the loveliness of small things

  some of you may remember these little fluttery layered pieces of silver sheet and mica from yesterday; some may not.  it doesn't matter.  what matters to me is that today i'm packing up some of these to send on their way, and before i separated them from a collection, i thought i'd take them out into the sunlight and hang them like icicles on the bare dogwood tree; only, once they were hung and fluttering and twinkling with the sunlight and the breeze, i was reminded more, than icicles, of prayers tied to trees in the eastern hemisphere.  seeing them suspended there, just beyond my side porch, flashing their simple words of "nest", "home", "bird", they seemed to me to be tiny little sacramental prayers for the tree, tiny messages to the universe that the bare branches will wait through the starkness of winter for new life to come to its reaching arms again.  and that made me smile, it really did, because the very notion of a tree having feelings and emotions seemed a real one to me indeed.

 

these little sacrements - cloud and song - will be winging their way this afternoon out to the west coast, to seattle, where clouds come in so many different sizes and shapes, so many different colors.   i like that they will be worn where they'll be understood, where folks completely know the rain and the grey and the damp quiet of darkened fall and winter.  i came to the computer just now to look up the new owner's address, and was pleasantly surprised to find a letter from her explaining just how keenly connected she feels to the earrings' purpose and design.  her words mean the world to me right now, and i thought i'd share them with all of you, after checking with her to make sure that was alright:

Dear Nina,

You have no idea how fitting these "Cloud Song" earrings are! Since I was a child in upstate South Carolina, I've been a cloud watcher. Recently I decided to spend more time on this activity to more deeply discern the messages in clouds. It's like reading a newspaper, in the sense that Robert Bly wrote about in his poetry anthology "News of the Universe." My former career was a newspaper copy editor and writer of features, but I've "graduated" from that and am pouring my creative energy into learning about and listening to "unimportant" things such as birds, clouds, trees, fish, the waves on the Puget Sound. (I write fiction also.) I am so grateful that you created the "Cloud Song" earrings and that I found them. (Your luscious creations sell so quickly, and for good reason!) I'll try to dream up a cloud song that is worthy of them and of the clouds.

I've been meaning to write you anyway to say how much your blog postings mean to me. I think you are a kindred spirit of Basho, the Japanese poet who lived more than 300 years ago! You may have heard of him. Basho is credited with inventing the haiku. And like our Henry David Thoreau, he strove to express something nearly inexpressible about life and nature. Basho's concept is called "wabi sabi". It's subtle and I won't try to describe it superficially here, but you can say it's about finding the beauty in imperfection. A wabi sabi writer tries to remind readers of the beauty they have forgotten. It's a way of being in the world unself-consciously. This kind of writer notices the flower by the roadside that others hurry by. There's a wonderful book about this I'm reading now and I highly recommend it: "Wabi Sabi for Writers," by Richard R. Powell. You can find it on Amazon.com. When I began reading it last week, I realized that your blog postings are all about wabi sabi. The poems of Mary Oliver also resonate with this notion of losing the ego by immersing oneself in the wonders of the natural world.

Enough for now. I better get back to work (I just remembered I have a day job). Just wanted to share these thoughts with you. I look forward to wearing the earrings that will embody so much beauty and spirit. I'll leave you with Basho's famous crow haiku:

On a withered branch

A crow settles

Autumn evening

 

Wishing you many many blessings,

Ramona

well.  you can imagine just how i felt after reading that.  she gets it.  she gets my earnest attempts to express my deep appreciation for the here and the now and the infinite beauties that surround us, if only we stop and look, touch, listen.  and of course i've ordered the wabi sabi book (along with two others) to be sent to me on monday.  this makes me want to glue words into seashells and scatter them through the woods, or secure them with resin into tiny silver frames and walk along, randomly toss them into the sea, so that they'll wash ashore, all sea-etched and worn, for others to find and place them in their sandy treasure-filled pockets, these newly found talismans of the water and the sky.  that is such a lovely notion; that is such a lovely dream.  i'd like to tie cut words together and connect them with silken ribbon and lace them, garland-style, through the reaching branches of brown winter trees.  i see myself doing this; can you see yourself doing it as well? xo

Comments

[Lisa]

I want to meet Ramona!!!! Beautiful words!!!!! Thanks for sharing this!!!!!

