Cute as a....

I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I am amazed at the collection of buttons I have acquired. I guess it is more of an inheritance, in a way. My Grandmother is a wonderful woman, and she constantly gives me  beautiful pieces of clothing, sewing notions, hats, and so many things to make things out of. One thing that she has given me is a large collection of buttons. Today, I decided to empty out the many packages and try to sort them into groups, so that I might use them in future creations. I was mystified and thrilled by the treasures that brushed my fingertips.

One thing that I enjoy about the world is the ability to sometimes touch history, and come in contact with the past. To connect yourself to it in a way beyond text and movies, and create your own stories and musings surrounding a small object, a building, whatever it may be. That was how I felt when I was in London, in Bannack, in Fort Benton, Robsart Cemetery...anywhere quiet and somehow sacred, veiled in mystery and shrouded in decades or centuries.

That is the same kind of sense I get when I handle family objects or items in an antique or junk shop. Small items with its own history. A history you will never know because it surpasses your entire existence, and yet here you are, a part of that history, creating your own history around a tiny little thing. Because of this view of old items, I tend to become extremely attached to such things, like they're far more meaningful than something as small as a button or a piece of string or whatever it is.

Thus, my absolute adoration for these buttons. To me, they're more than just fasteners for clothing. It's like a rite of passage, passed down from my grandmother and my great-grandmothers and on and on. It might be silly to get such a sense from bits of plastic and glass... wood and shell... metal and cloth. However, to me, they're some of the most beautiful things I own.

While I was going through the buttons, I found some particularly wondrous ones.

Have you ever looked at the engravings on some buttons, or the detail, and wondered why? It seems that buttons are one of those things that suggest value and worth. They also suggest status, rank, where you belong. There's bound to be some kind of symbolism and suggestion there...

One of the buttons that caught my attention the most is a small copper coloured button with a stamped or engraved face.

It is a three-legged eagle, surrounded by the words 'es devs spes nostra', which means 'God is our hope'. Apparently there are many versions of this button (in all the buttons I found, I actually found two. The other one is a shiny brass button with a smaller crest, and larger face). I read that it is similar to a button used on uniforms during the British Revolutionary war, but also appeared on a myriad of sports coats, jackets, and so on. It is very likely that I will read about it further, and learn more about it. Talk about an interesting source for a timeline of an item, and tracking the history of one item. Why would a button with a Latin motto such as this appear on sports coats?

Health and You

Today, I remembered that I needed to buy milk. I was exhausted from a late night concert (Said The Whale! Finally!!), and because of this, didn't recall that I needed milk until after I had fallen asleep on the train and almost missed my stop.

Because of the location of my dwelling, I'm not really close to any real grocery stores. The closest things are convenience stores and a health food store. Due to the fact I feel dirty when I buy milk or any home food items from convenience stores, I decided to be adventurous and go to the organic food store (or health food store).

Health and organic foods are something that I have mild issues with. Just because something says 'organic', and you have to pay a great percentage more, does not mean that it is a miracle cure for healthiness. You may or may not be getting the same types of chemicals, but things like chips are still chips. Cheese is still cheese. A muffin is still a calorie loaded breakfast treat. People who only shop organic and only at expensive health food stores strike me as pretentious and only a little bit misinformed. I'm sure that they're great people, but great people can still be uppity.

So, I went to the organic food store for milk. Have you ever tried buying milk at an organic food store? There is no such thing as just milk. It is either magic milk made from beans or nuts or sheep, or it's highly organic, or it's three dollars more than a normal thing of milk. I decided to settle on some milk in a glass bottle. I figured that since I was spending way too much on milk as it was, I may as well make it special. Also, drinking from glass is far better than drinking from plastic.

After buying the milk, and some pistachios for a snack, I walked home, pondering what kind of step I had just taken in my life, and seriously questioning my overall diet.

Also, I was going to buy couscous. Could I find couscous? No! There was no couscous. What kind of health food store doesn't have the most perfect instant pasta in the universe??

Art Creationism

I am finally getting back into the groove of making art. Inevitably, this means taking a day where I get up at 9:30, stay in my pyjamas all day, and work on things for hours at a time. It often means drinking litre after litre of tea as well. At the moment, I'm teasing the idea of actually making something every day for a year. I don't know if I'm committed enough, but I imagine that if I got down to it, I would be able to do it quite easily. Here are a few things I've done recently.

The one on the left is my newly decoupaged sketchbook, or part of it. I tend to keep a lot of paper ephemera around, and I decided that since I don't hang it on my wall often, but I want to keep it, I may as well decorate my sketchbooks with them. Sketchbooks are not something I get rid of, and therefore I can keep these lovely images for ever. Note the photograph of the girl holding the fox mask. It is one of my favourite photos. Just a small factoid.

The image to the right is a loosely fitting fingerless glove that I made of vintage lace (it was kind of doily-place mat thing) and spent well over two hours beading. It is encrusted across the knuckles. I'm deciding whether I should add more beads, and if I should make a pair to it, and if I should put eyelets on the side, to make it lace-able. I can always decide later (as long as I do before the end of September).

Returning to the idea of making something every day... I find it extremely admirable. However, for me, I tend to have solid days where I work on things, and then go days without. Since I don't consider myself a drawer, I don't consider my drawings or journal writing to be art or creative. By all definitions, it is... But I have yet to be convinced.