Part of the Charles De Lint quote at the top of my blog reads:
"I do believe in an everyday sort of magic...the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art the the like."
I'm going to start this post with a few photos....a couple from our morning walk....one from the beautiful afternoon sky....and one this evening as the sun was setting. It's a good day when every part of it makes you pause in awe.
For most of you this may be enough....and I hope you have a nice day. But for those of you who don't mind my long rambling stories....I have one to tell today about that inexplicable connectedness that we sometimes feel.
My story has two chapters....and there may be some that aren't written yet....but here's Chapter One:
Back in 2018 I made a little art quilt for one of my shows in Lexington called Unexpected Horizons. I thought the colors were fun....but I had some issues with it and it didn't sell. And it's been hanging around ever since.
Someone saw it on my blog back in 2018 and pinned it on Pinterest....and the post called Lessons Learned gets viewed several times a week. As a matter of fact I just learned today that I can tell how many times an individual post gets viewed...and this one has been viewed over 2,500 times. It's not even my best work!
At one point in 2021 I got a comment on the post from someone who loved it....and I replied offering to send it to her for free. But I had no way to contact her and she didn't check back to see my response...so there is sat.
It would surface every now and then in the studio and I'd move it around....and the image would pop up on Pinterest....so it felt like the piece that just wouldn't go away. I couldn't even give it away
OK....so one might wonder where I'm going with this....hang in there.
About a month ago I decided to let go of several pieces of art and experiments that have just been hanging around...including this one. I took them to a local consignment shop where I've been selling excess furniture....and lo and behold it sold. Woo Hoo! Four years later and it was finally out of my studio and out there in somewhere in the world....never to be seen again. Except maybe on my Pinterest feed now and again.
Chapter Two:
Yesterday while I was out doing errands and on my way to Janice's I came home by way of Steven's Avenue in Portland......I love this stretch of the city. I used to work at Deering High School on Steven's Ave. and always admired the quiet streets, the old victorian homes, and cute neighborhood stores and markets. Paul and I actually looked at houses in this area...but none were quite right or affordable.
Over the past year I noticed a new shop called
Handiwork right in the heart of this little neighborhood. I've been curious about it since we moved...but because of COVID had put off stopping in. But yesterday was the day....and it did not disappoint.
There was color and whimsy......and joy all around....and the store was warm and inviting as was Jessica, the owner. There was a mixture of handmade things....and useful items for the home.
https://handiworkportland.com/
I was poking around taking it all in when I saw it...and my heart skipped a few beats. Do you see it? Look right in the middle top of this photo.
There is was....the piece that just wouldn't go away was hanging along the edge of a window. Jessica had bought at the consignment store...and was reselling it here. I was thrilled she loved it enough to buy it....and honored to have it for sale in her shop.
This prompted a great conversation....she listened to the journey of this little quilt piece....and I learned more about her Handiwork shop where there are opportunities here to sell and teach. hmmm
It was one of those: inexplicable connections we sometimes experience with places, people and works of art.
Who knows....it just might lead to something.....but that's the part of the story yet to be written. Maybe there's potential for a Chapter 3.
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