Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Summer reading stack


Sometimes when I am collecting my books from around the house I realize how well suited they are for each other. This week I will be known as Mustard-Maker. 

We have been talking about the history of keeping time and wondering if Summer lasts longer without a calendar. Our "sequence of nows" can be counted so many ways. I began with a draft for a daily planner but I am drawn to a weekly bead bracelet, like prayer beads, on which you keep track of all the "nows", or mornings you can read in bed, market days, afternoons when supper is early, evenings in the studio. 

What a nice way to capture a favorite week - and then walking to work, you reach into your pocket and begin counting the beads of "now": this was the morning we walked in the rain, this was the market beneath the tracks, this was the lunch chosen off the grill, this was the washing machine in the alley, this was the snow cone that saved our lives, this was the bridge we decided to cross. Next week I will be known as Vacation Bracelet-Maker.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My physics professor insisted that time didn't exist by itself, but only as a function of people - getting hungry, tired, sleepy, etc. He would love your bracelet concept.

Barbara said...

I hope you blog your "recipe" for the bracelets. I'm intrigued.

weaverknits said...

I finished Shop Class as Soulcraft a few weeks ago... it rambles a bit, and it's not perfect, but it's an inspiration to everyone who makes stuff, particularly for those who make a living doing it! I LOVED it!