I love collecting quotes. My own thoughts, when they come in the shape of quips of other people's wisdom, seem more fully formed.
When I was little, I used to fill notebooks with quotes and pictures that matched them. There was really nothing that I couldn't pair with a picture. For hours, I would sit at my desk and cut and paste (literally, using real scissors and glue) little bits of printed magic. I used magazines, newspapers, chocolate wrappers, packaging and pretty much anything with a cute picture printed on it. Everything that fitted beloved words. I would then get out my quote notebook and find one that matched the mood of the picture. Sometimes, it was the other way around, with the words of wisdom waiting patently at the bottom of a blank page for the colors, shapes and textures of a glossy piece of daydreaming.
When I first started this habit, I had never seen a computer. I didn't even know such things existed beyond computer labs. It was the mid-90s and the only screen that we had in the house was the bulky TV set. (Yes, it was a set back then.)
The notebooks are long gone. My high school self was too embarrassed to keep any. Some of the words are long forgotten. Some are still ingrained in my memory. Some are lost, but have left a mark on my life. They taught me that words are powerful, mighty and dangerous. But words can be whatever you want them to be. Words are uplifting, encouraging and brave. Words are loving, creative, inspiring, playful and hope-giving.
I'm hoping to renew my old habit of collecting quotes in a series called Wisdom on: in which I pair quotes that resonate with me with pictures that are inspired by the words. In keeping with the spirit of the blog, I'm trying to feature European crafters and artists.
Here's my quote for this week:
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
When I was little, I used to fill notebooks with quotes and pictures that matched them. There was really nothing that I couldn't pair with a picture. For hours, I would sit at my desk and cut and paste (literally, using real scissors and glue) little bits of printed magic. I used magazines, newspapers, chocolate wrappers, packaging and pretty much anything with a cute picture printed on it. Everything that fitted beloved words. I would then get out my quote notebook and find one that matched the mood of the picture. Sometimes, it was the other way around, with the words of wisdom waiting patently at the bottom of a blank page for the colors, shapes and textures of a glossy piece of daydreaming.
When I first started this habit, I had never seen a computer. I didn't even know such things existed beyond computer labs. It was the mid-90s and the only screen that we had in the house was the bulky TV set. (Yes, it was a set back then.)
The notebooks are long gone. My high school self was too embarrassed to keep any. Some of the words are long forgotten. Some are still ingrained in my memory. Some are lost, but have left a mark on my life. They taught me that words are powerful, mighty and dangerous. But words can be whatever you want them to be. Words are uplifting, encouraging and brave. Words are loving, creative, inspiring, playful and hope-giving.
I'm hoping to renew my old habit of collecting quotes in a series called Wisdom on: in which I pair quotes that resonate with me with pictures that are inspired by the words. In keeping with the spirit of the blog, I'm trying to feature European crafters and artists.
Here's my quote for this week:
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
C.S. Lewis
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| Voyages over Edinburgh by David Fleck |