[Tina in McLeansville]

so much here today! words in the winter trees for the winds to catch and whisper through is a splendid idea! every time you or a guest enters or departs, every time you look outside, the reminder is there....safe haven. i love that in the solace picture, every grain of sand is visible. i love the anonymity of tossing words into the sea, or pressing them into the palm of a worn hand, or dropping them into the pocket of a harried young mother, or just writing them on a scrap of paper and picking an address from the phone book to send....acts such as these are far too rare and precious.....and i think it's high time we started....to care again. what a magnificent seed you've planted here today! xo

[Amy]

I hope that when you do string words through naked branches, you will share the pictures with all of us. I see myself rolling up poems and tucking them into balloons, then blowing them up and releasing them into the sky...and hopefully, whereever they come down, the poetry will find someone's heart.

[Cindy Ericsson]

I love the picture of the dogwood tree filled with these words, prayers, hopes, and with the red berries that indicate that life continues amidst the bareness of winter.
Ramona's words show that you are the granter of unspoken wishes to many here, the revealer of small quiet worlds and one very large, very full heart.

[Lorraine W.]

Hi Nina
What a beautiful post .I can so relate to all you have said .What a lovely letter that Ramona sent you .
If only i could write like with such passion that you do .
Have awonderful day
Love Lorraine xx
P.S The photos are glorious i paticularly love the one of earings glistening in the tree....

[herhimnbryn]

When I 'discovered' the theory (is that the right word?) of wabi-sabi, I felt an immediate connection. I thought to myself, well, all that time you have spent throughout your life, looking at small things,ordinary things and there is a word for it!

I read your posts whenever I can Nina, usually as the sun is coming up. It's a little like coming home, flinging off my shoes, putting on the kettle and sitting down with a good friend. Thankyou.

[Miss Mandy]

Lately Ive been lucky to have joined a group of women who celebrate this whole shebang.... (!)
working with intent, prayers, and honour. How wonderful it is to be supported by like minds, to be understood and truly listened to. Wonderful too, that time and distance are overcome and this circle extends beyond boundaries. My thoughts are with you often.
x mandy

[Debbie Overton]

The last few posts have been wonderful and I especially loved this one. Growing up my Mom would have us sit down and write a short note to atleast 2 people thanking them for anything. Maybe something they said or did or how their life is such a great influence on me. And to this day I still pick out 2 or more people to send a note to each week. I have sent them to the police and fire department, the garbage pick up, the mailman, the local gas station, someone online, and yes I have even randomly picked someone from the phone book and mailed them a note. Sometimes I sign it and sometimes I don't!

Wish there were more Nina's and Romona's in this world....it certainly would be a better place!

[Penny]

Oh my gosh!! I was blown away (could you use breeze or wind as one of 'your' words?) by both your post, the words of Ramona and the comments above. This is one to print and keep in my 'inspiration' cache. I love the words hanging in the trees, I love the words written by your hand and I love the words passed on by everyone here. Thanks to you dear Nina, once again.

[liz elayne]

inhale.

you have no idea how much i needed to read every single word of this post.

exhale.

thank you.

yes yes yes to all of this.

[sheila]

Oh Nina. Yes and Yes. I love the notion of all of us out there tying words to trees and throwing poems into the ocean and flinging thank yous to the universe. I'm starting in my own back garden tomorrow--on the lime, the orange, the lemon.

I want to say thank you, not only, but always, to Nina, but to all the "commenters"--wise and funny, loving and warm--our own tiny community. Many of us may never meet face to face, but somehow, I hear you all and I listen for you.
xxxooo

[Diana Trout]

Magical. We are having a bit of snow in SE PA and tonight the naked trees are caught up with light like a white garden in winter. Thank you Nina and Ramona.

[Andrew Thornton]

You are a constant source of beauty and inspiration! I adore your blog - your words, images, and how they converge to make magic. You have a true talent, not easily defined in words that only true magicians and alchemists possess!

[Emily Henderson]

It is very nice to see you excited and to feel validated by Ramona's words. I will take this post to heart and try to stop and notice nature more. I think we get lost in the mix sometimes. If only the trees could talk, what they would tell us. I have always loved trees. I think all of life's answers are in the trees. They feel the inside of the earth and at the same time breathe the air. I will think of a worthy word and post it to one of my favorite trees!

