The Crossing .
One day I will swim out to the seaweed. And I swam for the longest time to know the place where I now rest. But let me not forget to look far back into the distance. Cast the mind before the deep unknown. Feel the fear in every stroke as I made that crossing. As I make it still each day.
(Clunk & Jam book, 2019. Pictured, Hansel & Gretel).
Clunk & Jam .
Through the clunks and jams and carriage returns of the dusty old beast that rides my desk, I slap silence with letters on waving arms, clunking out truth on a black rubber roll, as jams slow the rush and errors have a say.
Footnote: ‘Clunk & Jam’ is the title of the book. The book was typed on an old manual typewriter – Clunk & Jam being the sound of the typing and also the above poem about the process.
(Making Clunk & Jam second edition, 2019)
Occasionally she lost sight of hope.
(Clunk & Jam, 2019 book).
Art by George Frederic Watts (1886). Original in colour.
Martin Luther King Jr based his 1959 sermon, ‘Shattered Dreams’, on the theme of a 1886 painting called, ‘Hope’.
Excerpt:
‘We must determine how we live in a world where our highest hopes are not fulfilled. What does one do under such circumstances?
Read the rest of this page »
The Artist Crime of The Century .
Imagine … sitting in the waiting room of a dentist surgery, flipping through a newspaper. You spot a sketch of the proposed Twin Tower buildings in New York. In that moment you decide, upon completion of the buildings, you will (illegally) string a tightrope wire between the towers (450 metres high) and attempt the impossible. And you do it. Not once, but you dance (and kneel and lay) along the wire, crossing back and forth 8 times. Philippe Petite devoted years to making his dream a reality -along with loyal supporters. A friend told me this story and recommended the movie ‘Man on Wire’. I return to it time and time again for inspiration and strength – and the message that we must prepare our steps well but also be prepared to step back from the wire when those steps don’t feel right to take.
Find in Clunk & Jam book. See ‘Man on Wire’ documentary film, 2008).
Thank you to the kind people who sponsor books to be given to community groups for the young people they are supporting. This box is bound for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in rural Northam.
The idea of making the book bags (pockets, pouches) above, for The Black Dog Project came from spending time with young people who’d experienced trauma, and my own experience of it. When you’ve experienced trauma ‘safe places’ and ‘being held’ become very important. The books themselves are created with that in mind – soft paper, muted tones, ink soaked deep into the page. Characters who ‘hold you’. And space.
The community groups who gift the books to those they’re supporting say the kids often hold the books to their chests (hearts) with a sense of preciousness. So from that emerged the idea of creating a safe place to keep the books in and somewhere to add their own things. A group of friends got together with their sewing machines and made a beautiful batch of the pouches. They have a soft draw string cord and a symbol embroidered by hand with string. The symbol being code for ‘righting the wrongs’.
The hand-made part of the gift box is really important. Interestingly, we had some graphically designed and slickly printed black dog bookmarks done in 2010 but the counsellors say the kids are always drawn to the handmade things. Like the cardboard squares cut from the back cover of art journals and stamped with The Black Dog Project stamp on one side and Clunk & Jam typewriter on the other. Aside from being ‘quiet’ and softly sensory, maybe it’s because they’re imperfect and no two are the same? A good message about the value of difference maybe? And things not being perfect?
The New Brave .
If it is brave to be tough – is it not also brave to show sensitivity?
If it is brave to fight in anger – is it not also brave to not fight the sadness?
If it is brave to get on with it – is it not also brave to sit still in it?
If it is brave to confront something – is it not also brave to choose to retreat?
If it is brave to hold emotion back and in – is it not also brave to feel it? If it is brave to be in the spotlight – is it not also brave to be alone?
Pictured book page from Clunk & Jam. Pic from The Concise Oxford Dictionary and ‘Mary Poppins’ book.
