Monday, June 9, 2014

collaborative etegami

I have an elderly friend (mid- to late- 80s) who had hoped to finally have time for a hobby after she retired from the workforce. But as soon as she retired, a situation arose in which she had to start keeping house for her daughter and grandson. And I mean she does everything. She says she never has time for herself, except when she is sick or too exhausted to do anything fun. I send her etegami regularly, and each time she sighs with both the pleasure of receiving them, and frustration that she can't pursue a hobby of her own.

I asked her one day what she would choose to do with her free time if she had any. She said she'd always liked to write. I asked, poetry? prose? calligraphy? She wasn't clear on that, but maybe she wants to do all three. So I suggested we work on some collaborative etegami. I would send her some cards on which I'd painted images, and she could add whatever words she wanted. It would take only a few minutes of her time and very little in the way of tools or space. Neither of us are certain this will work, but I said what do we have to lose by giving it a try?

I told her that if she liked the results, she could use use them for her own purposes, like sending notes to old friends with whom she has long been out of touch. Even if she only has time to do one card a month, it will be something she can be thinking about and looking forward to as she does the housework or when she's lying in bed at night. That's my hope, anyway. She had suggested it would work best for her if I painted seasonal images, so today I painted some baby birds in a nest and a bunch of loquats. These go into the mailbox tomorrow (in an envelope to keep them from getting marked).

Update: Ten days after the original post, my friend sent back three of the first four image-only etegami I had asked her to complete with the addition of words. She thanked me over and over for "moisturizing" her life-- an expression that describes a parched plant soaking up the rain. I really meant for her to keep them all, or to send them to someone else, but I remembered that several of my readers had expressed interest in seeing how our collaboration turned out. So here there are. The writing with the loquat says "Bursting with grace and fruit." The other two quote poetry--her own I think-- with references to the specific flowers in each image (Gymnaster savatieri and Digitalis). Notice that she signs her part of the etegami with her own hanko.



13 comments:

  1. What a wonderful idea. And I am sure that with her permission you could integrate the results in your blog to share and let her read the comments...

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  2. Love this idea!... And these paintings! Best of luck!

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  3. Brilliant. And exceedingly kind!!!

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  4. Oh, this is such a wondrful idea!! I love the little birds. We've had a nest of cardinals, mockingbirds, and now lately, woodpeckers (nesting in the hollow of a tree) to watch this spring so the birdies resonate with me.
    Can't wait to see what she comes up with. I am in a similar position as this lady (not as much, for sure). We finally got both boys out in the world, supporting themselves and now I am dealing with my two aging parents. Hard to take a vacation. God bless all who are caretakers. It is so much harder than you can imagine!!

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  5. Wow ! That's great !! I'm sure your friend will be excited !
    I hope your collaboration will work out fine !! Looking forward to see her writings next to your (very beautiful) paintings ! Good luck to both of you !

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  6. w ill you see the results of collaboration? It can be quite interesting to see how somebody else takes off from your subject.

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  7. Debbie you always have perfect ideas. Love your collaborative etegami!!! Great! Fantastic ! Will bring happy moment to your friend. Thanks for sharing this idea <3

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  8. This was a great idea, Debbie... I could never have thought of this! I'm so glad she really did it and wow her calligraphy is beautiful!... So is your art. Sigh!!!

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  9. Beautiful, Debbie! I can't read the writing, but the calligraphy is pretty. How kind of you to help her express her creativity. I think she should sign or stamp her name next to original sayings, and then you can send on to others. She might enjoy knowing her writing (along with your painting) will delight a stranger far away.

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    1. Linda, she did sign (stamp) her own work, and I had told her to use the cards herself to sent to friends she never has time to see. I will send these back to her with some new image-only cards, and remind her that they are for her own use.

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  10. How wonderful! Etegami collabortion results in your friend`s poetry lines, her hanko anf if she shares them with her dears, etegami will moisturize their lives too.

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  11. Oh wow, the result is great ! I only remembered now to check what the collaboration-result was. Great !!
    I hope your friend will send them to her friends and loved ones; they will appreciate and love it !!

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