Scraps Of Mind

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Hello. My name is Karen and I’m a Collectoholic.

It all started when I was a child, collecting stamps and the labels off wine bottles and anything else that caught my eye. But in recent years it’s progressed to a more serious condition and I’m currently supporting 14 collections of ‘stuff’. I mostly collect stuff from the early to mid 20^th century but that’s not a definite boundary.

I thought it might be cathartic to write about some of my collections in this blog. Of course there’s a danger that this might have the reverse effect and encourage me to start even more collections, but that’s a risk I’ll have to take.

So first cab off the rank is Teapots.

I inherited a collection of novelty teapots from my mother (see it’s her fault, not mine). I’ll talk about those in a later post. But as a subset I have a small collection of Victorian and Edwardian porcelain teapots, three of which are pictured below.

I really love these old ones. There is such an air of elegance about them. Most teapots from this era came with a matching teapot stand, but typically this is one of the first things that get damaged so many teapots don’t have the stand.

I don’t have a lot of information about them and the makers’ marks are not helpful. I’m particularly curious about the one with the red roses and gorgeous gilt work. It has a mark of crossed anchors (not crossed swords) on the bottom and I’m advised that it’s of European manufacture (late 19^thC). But this mark does not appear on any list of porcelain markings that I’ve seen. If anyone knows anything about a crossed anchor mark I’d really appreciate you getting in touch with me.

The tiny one is probably the oldest of the three and the gilt has rubbed off in a number of places. And the greenish coloured teapot is probably Edwardian, around 1910-20.

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OK, hands up everyone who struggles with emotive journaling!

Yes my hand’s waving up there too. I find I have no trouble writing a little humorous story but as soon as I try writing ‘feeling’ stuff I tense up and it all reads quite stilted. Now there are obviously times when I really want to write something that expresses my feelings and emotions and a funny story or one-liner is just not going to cut it.

Enter the Haiku!

Haiku (pronounced High-koo) is a non-rhyming, Japanese poetry form consisting of 17 syllables, arranged in three lines: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables.

What!!! I hear you cry. If I struggle with emotive journaling how can I possibly write poetry??

Now whilst the Haiku in its finest form is an exquisite piece of distilled art, you will find it is not too difficult to write Haikus of a lesser standard that are still good to read. The 17 syllable limitation really helps when you have difficulty in writing ‘feelings’ because you have to discard the non-essential words and just focus on the really important ones. Non-purists can be a little flexible with the 5-7-5 arrangement if necessary.

Here’s an example: I scrapped a layout of my daughter’s First Holy Communion from when she was 7 years old. I remember how I felt when she walked towards me in her long white dress and veil. But I had difficulty writing that feeling down in a way I felt happy with. Here is the Haiku I wrote instead.

The tears fill my eyes

So beautiful, gowned in white.

Childhood is fleeting.

So I challenge you to have a go. I think you’ll surprise yourself.

And I’d love to see some of your results posted in the comments section of this post. I’m sure they will inspire others to give it a try.

Other related posts:

Haiku Heaven

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My house is currently full of Celtic Crosses!

If they possess any supernatural powers to repel evil spirits then I am so well protected that I’m practically bulletproof. Hmmm, I’ve so far managed to avoid the flu and winter plagues that have decimated my acquaintance over the Winter so maybe these Celtic Crosses are having an effect.

Anyway, these magnificent artworks are currently propping up the walls everywhere in my house as my brother (who is also my housemate for this year) is going through his Celtic Period. They’re absolutely gorgeous (although nineteen is probably a bit more gorgeous than my small house can accommodate). And each is a very individual acrylic-on-canvas artwork. They are rich in texture and colour; taking a contemporary approach to a traditional motif.

I’ve attached a few examples for your viewing pleasure. I’ve posted them as thumbnails to fit a few on the page. Just click on the thumbnail to get a larger image.

Martin is planning to hold an exhibition in the Spring (southern hemisphere Spring, that is). Although he’s not averse to selling some of the pieces before that. And, as his prices are amazingly reasonable, I have no doubt that he will.

Meanwhile, I’m feeling invincible!

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