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The 2007
collection
Dear Readers:
The 2007 collection is
titled Autumn Crossing.
During the year, I spent time hiking the same trail in the
Santa Monica Mountains on two separate occasions, visits
separated by two seasons and the change they brought to the landscape. Revisiting
familiar waypoints, I was struck by the difference the change of seasons had made to
the place I remembered, not only to the physical aspects of earth and
ground, but also how changes of color and texture in earth,
vegetation and sunlight could put me in a place that seemed
starkly different than the time I had been there before. I wondered how much of
that change was due to the passing of
seasons, and how much was a result of my own perceptions and
expectations that I had brought brought when I returned, wanting
familiarity and not getting what I had expected.
During the summer of 2007, my father and I
revisited Europe, our former home, for the first time in forty years.
I had been apprehensive of the upcoming visit for a long time, fearing that treasured
childhood memories would forcibly be replaced by what whatever new and unknown
sights we would encounter there. Thankfully, the Europeans had taken good care
of Europe in our absence and much of what we remembered was not only
still there, but lovingly preserved. Still, we were visitors to our
former home, and for me, the passage of time revealed
as much a change in myself, as it did to the buildings, landmarks and
people we found upon our return visit. Determining which part of
the change I perceived came from within myself, and which part came from
my surroundings ended up being as much an emotional as intellectual
process.
Revisiting familiar places, people and memories from the perspective of
time passing can offer us a learning experience of our own selves, as much
as of that which we re-encounter. If the places are the same, what can the
contrast in our perceptions and emotions created by the passage of time tell us
about ourselves? If the perceive change in old friends and
relations, how much of that perception is because we have changed in
that time, as
well?
Autumn Crossing is
about the change of time and seasons within us, this experiencing of
seasons of the spirit within ourselves. Reconciling our perception of
our external environment with our own spirit is an ongoing, dynamic
process of growth and learning – a fitting reflection of our humanness. |
