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| Tsukumogami: little sock with a soul |
Anyone who has followed this blog knows I love discovering and transforming found objects. When I learned about the Japanese folk belief that objects have the capacity to become alive and self-aware, it changed the way I relate to the objects I find. Somehow they have already managed to break free and venture out into the world on their own. Now I try to help them discover their soul. Then I release them to continue their journey. To learn more about Tsukumogami, see a past post,
Tsukumogami: Objects with Souls. For other past work with found objects, follow this
Found link.
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| Lost by the wayside |
This Tsukumogami began with the discovery of a little, lost, blue-striped sock, found on the walking path beside Lake Merritt in Oakland, no doubt tossed from a stroller by a heartless renegade toddler. The first step is to study the object a while, searching for whatever is within yearning to break free.
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| Communing with lost object |
The next step is to animate the object, bringing the hidden pirit of the sock to the fore.
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| A little worried |
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| A little sad |
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| A little surprised |
The next step is to send the Tsukumogami back out into the world to meet whatever fate awaits.
I decided to attach a little tag to the sock so that the people who discover it and help it begin the next stage of its journey have some idea what they are dealing with.
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| Tag |
I decided to release the newly awakened spirit sock close to where I had found it, and left it sitting on the base of a light post right by the Lake Merritt walking path.
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| Little Tsukumogami waiting for its fate |
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| Close-up |
