere, and as for my fly tying box, it is probably buried deep underneath the pile of kids soccer gear, kids snorkeling gear and kids cricket sets. Father hood is great, but I do miss the spontaneous weekends and the adrenalin rush of danger and pushing my body to its limits.

Strangely enough fly fishing is one of the things about those days that I miss the most. I enjoy the skill that is involved, the science and the detail, the artistic element combined with the practical useful side of it, and deep down I like to think of myself as a hunter. Taking the time to prepare the bait, waiting and watching and being one with nature. There is something primal about it - it speaks to my inner man and connects me with my ancestors.

There are many elements to fly fishing - location and gear and patience and skill but one of the main aspects is the art of fly tying. A highly skilled ancient craft that has developed over hundreds of years. The Basic Manual of Fly-Tying: Fundamentals of Imitation by Paul N. Fling and Donald L. Puterbaugh, published by Sterling; 3 edition (August 1, 2007), is a book that makes me long for a quiet afternoon alone where I can fiddle with feathers and hooks and dream of a river somewhere.

My wife (Kathreen) asked me to review this book and seeing as I was drooling over it I readily agreed. What is so good about it? Well for a start the diagrams are amazing and the process is extremely detailed. But first what is fly-tying? It is basically decorating the fishing hook to make it look like an insect, in any of its life cycles - sometimes as an adult and sometimes in its juvenile state or in its emerging or hatching state. It is the art of imitation. I have to say more about the illustrations - they are so detailed, really describing well what you are trying to make and giving good entomology drawings. The fly patterns are shown next to their real life counterparts - and the process drawings and step-by-step instructions are the next best thing to having someone actually show you how to make these.

There is a large section in the book on tools and I really appreciate that it gives you the whole range of tools but then breaks it down to the essentials and the extras for the gadget guys. I can understand that many might think the art of fly tying is not nice - especially when they learn about the materials that are used - but as I said before - it is a primal sport, not for the feint hearted. Materials used are rarely synthetic they are the real thing and are quite expensive. Cocks are specially bred for their long tail feathers and turkey feathers are also popular as are pheasant feathers and peacock herl. Also used is hair and fur, such as muskrat and elk hair, rabbit whiskers and squirrel tail. There is a big section on the various materials that are required for different types of flys. There is also a really good section on the insect life cycle. It is important to know about the aquatic insects life cycle as this is what will attract the fish - and the difference here between a wet and dry fly.

Anyway too much detail - its a good book and a great sport.

About the author: Rob Shugg is an inventor and self confessed nerd. He is married to another nerd/artist and together they have two children.

Alice Beasley is a quilt artist who uses quiltmaking to tell narratives, she tells of the joys and the sorrows that she comes across in her life. This quilt is titled ‘home street home’.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting on quilts with attitude, many of these are fun and contemporary dealing with social issues and metaphors, but there are also lots of political artist quilts coming to my attention. I am not surprised about this, artists are often at the front of the line when it comes to political protest and speaking up about their social beliefs. And women in particular have a long history of protesting against the government through quilts. Yes, political quilts have a long history.

This quilt is by Carolyn L. Mazloomi, and is titled “strange fruit” she says My quilts are visual stories layered with historical, political and social conditions that call attention to the circumstances of people around the world, especially women. My intention is to invite the viewer into contemplation, raise awareness and feel the spirit of the cloth.

As long as quilt making has been around, women have used this traditional craft to tell stories, to capture life’s joys and sorrows, and often part of this means to express their political convictions. Many generations of women weren’t allowed to express their thoughts in print, in public, or in the voting booth, but they could express them through cloth, they used their needle to tell the world what they thought. Just imagine those genteel gatherings of Victorian ladies stitching over a cup of tea, while really they were plotting strategy for the suffrage movement.

Gwendolyn Magee, is another artist whose work is a dramatic narrative telling the story of the African American experience. This work is from her ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing series’. The image of a chained woman being cruelly whipped even though her womb is heavy with child graphically illustrates the dehumanization of slaves.

Today political quilts or quilts with a social conscience are not that common, much of today’s quilting revolves around beautiful fabrics and interesting patterns - however there are many artists who use the quilt medium to express their thoughts on todays big issues.

