A grain of sand in the hem of Madame Bovary's winter gown *

* Sebald, W.G., The Rings of Saturn, 2002; Vintage (London). (P8) I have begun to read W.G. Sebald's book, The Rings of Saturn. It is a record of a coastal walk through East Anglia by Sebald that prompts reflections on past cultures and people. I really like the way it meanders down metaphorical pathways and places which seem on the periphery. It feels both lucid and eccentric in its subject matter. The quote which is the title of this post, just seemed so complete and beautiful to me. In the book it explains that Flaubert who wrote Madame Bovary, saw the whole of the Sahara in this grain of sand in her gown.'For him, every speck of dust weighed as heavy as the Atlas Mountains.'I love the significance and weight given to that one grain; how potent it becomes. It has made an interesting connection for me with the work I am doing with the ropes. I took them last week and began scanning them on a large scanner. The aim was to achieve a similar image as before but with a better quality finish. As the process was happening, I noticed how beautiful the motion of the light passing underneath was. There were reduced beams of light that momentarily flickered as the rope was scanned. It created a shadow on the white lid of the scanner; a ghostly imprint. I videoed this action with my iphone which has not come out brilliantly but it is like a sketch. Tomorrow, I can hopefully continue this process using a better camera and give it more time.