What is story?
“But how could you live and have no story to tell.”
Story fascinates me. Like many, I was raised on fairytales and fables as a child and stories have remained constantly present throughout my life. Daily news stories from all over the world are accessible at the click of a button. Family and friends are keen to share their news and anecdotes. Social media is full of the stories of strangers. Novels can transport me to another time or place. I can learn so much from stories and they shape the way in which I experience the world around me. There are often lessons I can learn or wisdom I can take from stories. Sometimes they make me smile and other times they give me cause for despair or sadness.
But what is a story?
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines story as;
Definition of story
1 a: an account of incidents or events
b: a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question
c: ANECDOTE especially : an amusing one
2 a: a fictional narrative shorter than a novel
specifically : SHORT STORY
b: the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work
3: a widely circulated rumor
4: LIE, FALSEHOOD
5: LEGEND, ROMANCE
6: a news article or broadcast
7: MATTER, SITUATION
Eco-dyed cloth with embroidered marks
So there’s more than one way to define the word story. My own definition would be; story is experience. My story is the way in which I experience life and recount it to others. Maybe it is something I have learned and want to pass on. It could be an experience that I want to share. Sometimes it is a feeling or emotion in colour, words or music. In my artwork, it is my experience of life through nature; the way in which I see leaves and flowers and how spending time in nature makes me feel more relaxed and connected to the earth. I try to capture the shapes and textures of leaves and flowers in my drawings and embroidery, the colours in my paintings and dyed cloth and the memory and feelings in my handmade journals and quilts. These all combine to tell that part of my story. During the process of bringing everything together I can make connections and associations with past stories and memories. Everything feeds in somewhere to some extent. Everything that I have experienced in the past shapes the way in which I encounter the present.
There are many ways in which to express story, some of them loud or obvious and others much quieter or hidden away. Stories can be found in books, diaries, music, songs and artworks to name a few examples. My journals contain a written narrative of my story and my artworks contain a visual representation of how I experience life. Some of these I want to share with others, some I don’t.
So, what is the point of story?
Telling stories connects us. It helps us to communicate how we feel or what we have experienced. It builds community among us. Maybe you will recognize something of the way that you experience nature in one of my artworks. Or maybe something I have written on this blog resonates with you too. Maybe not. We are all the same as well as being completely different.
For me, telling my stories through words and art is a record of how I experience life. It is a visual representation of the way I feel in a particular place or my reaction to a particular plant. I can recall a moment in time from drawings or colour swatches in my sketchbook and be instantly transported back in time and place to relive the experience. I connect my memories with what I am experiencing in the present; a conversation between then and now. It is a quest to connect the dots and work out how it all exists in constant flux and decide which path to take next.
The seasons shift, each bringing their own lessons, discoveries and challenges for me to experience and document.
The spring is a time of re-birth and emergence. I climb out of a winter hibernation spent in my own cosy nest and take long, deep breaths full of the fresh spring air. I can draw and paint the plants that are now pushing through the earth and showing their leaves and flowers. I will start dyeing in my shed with the fresh spring leaves of mint, bay and nettle. The cycle has begun again and I start to feel the longer, warmer days approaching.
Azealea flowers blooming in the garden in early summer
In summer, I am most often to be found in the garden, tending to, drawing and admiring the plants or dyeing in my shed. Summer is when I do most of my eco-printing and dyeing cloth. Nature has the most beautiful palette of colours to work from. I am always drawn to her more understated tones; muted greens, dusky pinks, muddy yellows and pale, washed out blues. There is something in these colours that speaks of ancient memories and timelessness as well as connection to the earth itself. They feel grounding and reliable.
In autumn the colours of the leaves become more spectacular and showy. I will try to capture them with my paints. I love to go out walking in local woodland at this time of year to hear the crunch of fallen leaves beneath my feet. The days become shorter and darker and the urge to curl up in hibernation is tugging away at me. I start to build a nest of newly dyed cloth and thread to occupy me through the darkest months.
Leaves turning golden in autumn
The winter is a time of hibernation spent stitching and journaling. It is comforting to feel the repetitive motion of needle and thread being pulled through fabric as I patch pieces of fabric together and embroider my memories onto them. January is a month of reflection; looking back at what I have achieved and looking forward to the challenges that still lie ahead of me. It is a month of clearing out the debris that has accumulated over the year and getting ready for the fresh start that the spring promises.
My stories are tied up with the seasons and the nature that I surround myself with as well as my memories and experiences of the past. It is by looking backwards a little that I make sense of the present and move onward.
Everyone has a story to tell; a story that doesn’t belong to a single other person but them.
How will you tell yours?