Marion Coleman creates work that addresses family, history, nature, culture traditions and social themes. These pieces utilize color and figurative imagery to educate, entertain, inspire and stimulate ideas and discussion. this quilt is titled ‘Angry Young Men’ and is a social commentary on violence, criminal justice system, community ambivalence to the loss of a generation of young adults.

You may have noticed that many of these quilts mentioned are by African-American quilters. While I was searching for political and narrative quilts, I kept coming across the African-American story being told in quilt making. I think that because their story/history has been a struggle for survival, they are perhaps more aware of the struggle of others, while many African American quilt artists work deals with their own history, there is also a large proportion who are moved by others stories too, that of the homeless, youth, immigrants and the aged. Looking into the history of African American quilting I found that their quilt making traditions are long and serve as visual records of patterns of migration and settlement and are linked to textile traditions found in West Africa. Quilts are also used to document family history, and relationships and events.

Penny Sisto, Immigrant Series 2007 :: THEY CAME BY SEA, The images, the beings on my work haunt and whisper to me as I make them live. I learn sometimes things that only they can tell, as I sew the edges of their world.

online article resources

(full article).
(full article here)
black threads

related:

Be sure to go and see (if you can) Will the Circle Be Unbroken August 11, 2007 – November 25, 2007 at Brattleboro Museum & Art CenterFour Generations of African-American Quiltmakers Improvisational quilts made by four generations of African-American women in one Texas family—Gladys Henry, Laverne Brackens, Sherry Byrd, and Bara Byrd.

Something Pertaining to God: The Patchwork Art of Rosie Lee Tompkins May 20 – October 28, 2007 20 Shelburne Museumquilts and several smaller quilted pieces are exhibited in this first solo museum exhibition for the acclaimed quiltmaker Rosie Lee Tompkins.

Skulls are pretty hot right now. Skulls everywhere you go. High art and popular culture are all using the skull as an emblem for the current times. I wonder what it really means, I know it looks cool and all, but what is underneath it all, why is the skull so incredibly popular right now?

The most common symbolic use of the skull is as a representation of death and mortality, it is afterall the bones of a dead person, but a human skull with its large eye sockets is visually appealing, and can fascinate even as it repels. The skull in literature and art is often used to communicate despair and ironic humor, and can symbolise both eternity and the ephemeral and changeable nature of life. (read more here).

This has made me think about the times we currently live in and how powerful a symbol the skull is and can be. Symbolising our fear and uncertainty but at the same time our humanity and hope.

I am not surprised that we crafters have taken to the skull like a duck to water , making things is itself a symbol of hope and adding to that even more symbolism just seems like a natural progression. Here are some of my favourite skull knitting patterns.

buccaneers booty socks [via] :: jackyll and hide at knitty :: domiknitrix skull pattern :: knitty yorick scarf :: helloyarn is skull crazy - I love the pirate beanie (and there are mittens to match) felted skull tote bag - most fabulous of all has to be the skull cable (see pic) :: theres a skull and crossbones dishcloth :: skull lace pattern :: skull illusion scarf is a classic :: I really really love these skull stockings (see pic) ::

Homemade Contrivances and How to Make Them: 1001 Labor-Saving Devices for Farm, Garden, Dairy, and Workshop by Skyhorse Publishing (April 1, 2007) (First published in 1899)

There has been a recent spate of re-published early 19thC Do-it-yourself books. Its a wonderful eye opener to me, I love old technology, history and ingenuity and that is what this book is all about. By the title you can see it is aimed at those living on the land - or who are aiming at self sufficiency in some way. A lot of this stuff is not relevant for me but some is, but in any case it sure is a good read.

There is a lot of advice on animal husbandry like how to ‘extricate a mired animal’ and ‘how to hang hogs’, and more advice on tools and workshops like making a ‘mitre box’ and ‘a convenient ice hook’, as well as appliances for the garden, the home, the orchard and so very much more. This is a fat book with small writing and illustrations, there is a lot of information packed into it.

