Collecting

photo by Catherine Jamieson

I have a few collections.

I collect snow globes that are tasteful, not gaudy.

I collect books- too many to count.

I collect buttons and vintage sewing "findings" such as measuring tapes, spools, old ric rac, fabric etc.

I collect cancelled stamps that have already been somewhere. They have seen a few states or countries. They have a story to tell. They have a history. Some of them date back to the early part of the 20th century. They are old and I am young.

I collect old photographs and postcards, some familiar and others strange to me.

But, my most valuable collection cannot be gathered and displayed. It cannot be framed or used in any art project. It will never be covered in dust. If a fire destroyed the contents of my entire house, the collection would not be singed. If I wanted to take my collection to an auction house, they could not offer me enough money to make it worth my time.

My most valuable collection consists of things that cannot exist without me. I must be here, or they have no curator. No one to take the edge off. No one to deal with the ugliness that some of them wear as a banner. Oh, and they have power. The power to hurt, heal, make happy, and destroy. Each little piece of my most prized collection has it's own zeitgeist. It's own frame of reference. It's own possibilities.

I have a collection...I collect memories.