Discovering something else
PART ONE: FINDING / DECONSTRUCTING / WRAPPING
FINDING
A few weeks ago I found myself having to cross the street because of social distancing. Actually, I could have just walked in the street to let the people pass on the sidewalk. But I was drawn to cross the street and I’m glad I did. What I found on the other side were several ginkgo branches.
Ginkgo biloba, come to find out, is an ancient tree species dating back 270 million years and is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. Source
Ginkgo trees feel special and rare to me, curious even, with their fan-like, wavy-edged leaves, and hanging round fruit seeds, all clustered at the end of short knobby spurs.
DECONSTRUCTING
I watched them dry and change color in my studio over those few weeks. And then I began deconstructing one of the branches, first by taking off the knobby spurs from the branches, then the leaf and fruit seed clusters from the spurs.
I was gentle with my movements, honoring the branch that came upon my path, exploring the wonder of how nature made this, and how the ginkgo tree has survived for millions and millions of years.
WRAPPING
As the days passed and the leaves dried even more, many started to turn a blush-bronze color. Against the fading seaweed-sage green, it was like nature’s play with color.
I found that same blush-bronze color in a spool of natural dyed cotton thread I had from Laos, which was make from the red taro root. It was nearly the exact same color as the turned ginkgo leaves! Nature was now playing with me.
And so I started wrapping the Lao thread around the ginkgo leaf stems with their long, slight curves. My idea is to make a healing wand. But who knows? Maybe it will be something else, too.
PART TWO: THE FINAL / THE PHOTOS
THE FINAL
While deconstructing the branches, I noticed several ginkgo leaves were attached in a cluster to a spur off the branches. So the idea of clusters started to intrigue me, as I continued to attached more and more wrapped ginkgo leaves to the twig.
The cluster I had envisioned in my mind, however, soon evolved to spread out and fill in, layer upon layer, because there was something else interesting happening there, too. By the time I was done, the leaves were not in a cluster. Nor were they in a queue like in my other healing chimes. They were a crowd.
I’m not a fan of crowds, generally. Or maybe I miss crowds because we haven’t really been around them in this pandemic. I wish I could love the final thing, but sometimes I guess we don’t. But here’s what I love about this piece, if not the final thing.
I loved the process – that flow of not knowing where the path was going to lead me.
I loved assembling – the curious drive to put another and another and how many more ginkgo leaves could I attach.
I loved looking close – the way the threads tangled, the leaves swayed, and the wrapped stems bent and bowed.
And the reason I don’t love the final thing? The colors! Yep. So while the soft blush-bronze thread gives warmth, and the fading seaweed-sage green leaves offers tranquility, together they don’t create a spark. Love is like that sometimes, isn’t it.
THE PHOTOS
Documenting the creative process offered me a way to see up close, and I loved what I was seeing up close, especially in black and white and gray.
The simple gesture of reaching down, coiling around, and fanning out.
Waves upon waves, rising and falling, swishing and swaying, layering and revealing.
The tangle of threads and wrapped stems – like the movement in expressive mark making, a crowded streetscape, or a choreographed dance.
Sometimes the photos of a thing are more interesting than the final thing itself.
“Discovering something else” was originally published as an exclusive post to my Patreon supporters in August and December 2020. Now it’s public and available to you, too!
And I’m excited to announce that since December 2022, I’ve switched to Ko-fi!
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A big shout out to my wonderful supporters! Thank you, each of you, for supporting my ongoing creative work – Julie B, Sharmila K, Sushmita M, Kori J, Marga F, Kara B, Kristina L, Laura C, Louise B, Beck C, Skip M, Chris Z, and Richie M. It means so much and I am grateful. I think of you as create these posts, what I write about and share, and I hope that it offers you insight and inspiration along the way.
