Earlier this year, (think September) while reading Landscape and Memory, by Simon Schama, I read a single sentence about “der holzweg”, the forest way, that led me down a strange dark path of My Family Forest*…

Image: The walk to paradise garden (c) W Eugene Smith

The sentence was in the chapter of Schama’s chunky hard cover book that reflects on landscape and memory in Germany. It mentioned the danger in “der holzweg”, the forest way, being epitomized by the narrative Hansel and Gretel.

And off I went walking with those two children, who were suddenly transformed into children in WW2 being sent away / purposefully lost in the forest…all themes were there for me. What type of parents would sent their children to such a fate if they did not believe it to be better than the starvation / death they all apparently faced? The too many mouths to feed. The bread crusts, all that their father could give them…all that could be spared. The search for food: nuts, berries, anything, in the forest. The darkness…the fear. The excitement in finding a small house…and here the twist…forget gingerbread…but instead smell food. The scents and tastes of baking, the warmth seen through the chimney’s smoke…The pie on the window sill that they just couldn’t resist…

A woman, alone, opens the door…And beckons them to come in, ‘komm rein’.

Is she a witch? No, but she may well represent that part of us that takes what the forest brings, what the times bring, and takes it for her, to do with as she sees fit..’dem Muterland’.

She turns them into her slaves…they do her bidding…The starvation for the little Gretel. The thin bone held by Hansel. The caging of Hansel. All facets of the story….Even the burning ovens are present, complete with a girl whose job it will be to ultimately feed her own brother to the ovens…

(c) natalie shell, 2008

It is, I appreciate, extraordinarily dark and twisted. It felt like it the moment that it came to me and I have refrained from writing more on it. Certainly I didn’t publicize it. But the story didn’t leave. The themes became more present to me. The story more twisted. And I wondered the impact of such “Grimm” tales in the Nazi-tisation…how many themes were already present to twist. To turn upside down. (No doubt this is not a novel idea but it came to me without reading any literature on Hansel-Gretel-Holocaust relationship I’m trying not to corrupt it).

And so I left it alone…

Until yesterday. When the story came back with full force. When I saw that image (above), framed at a friend Leehee’s house. And I knew I had to ‘have it’.

As I make the what feels like an extraordinarily slow wander through this forest, I am trying to listen to which stories come to me… and document them so that ultimately when I am ready to put this all together, I have kept all the bits!

This image also gave me a vision of some type of exhibition thing with different images and stories along a wall, like in a living room, and places to sit - arm chairs - and listen / watch various stories I’ve made. I also imagined the potato, a real one, as a centerpiece. Slowly slowly, I guess.

(Anyone out there with suggestions on how to move forward with this project?!)

PS Thanks Leehee

Notes:

*The Family Forest is the book-audio-visual-story-project I’m doing hap-hazardly on my family’s stories, specifically my grandparents, and whatever else comes up. Somehow it grows…

Other versions of the photo I found: Here, here

The image on my friend’s wall is less dark. But I have selected this one because it conveys more of the dark themes rather than the innocent ones…

Hansel and Gretel version: here

W. Eugene Smith:  here, also noted that Eugene Smith was a famous warn photographer so the images matches the times I’m looking into…

Time, and 2008, flies and any brilliant ideas I had about a beautiful reflective piece in words and images will occur later…maybe even early 2009.

In the meantime, I wanted to take the time to say THANK YOU!!!!! for being part of the ride with me in my head and life via thinktalkwalk and beyond…and of course, Happy holidays and blessings for a wonderful delight beauty love joy health success-filled 2009!

(Speaking of happy holidays, whatever you celebrate you also might like this Wix ecard I made with Hagit @ Wix.com the other week.)

Image: Balloon girl (c) Bansky

Current times are a bit of a bitch…ok they’re a huge in pain the butt and, if you are a bit like me, you believe that it’s only going further downhill*.

It’s a little comical for me to consider that some years ago I was “a change agent” who “wanted to change the world” and now I’m a part-time marketing-communications-person-thing doing stuff in web 2.0 land and when I get a chance, my own writing. These days I’m trying to change the things that can be changed and to accept everything else.  A bit try-hard Zen-Ghandi perhaps…and I’ve been failing dismally. Though my sense of humour remains.

In keeping with this, I thought I’d re-plug a small co, Despair, Inc, who create and market a range of demotivator products.

I caught them back when living in NY and I think they’re even more important today. So yes, if you want to have hope, do so by all means. But there is a certain delight in discovering the joy in despair.

