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Leaving a trace: I wish I could share with you the photos of Passamaquoddy artist Jeremy Frey who makes exquisite baskets, beginning with the selection of the ash tree in the forest, the preparation of the ash strips, then the weaving, patient, slow, methodical, until the basket jar is done, reminding me of Wm Carlos Williams' poem "I placed a jar in Tennessee, And round it was, upon a hill. It made the slovenly wilderness Surround that hill." In the accompanying video, he set the jar/basket on a pedestal and then slowly, methodically, destroys it by fire until nothing is left but a trace. At the Portland (Maine) Museum of Art.

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Thank you for this. I like the way you are thinking! Another philosopher/anthropologist you might like is Tim Ingold. He wailed be very interested in how you describe Frey’s work—the use of time as a medium is very compelling.

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