love struck


 “I made a choice,” he said, “and the choice was I publish it. No matter what.” Knausgaard to  the New Republic, April 2014

same place   different moments
  

the small group is slowly gathering weight 

roots spread downward

the thread beads in&on the Strange Creature were inspired by Liz - I'm going to Texas -, in particular her Patch 21, the black hairs on django are an echo of Heather's intricate pieces over at True Stiches




naked branches reach upward


Five of my literary girlfriends and I were in The Hague last weekend at the Winternachten festival 2016; I got to 'meet' my literary hero Karl Ove Knausgard, the Norwegian author of the autobiographical series of six novels My Struggle. Here you see me offering him the title pages for him te sign, which he graciously did! Our conversation consisted of me asking him how he was (I believe he said 'fine') and him asking me if I wanted him to sign all six* pages? (oh, would you, I managed to mutter) Why do we stumble in the presence of those we consider to be great? I behaved like a teenage school girl, beaming the whole day in a daze of love-struck, giggly stupidity. Happiness is moments like these :-)


 *I had torn out the title pages of 5 of the 6 novels (each book is big and heavy) and brought along just one complete volume as one of the friends I was with had borrowed it a long time ago and returned it just in time:

the loose pages have been cellotaped back into the books; I can honestly say the man is as real as it gets in a novel, he did not disappoint us on the day, if anything he was even better 'in the flesh' than on the page.

Comments

Maria buysse said…
hey saskia i saw him on a dutch tv program 2 weeks a go i guess, in an interview , it was verry interesting i will read those books they are on my list .groetjes
Mo Crow said…
beautiful post, the photos of the ever changing landscape, the stitching on your family tree, the book signing but eeek! it's not a good idea to use cellotape in valuable books!
here's a link to how to repair a page
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/preservation/repair/tornpages.html?mswitch-redir=classic
Marti said…
My daughter Erika met Karl Ove Knausgard last May when he appeared at City Arts and Lectures in San Francisco. She also got his autograph and said she had a good conversation with him, albeit a brief one.

It is always wonderful and oftentimes surreal when we actually have the opportunity to meet those who have inspired us so by their writings. Got the thrill of a lifetime last year when I met the father of Chicano literature in Albuquerque, Rudolfo Anaya. He was honored as one of the state's living treasures. I had written him a fan letter when we moved to New Mexico and he replied to my letter. I took my letter and his reply when I attended the event honoring him and we had a wonderful conversation and I was able to take photos of him and the event.
Dana said…
Saskia, your landscape photos touch a chord of recognition and interconnection. They are so beautiful...and familiar.
I love the ever-growing complexity of your embroidery.
Liz A said…
The landscapes are ethereal ... of the ether. And I swoon to see Kantha over backstitch, Django echoing your cloth, and surely that's the moon caught in the branches.

As for meeting famous folk ... good lord, it is impossible to be coherent when one's heart is thudding away.
Liz A said…
P.S. Thank you for the lovely mention ... how cool that those stitches tie back to Cindy Monte. Perhaps they will encircle the world!
Suzanna said…
Saskia, I love to watch how this cloth develops, and I will have to read some of this author's works...
Heather said…
Oh, what an honour to have inspired the stitching of Django's fur! It is a delightful piece. I don't know much about your author - will have to check him out.
Unknown said…
dear Sas, as you know then I love him too and admire him. I think we all tremble face to face with very important people. We have lost the innocence of the child. There is a literary name for his kind of writing: autofiction!love from your mama
Saskia said…
read them, absolutely Maria!

oh Mo, I'm not too worried 'bout the books, although I love books, it's more about the content than the physical objects, the house is full of them and once I'm no longer here who knows where they'll end

well Marti, you obviously have your head screwed on the right way, good for you for having kept your wits about you when it matterd!

Dana, is your landscape similar?

you're wlecome Liz, thanks to you for making me see what the weird critter needed to come alive.

it is a long time in the making Suzanna, thanks for hanging in there; do read him, it is so worth the effort.

ditto Heather! during the sewing of the many tiny stitches I thought about your work regularly and how much more could be achieved in my own pieces by using this black single thread technique more often.

dear mama, not sure children are quite so innocent and yes, he is important.
love all the kinds of love, a love for every moment of it all and
i've looked here a few times since you posted and aside from the
fur stitch too, i love you in your great Hat...
Saskia said…
we bought the hat on holiday last Summer in Scotland; made me want to grow my hair longer again
it's perfect for you, no matter the hair, longer or short, it's very
sexy, that hat......he will remember you.....smile.....

tungsten

tungsten

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