I wish you joy - may you find it in all those little (and big) dark places.

*I don’t want this blog to get political or forecast stuff that I understand little about, but I do want to add that for what it’s worth, I believe this crisis is far from over. Just one article of much disturbing stuff I read the last week. I also keep asking myself whether this is sufficient for us to STOP. Take a look at what is going on, say our systems aren’t working & don’t make sense. And try to create something new rather than repeat old patterns. I appreciate I am in a privileged position to write this. Ie I have time to think. I am not starving etc. But still…

I also thought I’d add what Noam just asked me “why don’t they just reduce top salaries 10% rather than mass firing?”. Sigh.

Had a rather #$%^ed day yesterday and was really stressed. And I did the opposite of what I should.

I should have stopped. When all things are going to @#$% stopping is a much better solution than making an even bigger mess (though I wonder how many work places would accept your response “sorry I will do it later. I am now stopping or else it will never get it done on time” - let’s hope more and more). I guess I’m seeing there really is something to be said for the Action in Inaction.

So I am passing on this message in the hope that if stuff is a bit @#%ed for you, you heed what I say and what I sometimes do and Stop. And take the time to smell the proverbial roses. Even if you have to go out of your way to make it happen.

Wishing you a fabulous day!!!

PS Will someone out there taken it upon themselves to remind me to stop next time I feel a bit cagey? - please!?!?

“From our deepest wounds come our greatest gifts”

- Po Bronson, What Should I Do With My Life

I  started reading this book again. It’s surprisingly honest and engaging. Refreshing even. Argh, I sound like some scary mark-comm writer. Still, the sentence above struck me. And as I write it, it gets me thinking again…

Possibly also because of the wider context. I am focusing some energy back towards my family-story project and it takes me to darker places. To wounds. And yet some of these dark places have also given me access to amazing gifts. Of stories.

Of voice. And finding my own.

The first story I ever told as a teller was one that I had learned by accident while looking for a quote to honour my Grandfather in death, in his eulogy.

Of connection. Of the gift of helping other’s release their own stories. Of making peace with the past. Of courage. Hell, I’m even learning silence!

What are the gifts that have come out of your wounds?

On the image:

I was looking for an image and thought of Sap - and maple syrup, a lovely gift from a ‘wounded’ tree. happy autumn/fall for those of you in the Nth (to my Southern Hemisphere friends, esp in Oz, happy Spring)

source: light on a maple tree (c) denis colette thanks flickr!

Had a great day yesterday. Got to storytell, write and make clay-things, all part of my new attempts at work-life-balance. And today I had came across some nice inspiring art-design-maths-code-things I thought I’d share with you. Enjoy!

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project - mathematics, craft and highlighting awareness for our coral reefs all in one.

Stunning ‘random lissajous webs’, from Art is Code

Fractal Art, in this case varnish and bitumen on wood

Milk Bottle Art courtesy of ‘Bottle Banksy’, Charlotte Hughes-Martin.

Inspiration Sources

First three design-art-code things via the Space Collective Gallery - thanks Joelly!

Banksy-Bottle project thanks to world press. Nice to see an artist get a lot of attention for a project that she started for her own pleasure!

It’s raining. It sounds wonderful to hear the rain thump and slash and drip and clean and well, rain.

And it seemed as good a reason as any to begin posting again.

It feel likes forever, though it is more like a month, since I shared my thoughts via this blog.

Mostly I am thinking right now as I type how to ensure that I work on my own creations more. Regularly. And often.

There are some book-story-type-writing-things brewing.

I am thinking about who I am. Who I’ve been. And who I am being.

But mostly, right this moment, I’m enjoying simply listening to the rain.

And that feels good.

(More soon)

image source: Rain Painting (c) Andrew Huth

from the good folks at Harold’s Planet:

As per- straight back to other work before completing creative work - really must be better about that!

…So to start the creativity going again, here are two opposing pieces (and artists) that caught my eye and inspired me in NY the other week:

Varus (c) Anselm Kiefer

Rome Pays Off (c) Jean-Michel Basquiat

The first is disturbing, perhaps, but led me down a very interesting (though yes, rather dark and disturbing) “Holzweg” (lit Forest Way in German). The second caught my eye while walking in Soho and I was hooked. So much so I kept going back for more.

…Both works are a different way of recording and responding to history, I suppose.

Perhaps it’s time I took a greater interest in paintings.

PS Am being asked about Storytelling in Central park: it was great!

Thanks to all those who made it and helped us ward off the thunderstorm!!

More to come on storytelling and some writing too…