Embedded Files
Prompt 1: The Edge Effect ... define your in-between place
Prompt 1: The Edge Effect ... define your in-between place
Between Mystery & Reality
Between Mystery & Reality
Prompt 2: Define Your Growing Edge
Prompt 2: Define Your Growing Edge
Mobility Mobile
Mobility Mobile
As I move in my body, I often feel on the edge of a breakthrough in reclaiming my physical abilities since a 2010 stroke. My progress is glacially slow but consistent. Because my brain has a permanent dead spot, my hope lies in neuroplasticity — the ability of the brain to create new neural pathways. To forge a pathway, an activity needs to be repeated about 10,000 times. Imagination counts. In this collage, I used my affected left hand to paint, to hold and turn the objects I trimmed, and to find the balancing point for each of the hanging images. While creating this representation of growing neural pathways, I initiated actual neural pathways in my brain. The creativity also fed my spirit, which needs constant encouragement to meet these challenges.
While photographing the Mobility Mobile,
Soul took over, resulting in this one-minute “Growing Edge Mobile Movie.”
Prompt 3: Kintsugi
Prompt 3: Kintsugi
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, thus emphasizing flaws and imperfections. It embraces the mends and seams as areas to focus on and celebrate.
I am understanding that the way I pilot my arrow toward a target is perhaps more important than hitting the target. I am learning to soften my approach, incorporating some of the instinctive feminine wisdom discarded long ago in my journey. Yesterday, I realized I had been too ambitious with my kintsugi. My three-dimensional figure was hard to piece together, the glue was taking too long to dry, and holding pieces in place with my one functioning hand was ineffective. A recently recovered piece of feminine wisdom is to know my limits, so I asked for help. I’m with my nephew and niece for the week, so instead of watching TV after dinner, we worked on this project. They are the teenage kids of my brother who died unexpectedly six weeks ago. As we patiently held pieces together waiting for the glue to dry, I told them, “Healing takes time.”
For this assignment, I thought I would have to post a photo of a partially reconstructed figure next to a pile of still-broken pieces. But the kids were determined; so with Community, Patience, Perseverance and Trust, we hit our target! I am filled with Love and Gratitude for the beauty of this experience — both the process and the end result.
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