A spider named Feather has a lot to say but has no ears
Recently I came across a situation of three species who were stuck in a loop, a painter, a spider and a bird. The painter was afraid of the spider, the spider was afraid
of the bird, and the bird was afraid of the painter. The painter thought, ‘how to get out of this loop? I should overcome my fear and be like a spider myself. What kind of spider knows about arachnophobia anyway?’
The painter kept on thinking for a long time. ‘What makes a spider a spider? How to become one?’ Then she realized how the spider’s web is like the painter’s canvas. The beautiful thing about the spiderweb is that it’s a trick invented to catch things. It’s setting out a trap, not knowing what will end up inside of it, similar to the fishing net, or the white canvas. Sometimes twigs, leaves or dust end up in the web, and the spider cleans it. Other times a bug flies into it, and it’s a great catch. The painter decided
to mimick the spider’s way of being. She stretched her canvases, cleared her mind, and was sitting down in the corner of the room, waiting. The painter waited for ideas to fall into her mind that she could paint onto the canvas. She realized that to be like a spider is to be non judgmental and to be honest about the fact that ideas are gifts that you get.
The painter waited for a long time, so long that she started doubting, why should she be a painter that wants to be like a spider? ‘Who wants to be bound to a rectangle for the rest of their lives?’ the painter said. ‘Maybe I should stop painting. But then I would have given up before I even started.’
The painter waited more and thought about it for a long time. After a while she thought, ‘wasn’t the plan to paint thought that came to mind? I had many thoughts, but how to paint a painter who doubts whether they should be a painter?’
The painter started to get very hungry and decided to go outside to find food. On the way, the painter found a feather on the ground. She thought ‘this looks like food is nearby!’ Then a woman appeared, the painter couldn’t see her, but she could hear her. The woman said, ‘you’re vegetarian.’ The painter realized that’s true. ‘The bird doesn’t belong in my stomach but in the sky.’ The painter realized that she should paint a sky, so she went back to the studio and painted a sky. She glued the feather onto the painting. ‘Now the feather is back in the sky, where it belongs,’ the painter said.
What a stupid painter, can’t she distinguish a real sky from a painted sky
But at least she does not claim the sky as her creation, as Yves Klein did when he declared that the sky above Nice was one of his paintings, which he then signed.
He must have been confused that he was the one who made the sky.
Then the painter heard the woman speak again. ‘I’m a spider named Feather, I have a lot to say but have no ears.’ The painter thought, ‘finally the spider-woman
I waited for so long is coming to show me what to paint!’
The painter also thought, ‘what a coincidence that this spider-woman is called Feather.’ As Feather in French is Plume. And did you know that Nom de Plume means a writer’s pseudonym? The painter thought again, ‘Is the woman I’m hearing my Nom de Plume?’ The painter said, ‘Woman come out and help me, show me what to paint! Together we would have a lot of limbs, that would make a quick and crafty painter.’ The woman didn’t reply. The painter called out again, ‘spider-woman, come to help me, together we can make great fortune!’
‘I take 50% and you take 50% of each sale!’ The woman didn’t reply again. Then the painter realized, when the spider-woman named Feather spoke, she said she has a lot to say but has no ears. ‘She can not hear me cry,’ the painter said.
A spider named Feather has a lot to say but has no ears
Recently I came across a situation of three species who were stuck in a loop, a painter, a spider and a bird. The painter was afraid of the spider, the spider was afraid
of the bird, and the bird was afraid of the painter. The painter thought, ‘how to get out of this loop? I should overcome my fear and be like a spider myself. What kind of spider knows about arachnophobia anyway?’
The painter kept on thinking for a long time. ‘What makes a spider a spider? How to become one?’ Then she realized how the spider’s web is like the painter’s canvas. The beautiful thing about the spiderweb is that it’s a trick invented to catch things. It’s setting out a trap, not knowing what will end up inside of it, similar to the fishing net, or the white canvas. Sometimes twigs, leaves or dust end up in the web, and the spider cleans it. Other times a bug flies into it, and it’s a great catch. The painter decided
to mimick the spider’s way of being. She stretched her canvases, cleared her mind, and was sitting down in the corner of the room, waiting. The painter waited for ideas to fall into her mind that she could paint onto the canvas. She realized that to be like a spider is to be non judgmental and to be honest about the fact that ideas are gifts that you get.
The painter waited for a long time, so long that she started doubting, why should she be a painter that wants to be like a spider? ‘Who wants to be bound to a rectangle for the rest of their lives?’ the painter said. ‘Maybe I should stop painting. But then I would have given up before I even started.’
The painter waited more and thought about it for a long time. After a while she thought, ‘wasn’t the plan to paint thought that came to mind? I had many thoughts, but how to paint a painter who doubts whether they should be a painter?’
The painter started to get very hungry and decided to go outside to find food. On the way, the painter found a feather on the ground. She thought ‘this looks like food is nearby!’ Then a woman appeared, the painter couldn’t see her, but she could hear her. The woman said, ‘you’re vegetarian.’ The painter realized that’s true. ‘The bird doesn’t belong in my stomach but in the sky.’ The painter realized that she should paint a sky, so she went back to the studio and painted a sky. She glued the feather onto the painting. ‘Now the feather is back in the sky, where it belongs,’ the painter said.
What a stupid painter, can’t she distinguish a real sky from a painted sky
But at least she does not claim the sky as her creation, as Yves Klein did when he declared that the sky above Nice was one of his paintings, which he then signed.
He must have been confused that he was the one who made the sky.
Then the painter heard the woman speak again. ‘I’m a spider named Feather, I have a lot to say but have no ears.’ The painter thought, ‘finally the spider-woman
I waited for so long is coming to show me what to paint!’
The painter also thought, ‘what a coincidence that this spider-woman is called Feather.’ As Feather in French is Plume. And did you know that Nom de Plume means a writer’s pseudonym? The painter thought again, ‘Is the woman I’m hearing my Nom de Plume?’ The painter said, ‘Woman come out and help me, show me what to paint! Together we would have a lot of limbs, that would make a quick and crafty painter.’ The woman didn’t reply. The painter called out again, ‘spider-woman, come to help me, together we can make great fortune!’
‘I take 50% and you take 50% of each sale!’ The woman didn’t reply again. Then the painter realized, when the spider-woman named Feather spoke, she said she has a lot to say but has no ears. ‘She can not hear me cry,’ the painter said.
Bernice Nauta, September 2021