Falling in love with words. Intangible, something you can't quite touch but it is there it lingers on the air or in a pattern that has faded, the smell of a rose will remind you as it fades.. I would marry intangible with anima mundi, (world soul) everything interrelated and interconnected.
So where am I going as the fingers touch the alphabet before me. Well firstly, reading Joanne Noragon on her work with looms and Tom Stephenson on the attributes of the proper use of lime.
In Japan there is the idea of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Paul when he was in Japan on a business trip in 2009 with a client, took photos for me of the looms at the Nisigin Textile Center. In fact living with Paul taught me that craft work is important, it would take time before you actually became an expert, in fact you were always learning. I have often mentioned the Aged Paste cycle which takes ten years to happen. Each year the great pot is taken out the old water replaced by new. I have photos of the indigo dyers, stirring their pots of indigo, a miraculous process taking place as the dyed garments are brought up into the air and the oxygen turns a different colour into that deep blue.
You can find the world in these two words, the prehistoric stones we both loved, the old churches we visited, the sheer physical beauty of the natural world and that craft work which takes time and love.
Paul lost his love for conservation it took its toll on knees and eyes but his love of Japan never diminished. Looking through old blogs, and suddenly I remember he collected 'stuff'. Must be all up on the rafters of the garage. The heavy Japanese fireman's uniforms, you soaked the fabric before they tackled the fire. There was the butcher's aprons marked with their names. The glass topped trays of minerals and dyes which I can't find but two of the boxes could be under a piece of heavy furniture.
So I shall delve amongst my old blogs for reminders of the thing I have mentioned and spend a happy hour or two visiting the past.
In my experience of widowhood (twice) you have to be in the right frame of mind to visit the past. You sound as though you have reached that stage Thelma - do get pleasure from it. Working throuugh it and enjoying it all for the second time is so important and so enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteTrouble is the present is so dull and the future has great scrolls of uncertainty. The past is at least safe because it has already been lived!
DeleteThis post is like a small short story.
ReplyDeleteAlways too short ;) An idea grabs me and off I go.........
DeleteNow I am curious about the items in the rafters of your garage. You will have to have a strong helper come and assist you so you can sort through it. Who will have these treasures - a museum, a collector, a university? Who will be excited about what you find up there? What will you do with it?
ReplyDeleteI am wondering about this...
Luckily enough it is not my problem, but belongs to his two sons, Paul really needed his own museum, there is a scatter of fossils everywhere as well. Many of his collected books should I think go to the British Museum, as he set up the Japanese studio there. But we will see.
DeleteThank you, Thelma, for the kind mention. Craft is a lifetime of learning. But then, life is a lifetime of learning. I am so impressed at how we learn from each other. The intangible world soul. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI am totally impressed Joanne by your courage and dedication to weaving, and watching other people's fascinating lives. X
DeleteRevisiting the past can be hard, but it also can be lovely. You just have to know when you are ready to take that on. Perhaps you could invite someone to do the exploring of the rafters with you.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, but a car has to be moved first Arleen. I enjoy the past, for instance, it reminds us of how much we have done. It is filled with good vibes, grandchildren, relationships, friends and the marvellous natural world we live in.
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