waiting for a wave
‘a soft morning rain…’
This morning I awoke to the sound of soft pattering rain which I love as it infuses the air with the scent of white lilacs (in my garden) and seaweed. I have a little porch off my studio that nestles right into the topmost branches of the apple tree, and so I made myself a cup of green tea and sat in a quite meditation lulled with the sound of this gentle spring rain.
I have been thinking about putting up a shelf in my studio to place small flotsam and jetsam I collect on the beach, (seaglass, shells, driftwood, feathers) the tiny perfume bottle you see pictured above with a wildflower and perhaps a favorite polaroid ~ but have not been at all inspired with shelving I see in the shops. In my heart of hearts I imagine a piece of flat driftwood, tumbled by the sea and bleached by the sun would be exactly perfect.
‘looking…..’
So, on my morning beach walk my dog and I kept an eye out for that very special piece of driftwood that would become a shelf in my studio, in my house by the sea. We did not find it on this walk but we found many other things…an eagles feather, a starfish stranded on the beach after the tide withdrew (so we carefully put it back in the water) an abandoned blue plastic shovel for scooping sand and a little red baby crab.
‘waiting….’
when I returned home I curled up with tea and toast and read from a book I just purchased recently and love to bits. ‘Absence and Presence’ is a beautiful book filled with writings, poetry and remembrances of Pablo Neruda as well as a treasure trove of incredible black and white photo’s taken in his home at Isla Negra. If I haven’t mentioned it a least a zillion times I have quite the crush on this man with his vivid intellect, passion and deep love of his country and humanity. This book is rich with intimacy and these photo’s of his home he shared with Matilde are wonderfully revealing to me.
But I digress:)
As I was glancing through images of his home (oh my! he loved little ships in glass bottles just like me!) I stumbled upon a small remembrance by Mario Toral and it read….
‘In Isla Negra, just when his new workroom had been built, he said to Matilde, “I need a desk, a special desk….I don’t know what, but it has to be special.”
Matilde made various suggestions ~ windows, old doors ~ which he waved aside. One day, looking out to sea from the almost finished room, he saw something that caught his attention.
“Matilde! Matilde! My desk! My desk!”
They both went down to the beach and sat on the sand, waiting for a wave to wash up the wood that was to be Neruda’s desk.
and so….
I shall wait too.
category: bookish, my favorite posts | | 10 comments »
April 20th, 2010 at 11:23 am
love that idea, so nice to re-use and to have something truly unique and expressive of your personality.
April 20th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
So many of the best things drift into life in their own time.
April 20th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
What a great post, I love the idea of a driftwood shelf. So jealous you live by the sea. :0)
April 20th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Maddie, I had both this blog and your old blog in my blog roll that did not update. Immediately rectified the situation. Now on to this gorgeous post. I feel sometimes a kinship with you. I could not live anywhere landlocked, the sea I feel birthed me and I need to be near it all the time. Pablo Neruda, well we will have to fight over that man…LOL. Wait for it, wait for your little shelf, it will come. There is a post today in this beautiful image filled blog that has a sea cottage decorated in white with I think the kind of feeling you are after. Here is the link:
http://wabisabihome.blogspot.com/2010/04/blog-post_20.html
April 20th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
What a beautiful post. I love the idea of waiting for the perfect pieces to fill your room instead of rushing through it and picking some boring, generic shelf just to get the room done. Where’s the fun in that?
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:39 pm
and just the perfect piece of wood will come.
April 23rd, 2010 at 10:53 am
I would love to see pictures of your house on the beach…each time to talk about your house and your studio I wonder…
G
April 24th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Wonderful post, Maddie. I felt as though I was walking along the beach with you. Yes, I agree…I think you should wait til you find the perfect piece of wood for a shelf in your new home. Just like Neruda. I want to see pictures when you do find it. Hope you are having a terrific weekend!
April 24th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Oh that is s beautiful Maddie. I hope the perfect piece of wood does float right to your feet.
April 26th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
What a lovely post. I, too, live by the sea here in the Pacific Northwest, and I’ve spent so many days walking the beach, listening to the waves, and just drinking in the peace.