Last year my son began collecting spent wooden matchsticks. They came from the story time candle his teacher lit every day, one by one squirreled into his empty lunch containers, his pants pockets, the mesh pouches of his backpack. He helped himself to the forbidden ziplock bags from my kitchen drawer. The matches ruined laundry, one sooty head at a time. I flipped pockets inside out, searched. Threw my hands in the air. Slapped my forehead. He had no project in mind, no answers for me. I asked him to stop bringing them home. He asked me to stop throwing them away. We could agree on one thing: keep the plastic bags sealed. Pinch the top, slide your fingers and listen for the snap. There. Shake-shake. All good. No black stuff. Many of one thing can be beautiful, even coveted. Many of one thing calls to the thief in us. The hoarder. The pick pocket. I'm not ashamed to say I answered that call. I have stolen my son's year of fire. For more process images from this series, follow it on Instagram: @amymeissnerartist
20 Comments
9/28/2015 06:15:56 am
Liz,
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9/28/2015 06:19:37 am
Dana,
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9/28/2015 06:25:07 am
Tammy,
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9/28/2015 06:26:22 am
Nancy,
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9/28/2015 06:28:04 am
... you'll hold your breath so the Fire Fairies come? You'll wave around the Smoke Fairies? You'll pocket that matchstick? It's like hanging onto a miracle.
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9/27/2015 05:10:08 am
What a wonderful way to hold on to a memory! And now that everyone seems fascinated by the matchsticks, isn't it fantastic that you'll have a piece of art that includes his collection? I wish I had done something like this with the things I found inside of my sons' pockets. Well, maybe not the poor lizards.
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9/28/2015 06:29:49 am
Mary,
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tunie
11/23/2015 11:31:13 pm
I hope you'll credit your son in the artworks bio for his contribution because that is not only fair, but would be awesome to see a kid collection in the materials list. So collaborative!
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11/24/2015 05:29:11 pm
tunie,
Jenny M
10/13/2015 01:08:40 am
You are a storyteller with both words & stitch. This touched me so, as I remember the items our son would 'collect' and keep in his pockets....he is now 27 yrs old.
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10/13/2015 06:06:20 am
Jenny,
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Daisy Debs
10/16/2015 12:07:40 pm
My husband used to put his horrible school dinners into his pockets ! Oh ! How reading your journal entry , made me laugh this evening ! Love it ! : )
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11/24/2015 09:20:15 am
Daisy,
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Daisy Debs
10/16/2015 12:17:09 pm
...yet what you have done with your sons precious , saved , little matchsticks ..is the sweetest thing ! What a very special mother you are .
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Amy MeissnerArtist in Anchorage, Alaska, sometimes blogging about the collision of history, family & art, with the understanding that none exists without the other. Categories
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