by WILLIAM STAFFORD
This theme of thread fascinated me,
as it has fascinated many throughout time.
Klotho, the Greek fate, is purported to spin the thread of human life.
Lao Tzu wrote that life and death are one thread,
the same line viewed from different sides.
Jung said,
"when it's time for souls to meet,
there's nothing on earth that can prevent them from meeting,
no matter where each may be located."
A Chinese myth tells of
a red thread which is tied around those
who are destined to meet one another in certain situations
or to help each other in certain ways.
On reflection,
I am sure I have been connected to others by this red thread -
the coincidences and serendipitous events are just too strong.
From the Rig Veda
"There is an endless net of threads throughout the universe.
The Horizontal threads are in space.
The Vertical threads are in time.
At every crossing of the threads,
there is an individual,
and every individual is a crystal bead.
And every crystal bead reflects not only the light
from every other crystal in the net,
But also every other reflection throughout the entire Universe."
I used the extended torso template again,
with stuffed legs and un-stuffed arms.
I took some unbleached cotton cord
to represent my life line - labyrinthine, unicursal, dynamic.
I used red thread to represent moments of grace and connection.
I used a couching stitch with its repetitive violence -
stabbing the cloth,
drawing the thread through,
reconnecting.
The red beads reflect light.