What a wonderful few moments it has been following your links. Confluence is utterly gorgeous, it’s alive, a moment on a beach after the storm has passed but the bubbles are still washing up on the tide. I feel an almost spiritual link to your patient, inspirational, beautiful work.
Wonderful post Sam, which I’ve only seen now. Ever since reading poet Glyn Maxwell’s book, On Poetry’, I’ve borrowed his line in my teaching that ‘there’s no such thing as repetition’ in poetry. He illustrates his claim with, among others, Frost’s repeated lines in the closing couplet, ‘And miles to go before I sleep’ and follows with that heart-rending cry of Shakespeare’s King Lear, ‘never, never, never, never, never’.
I love how you send out these beautiful and thoughtful missives.
Thank you Richard. I wonder if there is something about working to a rhythm that's particularly grounding - I friend mentioned it was something to do with the vagus nerve. I don't know much about that but intrigued.
I've watched your work grow on your Instagram. Sending you a few virtual circles. Perhaps you can add them for me?
One of my university professors illustrated crystallographic point groups using the work of MC Escher. I was hooked. There's repetition, but also variation, and through variation, evolution.
Thanks John! I duly added a few circles for you today, the last day, at least this time around :-). And yes I love this understanding of how complex natural forms arise from an iterative process with small variations. I also notice how we can become completely immersed in a making/drawing process that follows that pattern: knitting, carving, weaving, as if it tunes our brains in some way that's quite ancient. Our nimble hands are made for making, surely, and our busy, monkey minds like having a job to do too.
What a wonderful few moments it has been following your links. Confluence is utterly gorgeous, it’s alive, a moment on a beach after the storm has passed but the bubbles are still washing up on the tide. I feel an almost spiritual link to your patient, inspirational, beautiful work.
Thank you Sarah! I still have the drawing rolled up and hope to bring it out again for more co-drawing...
Wonderful post Sam, which I’ve only seen now. Ever since reading poet Glyn Maxwell’s book, On Poetry’, I’ve borrowed his line in my teaching that ‘there’s no such thing as repetition’ in poetry. He illustrates his claim with, among others, Frost’s repeated lines in the closing couplet, ‘And miles to go before I sleep’ and follows with that heart-rending cry of Shakespeare’s King Lear, ‘never, never, never, never, never’.
I love how you send out these beautiful and thoughtful missives.
Oh thank you for this, Margaret! I’d never made the connection to literature before, but of course! Of course!
Beautifully written, Samantha. I love the idea of conversation finding a natural pace while drawing with you. Very therapeutic 😊
Thank you Richard. I wonder if there is something about working to a rhythm that's particularly grounding - I friend mentioned it was something to do with the vagus nerve. I don't know much about that but intrigued.
Ooh that’s interesting. I keep hearing about the vagus nerve myself but know little about it. I will look into that 🙂
I've watched your work grow on your Instagram. Sending you a few virtual circles. Perhaps you can add them for me?
One of my university professors illustrated crystallographic point groups using the work of MC Escher. I was hooked. There's repetition, but also variation, and through variation, evolution.
Thanks John! I duly added a few circles for you today, the last day, at least this time around :-). And yes I love this understanding of how complex natural forms arise from an iterative process with small variations. I also notice how we can become completely immersed in a making/drawing process that follows that pattern: knitting, carving, weaving, as if it tunes our brains in some way that's quite ancient. Our nimble hands are made for making, surely, and our busy, monkey minds like having a job to do too.
Thank you for adding circles for me!
This showed up yesterday. Wondering if you'd seen it:
https://open.substack.com/pub/tamzin/p/what-repetition-can-uncover?r=yx686&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you! Just had a chance to read it and it’s really interesting…