Saturday, September 5, 2026

all I need



a while back I made a tiny "Noticings" book

a place to record what captures my interest along the byways

like so many other things I have made for myself, it sat, waiting

waiting for me to stop waiting for the right thing, the right day, the right place, the right idea

yesterday I realized I could keep waiting on an ideal or I could finally accept that I have all I need

right now



and so I did

sorting through my Yukon finds, I chose a number of small stones that were gathered for their markings 




in choosing what to bring home, it was the marks intrigued me most

 then the colour

interestingly, I rarely cared about the shape

wanting to be true to what I noticed, to what mattered, I chose to portray only the colour and a few of the lines

a faint watercolour wash

marks scratched with a half-worn almost dried up Sakura Pigma pen

the place in pencil




The pages are barely 2 1/4" tall, the embossed design area just 1 1/2" square

tiny, but all the space I needed 













a flip through the pages transports me to a day, a place, a moment

and it's all I need to remember why I reached out my hand


take care,

Jillayne



(you can read about the making of the book itself at the link below)





3 comments:

Fiona Dempster said...

Oh what a treasure that has turned out to be. I shall never truly know what the putting off until... thing is all about it; I am yet to commit a single circle to my own small project book! I like the pared down nature of these noticing, and enjoy that the slightest of marks and hint of colour can transport you back to a place - your noticing are also knowings.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Putting off using a treasure seems to be a common thread for many of us. I always, even as a kid, hated putting the first writing in a school notebook and to this day I can't make marks in a book without hearing my mother's voice in my head telling me that books are sacred and thus not to be defaced. I'm so glad you decided to just go for it and now you've created a tiny treasure. Hope you plan to make more tiny little books just like this.

Rachel said...

Oh, that waiting and not using a thing! Even when you notice you're doing it, and know it's counter-productive, it's terribly hard to stop, isn't it. Never mind, you've done it now, and it's charming - worth the wait!