And despite the age of the technology in the book, many of the ‘contrivances’ are still relevant today. For example ‘Barrel strawberry culture’ is an experiment in growing strawberries on the outside of a barrel and it says it is perfect ‘if one has only a small city or village lot’. First you need a wooden wine barrel, and you need to bore holes all over it and insert a drain pipe then fill with soil. Then plant the strawberry plants into the holes and over the top. - A great weekend project for anyone who loves strawberries. There is a great little ‘convenient nest for hens’, with good advice for keeping poultry - it say “Hens as a general thing are remarkably self willed and obstinate”. There are plans for making a simple ‘paper plant protector’, and a ‘protected plant label’, which consists of a wooden stake, with a wooden label screwed over the top which can be swung outwards.

There are whole chapters on building and fixing a variety of fences, on keeping and slaughtering all manner of animals, but the main section and my favourite is the farm conveniences with a huge array of small and large inventions to make life easier in and around the farm. Lots of very sound advice including sun shades while working in the garden, “many a severe headache, and a restless night after an exhausting days work in the harvest field, might be prevented by the use of some simple precautions”. Part of managing a farm in 1899 included managing ‘night soil’ and how to go about this is explained in some detail, including “making use of it very conveniently”.

This really is a wonderfully enlightening book, with some terrific and fun projects for the garden or farm today.

The image of the strawberry barrel came from the site the back road home, which has some wonderful excerpts from the original 1899 book and lots of advice on farming and gardening and building.

As a lover of both the White Stripes and buttons, I was intrigued by their costumes on the cover of their new CD, Icky Thump.

Nylon magazine satisfied my curiosity: their outfits are “pearly suits” made by a seamstress friend with 13000 buttons on each of them. Apparently, there’s an English tradition of pearly kings and queens making these outfits and going on parades. A Google image search for “pearly kings and queens” has all sorts of intricate costumes.

I think the White Stripes’ inspiration is familiar to many crafters (quote from Nylon article): “It’s all sort of about the idea of creative people as garbage collectors. Taking other people’s junk and trying to make something useful out of it, I guess.”

It was a surprise to see this arpillera on anthropologie.

What is a arpillera? Art quilt, a hand-sewn three dimensional textile picture . Arpilleras originated in Chile , where women political prisoners who were held during the Pinochet regime used them to camouflage notes sent to helpers outside. For guards this art wasn´t important, it was a simple “women´s work”.

Now, the topics are others, although for some groups is a claim of the missing person´s right in military dictatorship of Chile .

Fue una sorpresa ver esta arpillera en la web de Anthropologie, ya que es un arte con una historia muy trágica a sus espaldas. Su origen está en Chile, donde las prisioneras de la dictadura de Pinochet lo usaban para comunicarse y encriptar mensajes. Para los guardianes eran simplemente “cosas de mujeres”, de manera que nunca levantó sospechas.

Estos cuadros se realizan con tela, cosiendo a mano una historia, una cultura, una vida… Los temas son múltiple, aunque para algunos grupos sigue siendo una forma de reivindicar los derechos de los desaparecidos durante la dictadura chilena.

Contunuará…

Barbara Arlen is running a Tour to India for Textile Lovers and Artists in Feb.
08

Discover the unique qualities and culture of India as expressed through its distinctive textiles during an affordable 20-day tour for under $4600.00 including all airfares, most meals, 5 days of workshops, all hotels, etc. The journey will begin in Aurangabad with a trip to the birthplace of Buddhism followed by the natural dye paintings in the glorious Caves of Ajanta and a glimpse of Hinduism as seen through the exquisite sculptures in Ellora. Participants will take part in hands-on craft workshops in Kerala, Marharashtra, and Orissa given by award-winning Ikat and Paithani weavers, block printers, and expert natural dyers.

Global textile designer Barbara Arlen will lead the tour. Well-informed local guides will accompany the group during visits to India’s vibrant urban and rural areas. To find out more details, please call Barbara Arlen at 212–628–1289 or e-mail b.arlen@mac.com with your interests and questions. The tour is limited to 15 participants.

Highlights:

1. Extensive workshops with natural dyers & block printer in Munnar using a variety of silks, organic cotton and other fibers on a beautiful Tea Plantation in Kerala.

