Thursday, December 16, 2010

at auction and the forgotten japanese


i really need to get to the auction tonight. because if i don't get a chance to bid on that folk art portrait below my life is an empty shell.  plus it's in crappy condition so it should be in my price range. 





i want the other picks here but i must prioritize.  the rug is my second choice.  especially because it looks ragged and potentially affordable.  am i boring you?
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in other news, i'm knitting a rug out of antique rag ball strips.  all black and blue and white and tan.  it's looking good and i'll post a picture when it's done.  i don't know if it's for me or the shop.  lately i'm all 2011 will be the year of really making enhabiten into something good.  i want to expand what i make and make a real tight and cohesive group of things.  so i'm brainstorming ideas and making samples.
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lastly, i just got a book called "the forgotten japanese: encounters with rural life and folklore" after reading about it on the sri threads blog.  it looks so so so so so good.  it appeals to me on many levels.  one is that i have a fantasy of taking long walks.  like across my state first and then across the usa and then around tibet.  no, seriously.  i love walking.  and this kind of slow journey feels really right to me.  anyway, that's what the author did.  he walked all over rural japan beginning in the 1930s or so.  he recorded conversations and the way folks lived.  here's a line from the introduction: "over a period of thirty years , miyamoto walked some one hundred thousand miles in search of the meaning of life in rural japan."  so simple and so monumental.


6 comments:

The Oak Leaves said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Oak Leaves said...

You'll have to let us know how it was when your done! sounds like a great book for sure!

We love walking in the woods and hearing the trees creek and sway...

Lambert said...

"i'm knitting a rug out of antique rag ball strips"

I like the sound of that.

Mandy Behrens said...

The book sounds divine! Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Best, Mandy

Chloe said...

Loving the typewriter. I so want one.

Komyo said...

That piece of furniture is fantastic! And the book sounds interesting, would love to read it some time.