The words remain

 

I do wish I could get myself better organized to record the process/progress in the studio with some regularity, but the endless amount of the work itself continues to take precedence! The pull to tell the story of it all is still present, though; I enjoy—and miss—this aspect of the studio. When I recently glanced through my Olivetti entries from the last several weeks (my daily practice for 2017, described in this post), I realized that many of the "captured" thoughts had been inspired by this year's cache of paperwhite bulbs. A sort of thread began to emerge, so I thought I'd bring together some words and images here.

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I don't always know which variety of narcissus will bloom from the earth-scented bag handed to me by the plant vendor—only that their heavenly perfume will soon fill the studio. In any case, it's always wonderful to watch the shoots growing noticeably taller each day, and then the blooms escaping their spathes, one tiny flower at a time. The centers of this year's flowers were yellow, with a pronounced bowl shape—almost daffodil-like...

All that remains are the paper-y petals (shown in the image at the top of the post), now brittle and faded, but lovely all the same. Still, there will always be the memory of their promise of spring—which, indeed, did arrive!—and of course the words they inspired on the Olivetti.

(Plus a handful of photos...)

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Here are a couple of the entries about the paperwhites...

 

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Despite the daily ritual of typing up a few lines on the Olivetti each day, the pile of paper scraps with practically illegible thoughts/notes scattered across them has continued to grow—since I am not always able sit down to the typewriter straight away, this is often still the way that I remember what will ultimately be typed. The diverse collection of scraps, with the many sizes, shapes and paper color/types has a beauty of its own...

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The Olivetti awaiting today's lines, followed by a photo of the original box (I just love the details, and how it has survived six decades, in who knows how many homes)...

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The bulbs when they first arrived in the studio...

 

 

...And the last typewritten entry about the paperwhites of 2017...

 

Happy spring to everyone in the northern hemisphere...and may those of you south of the equator enjoy all of the beauties of fall...