2. Field trips to craftspeople, artists and markets.

3. Sightseeing of Temples, Mosques, UNESCO World Heritage sites and museums in
each state.

4. Visits to homes of private collectors in Mumbai.

5. Culinary tasting of specialties from each region.

In his latest exhibition, artist and Tsutsugaki Yuzen master Shumei Kobayashi combines the classical Japanese hand dyeing technique Tsutsugaki Yuzen, with the delicate furoshiki wrapping cloth.

Image: Tsutsugaki Yuzen on furoshiki wrapping cloth from Furoshiki: Reviving a Dyeing Art, 2007

Living and working in Kanazawa, the birthplace of Tsutsugaki Yuzen, Shumei is among one of the few Tsutsugaki Yuzen practitioners left in Japan and continues to work hard at sustaining the legacy of this dyeing craft. Tsutsugaki Yuzen is a classical hand dyeing technique, which evolved approximately 400-years ago, and is characterised by its complicated process. Similar to batik, the artist will make an outline of the design onto fabric using a resist paste. The resist paste - a steamed mixture of glutinous rice powder, rice bran, lime, water and salt - is applied to the fabric using a finely pointed funnel-like utensil. After the outline is drawn onto the fabric, the artist will use a selection of natural pigments to add colour and bring the image to life.

The furoshiki also dates back around 400 years, and its origins are found in the Japanese practice of public bathing. The cloth, which ranges from half a metre to a metre squared in size, was used both as a pouch to carry one’s belongings in to and from the bathhouse, and as a type of square “territory marker” by the owner while in a bath. This explains its name - “furo” meaning “bath” and “shiki” meaning “to spread” or “to lay out”. Made of silk crepe or cotton, the furoshiki is not only a practical item but also an ornamental one. Over time its function has become more wide and varied with it being increasingly used for decorative purposes, and in more recent times, as a fashion item, such as a shawl or stole.

Image: Tsutsugaki Yuzen by Shumei Kobayashi, noren (doorway hangings), June 2005

Exhibition: Mon – Fri & Sat 19 & 26 May, 11am – 4pm. Demonstration: Tue 15 May, 11am – 12pm & 1pm – 3pm, Sat 26 May, 1pm – 3pm

On the 18th and 23rd of May Shumei will hold two workshops where participants can learn about the many ways to fold and use the furoshiki. Shumei will also be demonstrating the Tsutsugaki Yuzen technique on the 15th and 26th of May.

Where: Japan Foundation Gallery, Level 1 Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square, Sydney

If the marchers in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade weren’t wearing fire department uniforms, high school band uniforms, or full pipe and drum regalia, they were wearing Aran sweaters . And they were beautiful – plain and fancy patterns, man, woman and child, marching up 5th Avenue on a windy but mercifully sunny Saturday.

The oft-told story of the Aran sweater is that they’ve been around for centuries and served to identify Irish fishermen should their lifeless bodies wash up on shore. This gave rise to the claim that Aran patterns were tied to families as are Scottish tartans; there are websites today that will sell you the Aran pattern for “your clan”.

It is now widely believed that Aran sweaters as we know them were started as a cottage industry in the late 19th or early 20th century in the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland as income for the isolated residents. Sweaters were traditionally knit with undyed cream wool called bainin (pronounced bawneen), which has high lanolin content and was thickly spun by hand. There’s no denying that the sweaters are cozy gear for outdoorsy types, and colorful history or no, the cables and stitches used in the construction of the garments are full of symbolism . No plans to visit Ireland to buy the real thing? Knit yourself an Aran:

There are plenty of books on the subject, or design your own using Barbara Walker’s Treasuries and a basic cardigan or pullover pattern. Elizabeth Dimbleby has photos and instructions for some common Aran stitches, including this fabulously complex “wide multi-cable”

Images of unfinished Aran sweaters are care of fluffbuff blog a great blog by an Italian in LA

The new cross stitch collection from Folkology features folk art patterns based on antique Hungarian needlework. They have extended their table linen pattern collection with designs suitable for doilies, and a new quick project format: the tile patterns.

Blue-dye artisan fabrics are handmade by a family workshop in the Eastern part of Hungary. This family has been producing these textiles since 1878. They use wooden motif blocks from the beginning of the 20th century, and a printing machine manufactured in 1907. The fabrics made by this family workshop are juried by the Hungarian Folk Handicrafts Commission, guaranteeing the authentic quality of the designs and manufacturing.

