Tuesday 13 September 2011

Amulet #41 & #42 - Forget Me Not



My very lovely friends Sarah and Ulysses are both moving away... to different parts of the world. Just before they left I made them this pair of amulets to remind them of the times we have shared together and to protect them on their new adventures. This now officially makes Sarah the most-amuleted person I know (other than myself) as this is the 3rd amulet she has received (see also Amulet #37 & #35. She obviously needs a lot of protecting!

I obviously *should* have also been wearing my "Never Can Say Goodbye" amulet (#11) at the time too (how could I forget such a thing?) which I was wearing when saying goodbye to Ulysses last time (on leaving Berlin). All of this does give me faith, however, that all of our paths will continue to cross in the future... hmmm, that gives me an idea for another amulet. And so the world continues...

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Amulet #40 - Play The Ukulele



I thought I'd just blog this amulet quickly, as I need to maintain the little bit of momentum I've got on OPERATION CATCH UP and because this is an amulet that recently had to undergo repairs. Around the same time that I started this project (yes, back through the mists of time in December 2009), I was given a bright green ukulele as a Christmas present. I am a little embarrassed to say, but I can still only play 3 chords. I know that all I need to do is practice, but somehow this still seems beyond me. The best inroads I have made were learning bits of the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah when I was confined to bed with flu for 4 days last spring.

I made this amulet in March 2010 as a reminder to practice and to combat my recurrent excuse about having to tune up continuously. It is a uke pitch pipe and it has lived for a long time on my polka dot coat. This amulet (possibly above all others) is a classic conversation starter, with many folk leaning down to blow into it in a surprisingly intimate way. It has had so much use that I recently had to repair it (as it fell to bits).

I'm glad that this amulet combines a kind of cheeky sauciness with quite an earnest wish to become better at playing musical instruments. I can't help but feel that George Formby (my inspiration for wanting to learn to play) would be proud!