A Commonplace Book Entry: The Experience of Time

"The events in our lives happen in a sequence of time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order, a timetable not necessarily, perhaps not possibly--chronological. The time as we know it subjectively is often the chronology that stories and novels follow; it is the continuous thread of revelation." -- Eudora Welty

It's time for another entry from my commonplace book! Thumbing through, I found this quote by the author Eudora Welty from a book I read years ago, One Writer's Beginnings. The date of this notation in my book is September 20, 2000. Just thinking back that far reminds me not only how young and naive I still was, but also how very different everything was then. But this notion, stated so eloquently by Eudora Welty, still rings true...at least to me.

And maybe that thought is what underlies my fascination with beeswax....and the drawings on paper dipped in beeswax that form the pages of a book, creating a translucence that speaks to the nature of time....how the past, the present and future often feel visible at once, echoing back and forth through time.

This little book is still in progress....haven't yet bound the pages together, but thought I'd share the transformation that happens once the pages are dipped in beeswax. I have some "before" photos of a few pages and then you'll see the same pages shown after the beeswax...now rich and translucent.

Beginning pages from "The Book of Then and Now"...

Hope your week is going well....it's hump day, as they say. I like to think that each day is a new start....a new unfolding. Enjoy!

Settling Into Summer

Greetings, friends! I hope I don't sound like a broken record when I say that I feel like I'm finally getting on top of things. I am more relaxed now in the studio and some looming deadlines for other things have now come and gone, so I'm feeling good. I am settling into a rhythm with the new daily format....black and white 6 x 6" pieces for the weekdays and the teabags mounted on bristol for the weekends. I've also found some time in the last day or so to finish up a couple new pieces for MissouriBendStudio, along with adding more dots to a Transcendence piece in the works. I meant to do a blogpost at the end of the week, but better late than never....I can still try for two a week, although it may not always work out. I still haven't had a chance to get caught up on blog reading, which I miss, but that's the next step. The weather has, for the most part, been delightful and we're outside enjoying the fresh air or working in the garden beds when we can....might as well enjoy the summer weather before it becomes beastly hot! I am always grateful for the faithful support I have here....you all are wonderful readers and fans and I thank you for the patience and messages of good cheer! Now, it looks like we've got some catching up to do...nearly a week of dailies since I was last here!

June 20, 2012

June 21, 2012

June 22, 2012

June 23, 2012

June 24, 2012

I made a couple of little books with some of the collage pieces I started last fall....both have pages that are dipped in beeswax....creates a delicious translucency! They are just a few pages, held together with a pamphlet stitch. I've just listed this one in the MissouriBendStudio shop, where you can find some detail views of the pages.

Mysterious Panoramas Transforming

The second book, Book of Civilizations Lost and Found will be listed there tomorrow....hope you'll check it out!

Okay....there's still some time left in the afternoon to get back in the studio before Johntimothy comes home and we head out to Sioux City on an errand run!  Hope you have a fantastic week!