Tuesday, July 4, 2017

quiet? thinking

KA BOOM!!!
pop pop thud.
a woman said to me: happy fourth of july.
i said, i've never heard that before!
it's my quiet day.
KA BOOM!
what irony, 
yet this is how it is today.
i have time to ponder.
i taught in beautiful victoria, bc,
meanwhile meeting* both jean and bryan
north country shifu for three days
a quick paper manipulation half day
and a one day textile/paper/book class
and boarded a ferry
sailed down the ocean trail to seattle
one woman (forgive me for forgetting names)
made this beauty.
 another (famous) woman stretched her skills
 and this class wanted more and more, 
so i took apart my journal
and traced the cover 
and they all learned to tread from textileness to bookishness
there was a vender market
maiwa stopped me, 
astonished, 
in my tracks.
that night i read A Quiet Manifesto
and was deeply moved 
thinking how i needed this 40 years ago
but i have it now.
as i work, teach, make more and more books
and paper,
and textiles,
i am finally thinking about what i'm doing.
so there's this: we have paths to walk
mine is what i want to do
what i am skilled at
but more, i want to touch, to enrich (maybe push a little bit) the life and work of others.
in a sense being fully present in my part of the cycle.
being a quiet sort
i teach.
i make books.
and i try to build a life that is whole.
i have several roles, don't we all?
but this 
t h i n g about f i b e r...
the thread that runs through it.
i have more to ponder
this quiet day
in a hotel
in seattle. 


*if you know bryan or jean you know they are powerhouses, and meeting is hardly the word. maybe experienced is more accurate.


10 comments:

  1. taking apart your journal, you are truly a teacher by vocation!

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  2. a lovely, thoughtful reflection on why...

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  3. Thank you. I didn't know you were going to be in western Canada. I live near (one province over, to the east) but also far...more than a day's drive across the mountains; an hour by plane. I'm glad you enjoyed your time with/at MAIWA and in our Vancouver. You were in the right place at the right time with the right students. Perhaps some other day we will connect...until then: blessings!

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  4. mo, well, i guess i am! never thought of that!
    fiona, i'm attempting to be a bit more thoughtful/vulnerable.
    margaret, in all the confusion (at least three vancouvers...) and not working the blog much i dropped the ball. the ANWG group ran a smoothe event.

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  5. hi Velma. Sounds like you arrived safely and again are sharing the skills and knowledge. Wish we could have spent more time together - next time when we can enjoy the quatro fromaggio again.

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  6. jean, yes, but we had some wonderful meals (sigh, quattro fromaggio) and conversations, and time spent working and playing. i'm hauling home the "reed loom" and plan to finish. tomorrow is the talk and then sat the next class.

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  7. velma.
    love you.

    is the quiet manifesto you mention Susan Cain's?

    xo

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  8. judy, this quiet manifesto was written by Charllotte Kwon for Maiwa.

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  9. You're here! So looking forward to this evening!

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  10. hazel, me, too, though just a bit jittery.

    ReplyDelete

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