Those who know me know that I occasionally go off on these wild tangents of becoming completely obsessed and immersed in some obscure topic for a period of time. These topics can be - and usually are - varied, unrelated, and sometimes downright bizarre.
Often these are mere passing fancies; I become enamored of a topic for a brief period of time (a few hours to a few days or a week or so). Sometimes, the fancy doesn't pass so quickly, and I may stay obsessed with a topic for a few months, but eventually it fades. There are rare few things that stay with me for long periods of time (though there are a few; which usually show up here as categories on the blog).
Right now I'm in the middle of a moderate obsession with Morocco. I am unsure what spawned it, as with many of these things. Well, I can trace it ... just don't know what made "this one" click.
I do an online crossword every morning. Almost every day, while doing the crossword, some clue or answer will be something strange and intriguing that makes me go "Hmm, I'd like to know more about that." And I'll go do a Wikipedia read on it, and if it interests me beyond that, I might do a Dogpile search, and read about it for a few hours, till I've lost interest or learned all I cared to know.
Recently one of the answers was "Africa." I thought, "You know, I've always been kind of mildly interested in Africa, but really know nothing about it." And that was true ... I've always been kind of fascinated with the visions of the great Serengeti plains with their majestic wild animals, or the Sahara desert with its nomadic Bedouins and camels. I loved "Out of Africa." But that was about the extent of my (meager, pathetic) knowledge.
So I went to read up about Africa on Wikipedia, and while reviewing the different areas, ran onto Morocco. "Oh!" I thought. "I'm not even sure I knew Morocco was in Africa. That sounds interesting." I mean, what about Morocco doesn't sound fascinating?
The details get blurry here, but at some point I combined my recent re-enthusiasm for embroidery with my more-recent enthusiasm for things African and particularly Moroccan, and ran onto "My Marrakesh" - a blog which is also linked in my sidebar now, and which is nothing short of fascinating. I found it because Maryam has a passion for Moroccan embroidery (although apparently she doesn't do it herself; just likes to look).
So I am currently completely, madly in love with all things Moroccan, and most particularly Moroccan art and embroidery. I want to spend a month in Morocco. I want to study and incorporate Moroccan embroidery and artistic themes into my own work.
Will I? Who the hell knows. I'm flighty that way.
Although I did do something tonight that I can honestly say I've never done before. I sent an email to Morocco. Through Maryam's blog, I found a link to an antique dealer in Tangier, who had this for sale. Of all the beautiful textiles they offer, I really fell for this one. But they don't give outright prices on this website, they tell you to write for information. So I sent an email to their "international sales agent" (who shares the same last name as the owner, so I assume it's a family business). I'm going to find out how much this beautiful Fez embroidered veil is, and whether or not I can afford it.
If I can't, well, no harm no foul. I'll have corresponded with a dealer in Morocco regarding an embroidery ... and that in itself is pretty darned cool.
Will I remain interested in Morocco past next Wednesday? Will I study and learn Moroccan embroidery? Will I acquire the international Fez veil? Stay tuned ... !
1 comment:
Hi there, Rayne. glad to hear of your new found obsession about Morocco. It's one of those strange places......Indeed, I became so obsessed with it that I bought a piece of land, started building a house, started a blog, and am writing a book about Morocco. eeek!
Sadly, I expect that your Fez veil will be very, very expensive. But it's lovely to dream. Thanks for your message.
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