Living in Oblivion – Musing About The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf · 11 June 2007
“People probably took Ruby for the artist, because she looked so dreamy, but people were fools. For while Ruby was merely dreamy, Flo was observant. Well, observant and patient, Helle amended.” - Helle Ten Brix from The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf
Two weeks ago, as you may recall, I went shopping for Saffron and experienced sticker shock.
I don’t normally think of myself as the oblivious type, but I’ve come to realize that I’ve got the tendency to focus on what will lead me towards the solution that I want. I must have shopped for spices dozens of times in my life and never noticed that Saffron was exorbitantly expensive.
At some times this can be a great trait. With the amount of information constantly bombarding the senses, it’s imperative that we learn to filter out the unimportant stuff. I think the first time I was consciously aware of this as a survival trait was when I was learning to drive. It didn’t take me long to figure out that an overall impression of the drivers around me was a much safer perspective than an in depth study of the one driver next to me.
Other times though, I wonder if I’m protecting myself from my tendency to woolgather and if, in growing up and focusing on the “relevant” facts, I’ve lost a bit of my ability to meander and daydream in a creative capacity. If left to my own devices, I could easily spend an eternity browsing book titles, spice aisles, bins of grain, paperclip museums, you name it. My ability to become entranced by minutia could easily subsume my ability to function as a “normal” adult, and so I’ve toned it down.
Yet, every so often, I have to stop and remind myself to take a few moments to look at the world and really “see” it. I’ll stop what I’m doing, and instead of thinking about my emails or the stack of paperwork sitting in my inbox, I’ll simply concentrate on something. It’s amazing how the simple act of really looking at an object can cause you to notice it, and doubly amazing to comprehend the level of detail that our brain automatically omits for us.
Reading The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf reminded me of this exercise. It put me in the mood to be creative. I worked out the kinks in my Tiny Stories, and submitted the final version to Carl for the Once Upon a Time Tiny Story contest as a result. It’s also gave me a haunting feeling and caused me to dream dreams that were art and images I wish I could remember in my waking hours. Hopefully my subconscious has a laxer filter on it than my conscious mind, and eventually those thoughts will percolate through and unwittingly into some of my work in the coming weeks.
So inspired, I was planning to make a stunning, observant-artsy meal, prompted by this quote by Helle in The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf,
Here, she said, handing me a bag or oranges. They needed to be peeled, the white outer fiber pared away, the flesh sliced from between the membranes. No seeds. Did I think I could do it? Because they had to be perfect, these crescents of bright orange deployed here and there among the white slices of smoked turkey. It had taken her three days to get the turkey just right, and she didn’t want the effect ruined by sloppily sectioned oranges.
But when it comes down to it, I’m not very crafty. I mangled two perfectly fine apples attempting to make an apple bird, and when I had stuffed myself on the evidence of my artistic shortcomings, I didn’t have the stomach space to try out alternate recipes.
Then, I remembered my visualization exercises. Why not simply photograph the apple as it is? I arranged one of the survivors with some fresh cherries and went out to practice my photography (one of my ongoing goals is to improve the quality of pictures on this site). As you can see, I ended up including a lot of detail that had nothing to do with the apple, perhaps food for future creative inspiration. And, in one of the pictures, I received a surprise; my cat had successfully stalked me and snuck into the picture without me being aware of her, so involved was I in the picture taking.
Sometimes, there are distinct advantages to being a bit oblivious, you let the unexpected slip in and astonish you, never losing your sense of wonder. Sometimes, there are distinct disadvantages. It’s a delicate balance, and one I continue to struggle with as I juggle my many goals in life.
Apple,
Creative Cooking,
The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf
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Chris · 12 June 2007, 21:32
I’ve just stumbled on your blog and it’s great! I love your pictures and relate a lot to what you’re talking about here. It’s so easy to get mixed up in the every day hectic pace of things. We forget to see the world for what it is and to actually see all the simple pleasures that are around us. Well put! The Tiny Stories contest was fun, but much harder than I thought it would be! I wasn’t happy with my end result, but at least I got something out. Better than what I though I would do.
Kim · 13 June 2007, 17:07
Thanks for the compliment on the blog! I’ve enjoyed reading yours too (can’t wait to hear another opinion on A Game of Thrones).
I ended up starting 5 Tiny Stories before I finished one I thought was decent, and I wasn’t thrilled with it, but I’m glad I did the exercise. It’s good to have mini-goals to help me getting some creative writing finished.
Practice, practice, practice!
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