03 Aug The Lifeband and The Table…Part 4
This is the final part of the of the series of blog posts about my life band. I think I said in Part 3 that writing these posts has really been a wonderful experience; they’ve made me think about life, how I connect to it and what it means to me.
I wanted to include something of the talented couple behind Rhodes Wedding Co, who create these extraordinary and beautiful hand forged pieces.
I thought about all sorts of massive life questions I could ask, but that somehow didn’t seem appropriate in the end, as what I’ve found by creating this series of posts is that it’s the everyday objects and thoughts; the things we don’t consider important at first, or the things which have just quietly stayed with us through the years which become part of the vital make up of life and how we choose to exist within it…
So, I actually put together some extremely simple questions for us to answer, as I thought it would be an interesting way to look at the significance which small things have on us…
10 questions are below, and our answers follow ( with a few of my own images too )…
1. If you could list 5 important sounds of life what would they be?
Me: The distant sound of seagulls, Cheeks ( my cat ) purring loudly, my son whistling or singing upstairs, an old ticking clock, the sound of my late Grandfather’s back door closing; how it brushed on the carpet and slightly jangled the knocker and the ket when he went out.
Jessy: The sounds of birds chirping, the sounds of the ocean, the sound of coffee grinding with a hand grinder, the little and sweet breathing sounds a puppy makes, the sound of walking on snow
2. If you could list 5 important scents/smells of life what would they be?
Me: Cut, green grass in the rain, fields of broad beans in flower, wet earth in Autumn, ground coffee , a little ‘dressing room’ tin I have taken to every theatre I’ve worked in since drama school, and which contains something from each show…when I open it, it’s like smelling a very happy life.
Jessy: The smell of soap left on Perry’s skin after he’s had a shower, the smell of freshly ground coffee brewing, the smell of dirt, tires and sweat all together because it reminds me of my dad and grandpa after they’ve worked a hard days work, the smell of the ocean air, puppy breath
( below – the dressing room tin )
3. If you could name 3 life objects what would they be?
Me: 1. The Table ( of course! ), 2. My son’s Teddy…I think I needed it as much as him sometimes ( although it’s now hidden from sight in his room, I still love him ), 3. A celadon coloured mug made by ceramicist Holly Bell…I wouldn’t like to do without a good mug on a desert island! )
Jessy: 1. my old family film photos, 2. a small cedar chest that is filled with letters from my grandparents, each one in an envelope with a different theme like “homesick” or “money problems” or “loneliness” and each envelope has a card that has inspiring words to deal with those issues or emotions, and it also contains letters and sermons from my dad, 3. 4 rings that my mom gave me, I never taken them off.
4. What are your 5 favourite pieces of music?
Me: “I’ll Sail This Ship Alone” – The Beautiful South, “Come Rain or Come Shine” – Judy Garland, live at Carneigie Hall, “Queen of The Night” – Aria from Mozart’s Magic Flute, ” A Fistful of Dollars” by Ennio Morricone,”Amazing Grace” sung by a Male Welsh Voice Choir
Jessy: Elvis Presley – “Unchained Melody” , Sam Cooke, “A Change is gunna come” , Led Zeppelin, “Dazed and confused” , Placebo, “Twenty Years” , Ryan Adams, “Come Pick Me Up”
5. What 3 films inspire you?
Me: 1. 2001 – A Space Odyssey, 2. Singin’ in The Rain, 3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jessy: 1. The Talented Mr. Ripley, 2. Gia, 3. Away We Go
6. What object is a luxury for you in life, one which you love and one which you’d take with you to a desert island if you could?
Me: My Table, because although it’s massively practical, it’s also beautiful and I can see everything much clearer from it’s point of view.
Jessy: My camera because it allows me to capture moments to later revisit
( this is one of Jessy’s own photos where she has her camera! )
7. what is your favourite food and your favourite drink?
Me: A boiled egg with white toast and salted butter
Jessy: Raspberries
Me: English Breakfast tea
Jessy: Coffee
8. what colour do you feel is you…( your base note as it were )?
Me: a sort of aqua/celadon blue with some element of sky blue
Jessy: Rust
9. where is your favourite place to visit?
Me: The Lake District…near Lake Windemere, to feel the memory of who I was and who I am.
Jessy: Michigan, to see my dad
10. where do you find peace?
Me: A quiet, cool church with a high ceiling, terracotta tiles down the aisle, wooden pews… and beautiful, unobtrusive choral singing…this always transports me to a humbling and very peaceful place and something I should do more often
Jessy: with someone I love
There is so much which inevitably makes up up lives: our likes, dislikes, possessions, people, places, senses and memories for example.
My life band somehow includes all of this… partly because of what its creation has provoked in my thoughts and partly because it is now a possesion which holds all this life.
The images below are a selection of some of these memories which all hold a special place in my life:
above – in the Lake District at my Grandpa’s housebelow – our Cornwall havenbelow – just after I won my first ever race ( I’m in the pink shorts ) below – me, my son and my mum
below: my Grandpa – ( the Stanton part of me! ) below: my mum and Minky in the 1980’sbelow: me and my Granny ( the flower arranger ) below: my son and our cat
below: my Grandparent’s garden where I spent time most weekends as a child, and a garden I still miss…and these are 5 brilliant and talented women who constantly inspire me: independent thinkers and creators and women who didn’t have life handed to them on a plate
below – just after I won my first ever race ( I’m in the pink shorts )
below – me, my son and my mum
below: my Grandpa – ( the Stanton part of me! )
below: my mum and Minky in the 1980’s
below: me and my Granny ( the flower arranger )
below: my son and our cat
below: my Grandparent’s garden where I spent time most weekends as a child, and a garden I still miss
…and these are 5 brilliant and talented women who constantly inspire me: independent thinkers and creators and women who didn’t have life handed to them on a plateFrom left to right: Judy Garland, Willa Cather, Barbara Barondess Maclean, Phyllis Pearsall and Betsy Blair
I’m also aware that throughout these posts about the lifeband that I have managed to miss out how much I love my work; my painting, photography… and general creativity, focusing more on my influences.
But it’s these influences which fuel the creativity and my way of life…
It’s the important people and personalities in my life and the senses and places which support it…
So in creating these images over the last few weeks I hope my love for what I do has been implicit.
This week I wanted to create a mini film with the lifeband…but I also wanted to share some of the other images I’ve made over the last few weeks…
I sort of wanted to show my connection to all this, and this photo of me when I was 7 years old, basically looks like how I feel inside…
This lifeband has been a real gift in every sense of the word, and I couldn’t recommend Rhodes Wedding Co highly enough if you wanted something very special and very personal to celebrate life with all its ups and downs, beauty and scars…
Please have a look at Jessy and Perry’s life band page on their site here, as you can order your own Life Band designed to celebrate your personal memories, hopes and who you are inside and out…and you will always be reminded of life!
You can see the Steller Story version here and
Valeria
Posted at 21:29h, 03 AugustYour blog is so pretty and inspiring.
You are welcome to visit mine.