Antique Journey....

I had a wonderful visit with my mother and a dear friend the other day. My mother treated us to lunch in this delightful cafe inside one of the most delicious antique malls over in Portland. As a collector of treasures, strolling through aisles and aisles of vintage finds, antique lace and clothing, cabinet photos, chandeliers and teacups...I was like a child discovering the inner sanctum of sweets in the Willy Wonka factory!! I always feel a rush of excitement at the thought of what might be found in the nooks and crannys of each of the displays and booths. The little girl in me just knows there will be something so rich and delicate and so feminine and dainty just waiting for me.

The experience just seems to nurture my senses and transport my soul! I am always fasicnated at the haunting mystery that fills the air. Its as if you can almost hear the stories of the men and women whose hands, hearts and lives mingled with and touched the multitude of treasures that are assembled. A sweet photo of a child or family, vintage keys that opened the doorways into homes rich with life stories, beautiful china that was set around a table where meals were shared, teacups sipped while memories were made, old records, posters and books recording the events of times past and beautiful feminine dresses whispering of the days when modesty was honored. It is a place pulsating with stories and rich with history. As one who has spent many years assembling family artifacts and piecing together my own story, I am deeply impacted by the small trinkets and treasures I reach to pick and hold in my own hands. Touching and pondering what tale they might tell is familiar to my own journey. There is a comfort and familiarity to the process that reminds me that I too have come from the past, into this present and will one day leave behind tokens of my travels. There is a connection to something deeper....wider....larger.



My Mom gifted me with two beautiful treasure boxes and an old vintage key (that is she and I in the little teapot frame and her mother's, my "Nanny's", china I inherited and treasure). I am sure each piece will find new life by joining my own story in a collage or assemblage work. Maybe one day....it too will be discovered...reached for and held....and the stories and memories it holds will cause someone to stop for a moment and listen to the whispers.