I was going to wait to post about this but i just can't wait. Finally caught some good daylight yesterday and got to take the pictures.
Look what i received in the mail last Monday!
...arrived just like that, so raw and delicate...love the little clasp on the box...
It is from *Erin*, whom i have yet to meet in person but whose presence has already touched me ever so deeply. Thank you, Erin, for this, and for magically appearing into my life. :).
[click for a closer peek]
I think of the hands that went into tearing these pieces and pieces of paper that look like fine leather and feathers...
and then underneath all that softness...
...a dragonfly i've been looking for, and a tiny tiny lovely blooming:
I saw it and it speaks to me ever so softly, echoing my thoughts.
and the dragonfly...like the one my dad had caught for me to fly with when i was little, because where i was born, there were no toy stores around at the time.
the dragonfly in silent prayers...
Oh Mien, that's so stunning and so beautiful!
ReplyDeletePlease go, have a look to google-images for "earth star" and you will find the tiny mushroom you've got...one that I'm longing to see for all the time I cross the forests with my mushroom-lover-nose down on the ground ;)
And a dragonfly...one of the animals which are the most amazing to me! So delicate and fragile and...full of energy-sparkling in the sunshine.
Oh Mien, you got a treasure from lovely Erin!
i sure did get a treasure from Erin. :].
ReplyDeleteand thank you for the reference, Uschi! i didn't know that is a little mushroom, and one called the earth star, too. what a perfect name for it, and how appropriately to have it be given by Erin, and now sharing the joy of it with you, Uschi. :).
Wow! What a beautiful gift. Very unique and special. I am in awe.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful that it almoust hurts. Your words, the gift and your pictures of it...
ReplyDeleteHow truly precious. They say that it is the thought that counts in gift giving and if that is the case then this gift must count for an awful lot. It's really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful comment on my blog - it really got me thinking as it made so much sense. Sometimes it is difficult to look at ones own work with clear vision don't you think? All semester I've been stressed about finding my own 'thing' and my teacher reassured me that there are strong, clear threads that link all of my work - I just wasn't looking right. So thank you for your objective vision. I will apply some of my natural tendencies to this piece (which has undergone a radical metamorphosis overnight - ha!). I appreciate the time you took to give such feedback. :)
blushing :}
ReplyDeleteAh Mien you are so sweet, our exchanges have been ever so special to me too.
When I saw that tiny mushroom it made me immediately think of you and one of the images on your wall of the paper mache object and orange peel and you had just made the little ceramic pieces, so it whispered with them. It dried and closed up so I spent a few days happily spritzing it with water to make it bloom again and again, and then a few more trying to get it to stay partially open like it is now:)I've found two dancing ones before, skirts flying, but this one was definitely yours. I didn't know it's name though, so thank you Uschi for sharing!
And then when I left for my trip, I didn't have time to send it and was feeling sad about it until I walked in the door and there on the table was the dragonfly, my aunt found it to take pics of and I remembered one of our first conversations about dried things so there you are.
I love hearing the story about your dad. As a kid I spent a great deal of time with lizards (little anoles we called chameleons would clamp on as earrings for my brother and I) and locusts(one would eat leaves in my hand, holding them sideways as she ate). Those toys were my favorites.
Omg, Erin found you a dragonfly, how coool!! :-D What a tiny tiny 'shroom, and what pretty wings on the dragonfly! What are those 4 points in the last photo on the head/neck of the dragonfly.
ReplyDeleteThat's so sweet (and a very interesting detail) of your dad to give you the dragonfly to fly around as your toy! (Reminds me of Japan when I first visited. That was the first time I saw dragonflies, flying by the rice patties where many frogs lived. We used to catch them in our hands, and they'd pee, but it was fun. Next time I went, no more rice patties, just concrete and homes. :-( I was sad that they were gone.)
Presents are wonderful, aren’t they? I was/am so happy about the gift you gave me, that beautiful list of wings, have been going back to look and wonder and delight, trying to decide if I’ve got a favourite, convinced it’s the one I’m looking at, but as soon as I look at the next one that one becomes the best and then the next on and the next one.
ReplyDeleteI love that little bud in the first pic, or is it a pod? A beginning or an end that carries in itself possible new beginnings? It looks so small and unassuming and so beautiful. And that dragonfly is gorgeous, with those delicately spun double-wings! (Amazing that it survived in the post, thanks to Erin’s treasure-box packing skills.) Love that it means so much to you because of what you remember, what a lovely life gift your dad gave you. Made me want to know where you were born and how you lived as a child. And much more of course…
What will you do with the dragonfly?
Thank you, Katie, for stopping by. i feel very lucky to receive this gift. :].
ReplyDeleteand Olga, so good to see you here! :). thank you for your heartfelt words...
Shell, i've really enjoyed following the progress of your painting and seeing how far you have taken it.
dear Erin, i am so touched by how you got the little guy to bloom again. didn't know one could do that. and thank you to your aunt for willing to part with the dragonfly. if it were me, i don't think i would be able to give it away. heh. i really love how you sent it together with the earth star, and underneath that beautiful bed of handmade papers.
and i didn't know you can clamp chameleons on your ears. you're a wild child, Erin. :). i so enjoy your stories of being in the country and with the animals. i don't get to see much here except for when i am on the trails.
hey Grace, it didn't occur to me that dragonflies pee too until you mentioned it. you gave me a lovely image of little cute you running in the rice patties happily trying to catch these dragonflies... :).
Marjojo, i was born in Cambodia, but did not stay there long enough to remember much of anything...just stories that became memories...
and i'm glad you like the wings. when i see wings now, immediately i think of you. :).
This is such a beautiful gift, so poetic and thoughtful. I love how they conjured memories and inspiration in you.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky! I'm still remiss about not picking up that dargonfly I saw at my aunt's house on Molokai two years ago; we were cleaning up for a party and I got sidetracked, then remembered to go back out to retrieve it to take home with me to NM. Sadly, my aunt had already swept the area. It was gone. I even rummaged through the trash can in hopes of finding it. I still want one as it connects me to my home of birth. I understand your connection very well.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful - very magical and special.
ReplyDelete