WASHI WONDERS

Mirth now carries Japanese washi tape. Wa (Japanese) shi (paper) is traditionally made from the fibers of gampi tree bark, mintsumata shrub or paper mulberry but is also made using bamboo, hemp, rice and wheat.

-Jessica for Mirth

BRETON'S SPOON

In this excerpt from Andre Breton's book entitled, Mad Love Breton elucidates the complex trajectory of a wooden spoon and its acquisition. Giacometti, who accompanied Breton to the market where he found the spoon, purchased a mask. Breton's narrative remains vibrant in my mind as I think of it often, inevitably when I study the spoons at Mirth. 

"Some months earlier, inspired by a fragment of a waking sentence, "the Cinderella ash-try" and the temptation I had had for a long time to put into circulation some oneiric and para-oneiric objects, I had asked Giacometti to sculpt for me, according to his own caprice, a little slipper which was to be in principle Cinderella's lost slipper. I wanted to cast it in glass--even, if I remember rightly, gray glass--and then use it as an ash-tray.  In pite of my frequent reminders to him of his promise, Giacometti forgot to do it for me. The lack of this slipper, which I really felt, caused me to have a rather long daydream, of which I think there was already a trace in my childhood. I was impatient at not being able to concretely imagine this object, over whose substance there hangs, on top of everything else, the phonic ambiguity of the word "glassy." On the day of our walk, we had not spoken of this for some time.

It was when I got home and placed the spoon on a piece of furniture that I suddenly saw it charged with all the associative and interpretative qualities which had remained inactive while I was holding it. It was clearly changing right under my eyes. From the side, at a certain height, the ittle wood spoon coming out of its handle, took on, with the help of the curvature of the handle, the aspect of a heel and the whole object presented the silhouette of a slipper on tiptoe like those of dancers. Cinderella was certainly returning from the ball! The actual length of the spoon a minute ago had nothing definite about it, had nothing to contradict this, stretching towards the infinite as much in great size as in small: in fact the little slipper-heel presided over the spell cast, containing in itself the very source of the stereotype (the heel of this shoe heel could have been a shoe, whose heel itself...and so on). The wood, which had seemed intractable, took on the transparency of glass. From then on the slipper, with the shoe hell multiplying started to look vaguely as if it were moving about alone. This motion coincided with that of the pumpkin-carriage of the tale. Still later the wooden spoon was illuminated as such: it took on the ardent value of one of those kitchen implements that Cinderella must have used before her metamorphosis. Thus one of the most touching teachings of the old story found itself concretely realized: the marvelous slipper potential in the modest spoon. With this idea the cycle of ambivalences found an ideal closure. Then it became clear that the object I had so much wanted to contemplate before, had been constructed outside of me, very different, very far beyond what I could have imagined, and regardless of many immediately deceptive elements. So it was at this price and only at this price, that the perfect organic unity had been reached."

-Jessica for Mirth

ROUND AND SQUARE

Upon returning to Marfa from holiday in Paris and Barcelona, my inspirations and ideas are imploding. Moments of happiness, smells, images, tastes, connections, lessons, feelings, faces and textures mill in my mind but when asked to verbally articulate the experience, I'm at a loss! As the wispy strands of meaning and memory begin to collide and bond, I will jot them down perhaps via the Mirth blog, as many of my thoughts revolve around the spaces I spend time in.

For the whole of our (my best friend and I) vacation in Europe, I set the personal goal of seeing at least one monument, museum or piece of history a day. That one place became our destination which took us anywhere from one to eight hours to locate. The time spent exploring, wandering and seeking was wonderful. In Marfa, I watch tourists wander and I am the local.  

In Barcelona, I realized we were walking in circles. Then I looked down to find that we were also walking on a circle patterned sidewalk, on a street lined with concrete spheres (all pictured above). The trend continued the remainder of our time there because the four way stops in Barcelona are rounded so that cars can park in front of the stores that share the four way stop. Naturally, my friend and I, involved in an intensely-heated conversation about anything from love to politics, found ourselves wandering to the left or right as opposed to around and straight--the sangria at lunch thwarted our navigational efforts most days but made the getting lost more enjoyable. 

Of all the sights/sites we encountered, the creations of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi were most gratifying--delightfully round and indulgent. In addition to the innovations and advances Gaudi made in the field of architecture he fabricated spaces modeled honestly after nature and its elements. The curves, convex and  concave, form loose lines that define one space from the next, evoking the sensation of actually being in nature. Gaudi's Casa Batilo, La Pedrera and Park Guell reflect the round about way I spent time in Barcelona, veering off track to have a nibble there and altering plans to experience something never seen or felt before. I intend to incorporate my traveling mentality into daily life, keeping close the idea that there is no right or wrong way to reach one's destination.

If Gaudi's round spaces inspire care-free living, what inspiration is stirred by Donald Judd's squares in Marfa? Resting peacefully in the landscape, settled and heavy on the ground, Judd's boxes are wondrously splendid intertwined with the desert terrain and endless blue sky. Looking around the store with careful attention to the round and square shapes, it seems quite clear that the round would not be as lovely without the square and vice versa.

-Jessica for Mirth

HOW WERE THESE BEAUTIFUL OBJECTS MADE?

I've been getting questions about the gorgeous pieces by Tina Frey.  Are they blown glass?  Fired clay?  Well, dear Mirthlings, here is your answer.

They are resin! That's right, resin.  Each object starts with a clay design, which leads to a handmade mold.  The molds are used to cast the pieces in food safe resin, so you can feel secure filling that beautiful white bowl with apples.  The pieces are fired in small batches, making each object vary slightly in color, making each one different.  Once the pieces are removed from the mold, they are hand sanded for that lovely finish unique to the process.  These objects are lovingly made, and it shows.

Got any other questions?  Give us a shout, or like us on Facebook for all the latest updates.

-Claire for Mirth

DEAR ITALO

Oh, Italo.  You are the sweetest, most rascally cat.  I love it when you run to greet me in the morning, mewing like you haven't eaten in years while I try to unlock the front door.  I don't love it when you leap into the midst of a display that Jessica has meticulously arranged, batting about the spinning tops (Who can blame you, really? They scream, "Bat me about!") and knocking aside balls of twine.

Today you came into the store with a warrior's wound on your tail.  I wonder what your life is like out there in the world, Italo.  Do you circle Mirth's perimeter, fiercely guarding our borders from less feeling cats, ones who wouldn't appreciate round balls of twine and fun wooden tops?  Occasionally, a visitor will worry about you, ask if it's all right for you to leave the store and wander off on your own.  Even strangers are immediately charmed.

"It's all right," I say.  "She comes and goes."

I like to think, though, you're always keeping us Mirthlings in mind, pondering the new shiny things on the shelves, the flowers in the window.  Here's to you, Italo, most splendid of store cats. 

-Claire for Mirth