“So let us gather the cracked things that need mending, the things in the shadows that need light or a hand to hold. Let us water those who are tired and parched, let us listen to the stories that are quiet or big or tender or certain or lost. Let us do this work of remembering that we can tether ourselves together stitch by stitch by stitch.” ~ unknown
This journal began as a bundle of fabric and threads in a class taught by Emma Freeman at the Books in the Woods Retreat. We explored stitches and techniques together, invited nature into the process with gathered stones, plants (the acorn ‘hat’ on the cover and a red leaf rubbed onto a page were included in mine), weathering fabric with stones and tree bark, infusing books with smoke, and burying our books in the earth overnight.
During another week of travel and upon returning home, I continued to add more threads and stitches that represented healing, release and light to me…bringing what is inside, out. Slow and simple. Here are my finished pages:
On June 10th, I buried my book beneath a patch of sweetgrass in the garden. There was never a moment’s hesitation: I knew from the start that I was going to let it go and invite Mother Earth to offer her healing medicines.
My journal was buried for 30 days.
It was late afternoon when I dug up my book; worms, caked-on mud and the deep, fecund smell of earth were offered up too. Notice something sticking out? It’s a paper tag I created as my art response to news received just days before the Retreat. I fully expected it to be disintegrated – it’s mostly paper, a bit of lace, and a few beads – but it came through fairly intact!
Noticing…but not giving it life. It’s part of my story, but it’s not the whole story.
My fabric meditation book is now washed and lays in a place where I can pick it up, turn its pages and connect with the slow, intentional, rhythmic dance of moving thread in and out; being fully present to the energies of fabric and thread, the hands that have passed through them, and the earth that has held and transformed it all.
There is a story within these layers, but most are held close to my heart and hidden within the pages and stitches of my fabric meditation book. Such a beautiful process!