[julie]

your work looks so at home hanging from the branches....and yes it would be wonderful to stumble across one of your weathered treasures while walking on the beach or through the woods but you just being you opens our eyes to the beauty and magic around us and as you said in your post urges us to take the time to "stop and look, touch, listen" and i love you for that......j

[Karen]

Loving the earrings fluttering in the tree - they look so at home there. They remind me of the Japanese wishing tree that Nona made in "Miss Happiness and Miss Flower" by Rumer Godden which I read as a child and still love.

[Lorri]

What a very sweet and heart warming letter, I have tears in my eyes, really!

She does get it and realizes your intentions, beautiful.

Lorri

[Mary Lawrence]

Nina, It is becoming a ritual for me to take a break from the monotony of my day job by sipping my mid-morning cup of tea while stealing a few moments to read your blog. The feeling of serenity and connectedness with nature and the art community that I experience each time I read your heart-felt writing and view your exquisite photos helps me get through the day. It is something that I've grown to look forward to and cherish as I sit at my computer longingly looking out the window at the last few leaves tenaciously hanging onto the bare branches of the oak trees and wishing I were outside shuffling through the piles of leaves, feeling the chill air and the sun on my face or just watching the clouds drift by. As inspiring as your writing is, I have never posted a comment because, well I just couldn't possibly express myself eloquently enough to reflect how deeply it makes me feel. But I just had a thought I feel compelled to share; in a previous post you mentioned you had decided to stop publishing your artwork in magazines and asked what your readers would like to see in a book should you decide to publish one. I felt immediately disapointed at not being able to see your work in print any more, but think I understand your decision. So what I would love to see is your blog writings and photos published in a book format that I could hold in my hands and read cover to cover, or keep on my desk or by my bed for a quick dose of inspiration and beauty. Your writing is so deep and thoughtful and your photos so lovely, to have them all gathered together along with pictures of your exquisite jewelry and mixed media books in paper form would be a dream.....

[Ramona]

I'm thrilled to read all these comments and discover how many of us yearn deeply for more loving connections between ourselves and with other beings, such as the trees. Let's do as Nina did and place sweet words of hope and encouragement all over the place! My spinning teacher encouraged the class to spin as a meditation, putting our intentions into the fiber as we spun. Then we took the bits of yarn that we had made with intentions like "love," "peace," "beauty," etc., and hung them on tree branches. We also spun bracelets with "protection" as the intention and exchanged them with each other before we departed for our homes.
And please do consider making a book with your photos and blog writings, Nina. I think what you write touches such responsive chords in many people because you are an original and you write completely from your heart, whether you are feeling joy or sorrow. That is the secret!

[karen]

As an independent bookshoppe owner I'd like to suggest, from one independent businesswoman to another, that you support an independent bookseller in your area or online not Amazon. The more that people use Amazon, Walmart and countless big box stores, the less chance that any independent shoppes of any kind will survive. There is a big difference between an independent seller and a corporation, as I'm sure you know with your jewelry. Can people get it for less? Yes. Most deeply discounted books are sold below cost to swallow up the marketplace and become number one. It is an injustice to other artists, booksellers included, to promote the big guys. I'd be happy to let anyone know what independents do that big boxes don't. Thank you.

[Linda Solan]

I love the beach glass in your Artfest Album... where is that beach located.... Oregon? Probably somewhere that I cannot get to..ha! I live in Central NY.. the "Home of Women's Rights" I have collected beach glass for years from Florida and now from the Finger Lakes in NY. I just love it. My friends laugh and think I am boggy... when we are near a shore, I am looking.. There seems to no longer be any beach glass in Florida (where my daughter lives) Guess it is all the plastic bottles now use. I last found a white piece of glass near Cape Coral while visiting a friend... in the shape of a long heart and had it wrapped in silver for wearing. I absolutely admire your work, your creativity... your inner beauty shows through in your work. Lovely..
Linda
www.pbase.com/lindasolan

[Bonnie Moench]

Nina

You make me want to go outside ( even in the howling wind) and add my prayer flags to my trees.....

I think that Mary Lawrence had a wonderful idea....please consider it.....a wonderful book of you blog postings. Something to savor no matter the weather.....

xoxo
Bonnie

[Jacky]

I love your "words" hanging from the dogwood tree........

Small things and little details are what make life so special I think.

Jacky xox