Sharp scissors

Dear Sarah - Day 264 of our daily drawing exchange

Hi Sarah -

Turned to cutting and pasting the old fashioned way today. The Proust questionnaire was courtesy of Shakespeare and Co. and Bob’s Bake Shop. There are a lot of questions. Of course - Proust.

Already - after only two days - experiences are starting to blend together, other moments are already fading. What, I wonder, will remain of this time in Paris a week from now, a year from now, when I lie dying and have forgotten that I was ever here at all?

In part because Dani’s project involves a map of Disneyland and in part because Dani never passes up an opportunity to visit the magic kingdom, we made a trip to Paris Disneyland. Though I am not inclined to purchase souvenirs, we could not pass up the chance to have our silhouettes cut out - by hand, by a lovely woman with sharp scissors - not AI, not a 3D printer, not a laser cut/scanned/or otherwise assisted by a device- a person with a great smile and much skill - the moment is now preserved in the scrapbook. Perhaps that will help hold the memory close even as the sick cats, the evening rain, the aching feet fade away into the distant blur of whateverness into which most of our lives disappear.

Tomorrow we have many hours scheduled for active work on our psychogeography projects. Curious to see how far we each get.

Until then -
Nikki

Hi Nikki,

I changed the header to reflect that it’s actually Day 264. Two previous posts were both dated Day 263. I’m not sure I would want to publicly answer the question about my state of mind! In one day it can range from despair to joy, with stops in between for satisfaction, fear and who-knows-what else!

I think all experiences form memories—some long-lived, some fleeting—but lasting memories are formed by repeatedly accessing the memory over time, creating the pathways in the brain that allow easy retrieval. I like to think that I will remember the taste of a local strawberry on my cereal this morning, the feel of my granddaughter’s hand in mine, the sound of her squeal when a wasp stung her foot, the sight of the peering closely at a flower, when my state of mind was calm and happy. As we walked, we alternated choosing what to draw. The first thing Kianna chose was the front staircase of a lovely house. I love her version—she is unfettered by worry about perspective, and the stairs look alive (if not scaleable). Then we drew some dried alliums—she noticed that the seed pods are not actually dots, but tiny hearts. We talked about how artists look really closely at things, and she took it to heart. What a girl! We did seven drawings each before the wasp arrived to spoil our fun! Here are two of hers and two of mine.

XO S

PS Love love love the silhouettes!