A Writer Afoot: Shards and Glue
Источник: https://barbaraoneal.substack.com/p/a-writer-afoot-shards-and-glue
============================================================

The surface of my art table is a smorgasbord of materials—strips of gelli-printed paper, antique Indian stamps, patterned sheets, sticker books, paints and brushes, jars of water, paper towels, pressed botanicals, sketchbooks, knives, and a pair of wonderful scissors Tammi Salas brought us from Paris, by way of Morocco.

 It’s less a practice than a compulsion. Every day the bits and pieces of chaotic material are shaped into something that makes sense. I don’t know where they’re coming from or why this is the only art I want to do.

 

 
 

 Or maybe I do. It feels like the entire world is caught in a tornado of incomprehensible decisions, and although we’re still in the worst winds, it’s already clear that whatever remains when it finally blows itself out will be unrecognizable.

 My only relief is in taking the shards and slivers of paper on my desk to make into something else. Much the way a novel is written. A random idea from ages ago, a suddenly spark of delight, a splash of obsession, a hunger to understand something, and somehow, a novel starts to grow.

 

 The chaos of my art table 
 

 What I’m walking with this week:

 —I finally ordered a meal delivery box. It just arrived, full of fresh veggies and meats already prepared and ready for me to make into dinner, appealing and healthy snacks. I don’t know why it was so hard to admit this is what I really want to do right now.

 —Ignoring the nattering, nasal voice of Edgar, my inner critic, who is really mean. Trying to listen harder for the kindly voice who mothers me. 

 —Remembering that, as hard as it is to grasp sometimes, I am an elder. And it is my duty to hold up the light. 

 What are you walking with this week? 

 Leave a comment

 Subscribe now

 Share This Place of Wonder