Happy New Year! I thought I'd start 2012 with a fabulous paper story I've only just come across.
It's the most beautiful story. Here's to a poetically beautiful year ahead :)
A wonderful paper mystery unfolded last year in the city of Edinburgh... paper sculptures appeared all over the city, beginning with the Scottish Poetry Library in March. An exquisitely carved paper tree, mounted on a book, was left on a table in the library with a gift tag addressed to the library's Twitter account @byleaveswelive...
It's the most beautiful story. Here's to a poetically beautiful year ahead :)
A wonderful paper mystery unfolded last year in the city of Edinburgh... paper sculptures appeared all over the city, beginning with the Scottish Poetry Library in March. An exquisitely carved paper tree, mounted on a book, was left on a table in the library with a gift tag addressed to the library's Twitter account @byleaveswelive...
The tag said:
It started with your name @byleaveswelive and became a tree... We know that a library is so much more than a building full of books… a book is so much more than pages full of words... This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas… a gesture (poetic maybe?)
There was also a gold-lined paper egg next to the tree.
This was nestling the words of (Scottish poet) Edwin Morgan's poem A Trace of Wings.
No-one had seen anyone leave the sculpture in the library and it appeared to be a one-off gesture of appreciation.... until...
in late June, when a similarly crafted gramophone and coffin appeared anonymously at the National Library of Scotland.
These pieces were sculpted from a copy of (Scottish author) Ian Rankin's Exit Music. For this offering the tag read:
For @natlibscot – A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas... (& against their exit)
Next it was the turn of the Filmhouse (home of the Edinburgh International Film Festival), with the secret arrival of an intricately constructed paper cinema, complete with an audience appreciating a story coming to life before them....
with (again) the now-familiar tag:
For @filmhouse – A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas... and all things *magic*
Then, in early July, the Scottish Storytelling Centre discovered a paper dragon sitting on one of their window sills, also carved from an Ian Rankin book.
For @scotstorycenter – A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas... Once upon a time there was a book and in the book was a nest and in the nest was an egg and in the egg was a dragon and in the dragon was a story...
Up until August, these were the only sculptures to appear.
They attracted a lot of media attention and the pieces were given their own display cases for
all the visitors who subsequently came to see them.
They thought it was the end, but there were more... Part 2 next week :)
