A Space Quest

Bertie tells us all about it.

Hello again friends!

I’m chuffed that Genevieve has granted me permission to report to you today from her workshop here in North Carolina. She says she is on a Space Quest and doesn’t want to stop because she has a head of steam. I’m scratching my head with all of this…Space Quest…head of steam…? What does all this mean? Will she be getting into a rocket soon to go to the moon? Is her head hot, giving off steam? I don’t see any steam. Well, maybe a little.

When I asked her what the Space Quest is all about and whether I need to prepare for an intergalactic trip with her, she called me a ‘silly ole bear’ which she does quite affectionately every now and then. (She learned this from books she read when she was little about a certain bear named Pooh.) Anyway, she said she is on a quest to create space. Space in her studio workshop, space in her life, space in her heart and mind. She says that space, or spaciousness, is always here, it is always available. The real work is to uncover it…to be bold and brave, to venture into the unknown of where the gathering of stuff (be it actual things in one’s space or thoughts in one’s head) is sorted through, given new homes or gotten rid of altogether. Apparently the “head of steam” she refers to is the momentum she has right now and she doesn’t want to interrupt the good “groove” she is in. There again…not sure what groove she is referring to… maybe groovy?… or a rut? Well, I’m sure she knows what she’s talking about.

Genevieve, in her quest for space, keeps referring to a Room of Requirement. Now being a British bear, I certainly know what this is all about as we are all Harry Potter fans, both in my country of origin and here in Genevieve’s world. Apparently, upstairs we have just such a room, where many bins of yarn, toys for grandkids, easels, gift wrapping supplies and so much else resides. Every now and then she disappears and takes stuff up there, while piles of other things sit by the door ready for a place called Goodwill. I like that name. I’m guessing, if it is a place where folks give things away so that others can purchase them cheaply, it would foster some goodwill for sure.

She’s telling me that it is now time for our daily walk in and around the neighborhood. She is reciting her current favorite poem by e. e. Cummings about “leaping greenly spirits of trees” and “a blue true dream of sky”¹ and oh how she becomes quite eloquent as she recites the entire poem to all of us who live in her studio. We are used to this kind of thing. ❤️

As I look around her workshop, it does indeed look more spacious! I ask if her quest has been achieved. To this she replies that it is an ongoing adventure to create space in and around her making and daily living. She tells me that creating space in her mind is another matter. But I’m wondering— if her head is indeed full of steam and she could let off some of it, perhaps there would be more space. I don’t know…I’m just a bear with fiberfill for brains. I think I do pretty well, don’t you? 🐻

I hope to write again soon! I really want to tell you about the things Genevieve is knitting!

Bye for now,

Bertie

1. To read the entire poem, click here. Genevieve says you should join her in memorizing it! This poem really makes her day! She also loves his artwork, which you will see a couple of examples if you click the link. Apparently e. e. Cummings made more visual artwork than he did poems, but that it was his poetry which he became famous for. So interesting!