Sunday, June 22, 2008

POTTERING



A book I thoroughly enjoyed reading is Fools Gold by Susan G Woolridge. In fact I read it on the beach in between pottering. It is quite the most surprising book (in an AHA! sense) that I have read in a long time.


Woolridge shares her "journey from loss and grief to a return of wholeness and joy".  As part of her healing process she began making a small collage box each day with the "treasure" she found on her walks. As a fellow forager myself this idea really appeals to me. Its something most people can't help doing when they're out in nature. In our family we call it pottering. "Where's mum?" "Oh she's off pottering."


Susan Woolridge is a poet and a great believer in the healing powers of journaling.  She writes "There's something I need to discover here and I don't know where it will take me. Bringing my journal alive in small boxes feels like uncharted territory, a new world of possibility for me." and thus she made the decision to create a box collage of her daily finds every day for a year.



Instead of making a collage a day I have been photographing my finds  (see photo above). I've brought home bags and bags of rocks from all over South Africa. They languish in my garden and whenever I look at them I remember those long walks and endless hours pottering in rock pools.


Some time back I wrote Nina Bagley's poem, "Gathering" into my quote book because it describes so perfectly what it is to be a gatherer. I asked her if I could post it here and she graciously  emailed the photograph and poem as it appeared on her blog.

"What matters,
Is the gathering,
the pockets filled with remnants
of a day evaporated, the traces of
certain memory, a lingering smell,
a smile that came with the shell."

Aah, bliss! If there is anyone who doesn't know Nina's blog, do yourself a favour and visit http://ornamental.typepad.com/ornamental/ . Her writing hits the spot and her jewellery is amazing. Many people enjoy the way she thinks and expresses herself. I wish she would write a book!

19 comments:

  1. I always find another inspiring idea whenever I come here, Robyn! I have 'collections' of gathered things around the studio but I never thought of photographing them and using them as art images...I knew I was keeping them for something! Do u ever find you've been keeping and keeping something for years and you don't know why and then one day, someone shows you the light? Thank you so much!

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  2. Cherry I'm so pleased this post hit the spot. Often I keep things and nearly throw them out but something niggles at the back of my mind so I put it in a drawer. 10 years down the line that something is perfect on a piece of sculpture. Now that's a great feeling!

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  3. Thank you so much for the visit and leading me here. I love Foolsgold and keep it by my bed, it is filled with little scraps and notes marking places I don't want to forget.

    Love it here!

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  4. I'm one of the lucky ones who have been with Nina on one of her gathering jaunts, while she was here in Australia. I'm a regular gatherer too and it's fascinating to see what other people collect. Your country must hold some wonderful treasures judging by your photos.

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  5. Your post has hit the spot with another gatherer! Thankyou.

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  6. Enchanting. I'm a potterer too. Always on the lookout when I'm at the pebbly beach near my house. And I feel so blessed whenever I see a blue robin's egg.

    The images today are lovely, and the words "rock pool" conjure up pure joy in the cool shiny depths...

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  7. Nina is one of my daily reads..she puts into words feelings and observations that I can't...I'm so often draw me to tears by her posts. I was so close to being a blubbery wreck sitting in her class at ArtFest! She embodiment of the 'me' struggling to get out...
    I've been a potterer since I was a child, living on the shores of Lake Erie...I still have jars of tiny shells, smooth glass and bits..and a jar of shells from my very first visit to the Pacific Ocean back in the 60's. They tell stories that are such a part of my history...I could never part with them!
    lovely, lovely post...

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  8. Your first photo is fabulous. I love how you are photographing your magpie finds! They look lovely against the stark white.

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  9. I never heard the term "pottering" .. . thanks for sharing it.. Your collections are exquisite... you have such an eye for placement/composition... beautiful!!!

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  10. My gathering is different but same, I gather thoughts, woolen and thick, and books in piles in my house and children fighting on the couch the only thing in fact I can't seem to gather is my mind.

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  11. Thanks for these pictures and the poem.
    It all inspires me to sort out my own "gatherings" and do a post on them, sometime.

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  12. beautiful collection of gatherings - what treasure!

    i also enjoyed reading Foolsgold, and spending time with Susan last spring at artfest - such a cyclone of creative energy she is.

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  13. Ooooo! What a wonderful thing to do! And a great poem. Nina Bagley will be at the Squam Art Workshops that I'm going to this September, but I didn't sign up for her class. I shall have to at least look her up now.

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  14. Oh I love your finds, Robyn! That rock with the ring pattern in the first shot, the feather with polka dots,and what I think might be a shell... greeny blue, very fine, and speckled.

    I agree that "pottering" helps restore the soul. Journal boxes are a neat idea...

    I'll check out that blog, thanks.

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  15. my first visit to your blog from steviewren's and i am enjoying it very much!!

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  16. Shayla, the fine "shell" is actually a locust wing that I found whilst walking in the Drakensberg. The butterfly is an ox-eyed pansy which I found in the grill of the car.

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  17. I had the privilege of being Susan Woolridge's roomie next door at Artfest, and she is a most generous and unassuming person.Her workshops shone with truth from the heart.

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  18. What a wonderful poem! Iv'e enjoyed your blog greatly, I relate on so many levels. Most of the books you mention in your profile are ones I love as well. I too, love to find little treasures on walks, in old drawers, or buried in the sawdust. I look forward to reading more from you! Happy trails...Peggy

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  19. I too totally love this book. It made for wonderful reading and exploring last summer!

    I love your finds :-) Thanks for sharing them.

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