Blue-dyeing is a resist-dyeing method where the white cotton or linen fabric is first printed with a resist paste using wooden motif blocks or sometimes a block printing machine. The fabric is then immersed in the indigo solution. The printed areas resist the dye and come out crisp white.

Katalin has generously given Whipup readers a promo coupon valid until April 15th, use the coupon code WHIPUP5 during checkout (you will be able to apply it at Step 2 of checkout) to get $5 off any order of $20 or more (before shipping). ::folkology

Image from the Electronic Swatchbook

To quote from the Electronic Swatchbook home page:

Swatches or small samples of fabric have been collected and compiled in the form of swatchbooks for at least 300 years. The Powerhouse Museum has several volumes containing thousands of bright, unfaded samples of fashionable fabric designs, braids and laces ranging from the 1830s to the 1920s.

YOu can zoom in on individual images, email them, randomise them - lots of possibilities, including downloading (and they’re big, detailed files that can be 8mb in size). Check the legals info to see if they’re public domain in your country (they are in Australia - the Powerhouse Museum is in Sydney), or just browse and enjoy.

Lizzie Ridout, a visual artist, is the new Pearson Creative Research Fellow at the British Library. Over the next year, she will search the collections for domestic objects from the past, seeking out unusual references to both the mundane and the bizarre. By teasing out what is compelling about these historic sources and re translating them into entirely new artworks, Lizzie will coax the past out into the present day.

While you are checking out Lizzies website be sure to go to her Art Sparklets section - a notebook of discoveries. And a design blog space where you can find out more about her work.

Image above is from Lizzie’s once more with feeling project and is of paper decorations.

Pre-Colombian Chancay Doll

Some of the pieces, particularly the older ones, on this site are fragments. But still, to be able to look at textiles so old, and wonder at their history, and to be inspired by their designs…

19th century Palestinian shirt

The Eye of the Artist: The Work of Devorah Sperber, Brooklyn Museum, January 26- May 6, 2007

Using ordinary spools of thread, Sperber creates pixilated, inverted images of masterpieces, which appear as colorful abstractions to the naked eye. When viewed with optical devices, however, the works becomes immediately recognizable as the famous paintings. The thread spools works are hung upside down in reference to the fact that the lens of the eye projects an inverted image of the world onto the retina, which is corrected by the brain.

Detail view: After The Mona Lisa 1, 2005 (from Devorah Sperber website)

Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting, Museum of Arts & Design, NY, January 25 - June 17, 2007

A provocative and timely exhibition of work by international artists using fiber in unexpected and unorthodox ways. … Radical reformers in the world of knitting and lace making have overthrown the status quo from the inside out. In the space of ten years, knitting has emerged from the “loving hands at home” hobbyist’s den into museums and galleries worldwide. … The artists in this exhibition are experimenting with forms and techniques in the most novel and surprising ways, exploring new relationships between structure, design, color, and patte

Althea Merback (United States), Gloves, 2005; Wire-knitted silk, Kathleen Savage Browning Miniatures Collection, Kentucky Gateway Museum Center

[Thank you to Stacey and Marilyn for the tips]

An essay podcast discussing the complex term of ‘craft’: how the techniques and feeling of the materials drives the idea in craft creating a problem in validating crafts in a wider community context - and the bad wrap that craft has - the misconceptions of art and craft etc. Also discusses the intersection of Art, Craft and Design and the hybridisation that is happening now. and lots of other concepts and ideas that are really worth exploring, such as the discussion of the emerging cultural phenomenon of DIY ecological confrontion of mass consumerism - nostalically ironic domestic creativity (anyone out there heard of that?)

Anyway I urge you check out this podcast - together with slide show - can be quite heavy at times but you can click through it.

Preparing for womanhood - 1930s booklet

Following the entry for DIY pads, you may be interested in reading up on the history of menstrual paraphernalia. Or not… but if you are, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney can oblige, online, here. It includes some great stories about 19th and 20th century handcraft ingenuity and social history under headings such as “Homemade Napkins”, “Advice for Girls” and “Monthly Reassurance”.

Home made napkin

Making, wearing, and sharing a bit of cloth and comfort.
By EllynAnne Geisel

Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing

This book is a cross between nostalgia and practicality, with collections of vintage aprons mixed with patterns of classic apron styles. The book begins with the Apron journey from practical work wardrobe to icon to collectable nostalgia to hot sewing trend. So follows a short history of the Apron in American culture. Further chapters concentrate on practicalities of looking after and making aprons, the various styles and patterns (such as the waist apron, bib apron and the smock apron). The main part of the book concentrates on stories and anecdotes with lovely images and examples of various aprons, some fun and funny and classic and retro and vintage and crazy and sexy, you name it the apron is represented in this book.

Throughout, the book is dotted patterns, stories, pictures and various snippets of apron nostalgia. I am not sure where this book fits, is it a craft/sewing book, or a history book, I think it might be classified as a popular culture book. I particularly enjoyed flicking through the images of vintage patterns and reading various stories of memories of mother’s or grandmother’s aprons collected and how the apron played a central role in their childhood.

A very sweet book that will appeal to both apron lovers and those interested in domestic culture and history.

art is for housewives. Cynthia keeps a manic diary like blog of amazing inspiration, handcrafts, eco crafting, art, domestic arts all vaguely related to tradtional womens arts. Art is for houswives is a fantastic resource, I never fail to find something amazing over there. I used to be overwhelmed by the crazy font sizes and colours she has going, but now it is just how it is. I think if she did decide to tone it down I would be a bit dissapointed.

This is one blog to definitely check out and bookmark.

In a minute ago, is a blog from Canberra (my home town), and is run by Sharon. Also a diary of resources and ideas. It is quite thin on images but makes up for that by being thick with links and opinion. There is quite a bit on traditional textile arts, embroidery and crazy quilting so if that is your thing then get over there, but just check it out anyway as it is a really good resource.

by Rene Steinke
Published by Harper books (thanks Jeff from 52Projects)

I was curious about this book, why Jeff sent it to me. I am glad he did because it is an excellent book. A novel about a real life person, Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, a little known eccentric artist and poet from the dada art movement who cavorted and was friends with DADA artists Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Berenice Abbott.

Definition of DADA: Dada, or Dadaism, was a cultural movement that involved visual arts, literature (mainly poetry), theatre, and graphic design, and began in neutral Zürich, Switzerland during World War I. … According to its proponents, Dada was not art — it was “anti-art”. Dada sought to fight art with art. … Dada activities included public gatherings, demonstrations, and publication of art/literary journals. The movement was a protest against the barbarism of World War I, the bourgeois interests that Dada adherents believed inspired the war, and what they believed was an oppressive intellectual rigidity in both art and everyday society. Link

This book is a fictional interpretation of the life of Elsa the Baroness, it begins in Europe and travels through her many love affairs and marriages and then moves to New York where the real drama begins. Her health and finances deteorate and she starts to write poetry seriously. Elsa was a truly original charactor, a little bit mad and wonderful, her life and her art merged at this point in her life. She performed her poetry publicly wearing outrageous outfits that nearly got her killed on a more than one occasion. Her incredible outfits were one of the interesting things about her, and this is probably why Jeff sent me the book, she was an original in refashioning her clothing. Some of the creations are fantasically described and really come to life on the pages.

A great read, enlightened me about a person who I had not previously heard about, and has inspired me to get out the scissors and spoons and kewpie dolls and get creative!

The Intarsia´s or marquetry´s art covers the surface of furniture and accessories with intricate geometric patterns made of wood, bone, metal, and ivory. This art form has changed very little since the 14th century and it´s tradicional and typical from the city of Granada in Spain (it was used in making furniture and other objects in the Palace of the Alhambra).

It´s very interesting know how to make this art step by step.Read here.

El arte de la Taracea o marquetería cubre la superficie de muebles y accesorios siguiendo un intrincado modelo geométrico hecho de madera, hueso, metal, y marfil. Esta forma de arte ha cambiado muy poco desde el siglo XIV, además es tradiconal y típico de la ciudad de Granada (España) e isnpirado por el Palacio de la Alhambra.

Es muy interesante conocer cómo se realizan estoa patrones geométricos paso a paso. Lee aquí.