#3 A Treasure Trove of Small Stories
July 12, 2024
Change to the planned schedule everyone! I just wasn’t feeling the Africa theme, tired of the sound of my own voice and all that. Maybe you are too. Sorry!
So this week instead I thought it’d be fun to tell some of the stories behind Glass Cathedrals. As it happens, in 2012 I made a webpage of funny and touching stories and I was delighted to find them again, most of which I’d long forgotten…
Do you have a whimsical, poignant, funny or silly story behind your Glass Cathedral? I would really truly LOVE to hear it, to add to this treasure trove. Maybe it will end up in a book! Please tell me!
Glitter Magic
“Denbighshire 2012: Sometimes the only thing that kept Jillian going was the memory of her Nan when she was little, bringing her home small white paper bags of glitter. Her Nan worked as a cleaner in a big department store in Liverpool in the 1950s. At Christmas there was always a ‘grotto’ with Father Christmas, and she would brush up the glitter and bring it home for Jillian. A Woman’s Work reminded her of those wonderful sweepings.”
The Very Big Small Surprise
“Amalfi, Italy 2010: Antonio woke up on Sunday morning, set up the table with breakfast on the terrace overlooking the sea and woke up his girlfriend. The cathedral was hidden beneath a cloth. The string was attached to a wedding ring hidden in the tree. He asked her to slowly release the string as he removed the cloth. She loved Evergreen and now they are very happily married.”
You’ll Never Walk Alone…
“Liverpool, 2012: The original conception of “Of one thing I am certain” was a man’s declaration of love for his good woman. Well, Sarah – a very good woman indeed – bought this for her lucky husband. Instead of her name, she commissioned her chap to be holding a banner with the Liverpool soccer team slogan, broadcasting his unconditional devotion to the world. She’s even got him wearing an Liverpool scarf. What a lovely wife!”
Always Amusing…
“Chicago, 2012: Joan Cusack’s fabulous Chicago shop Judy Maxwell sells things you never knew you loved. And they’re the first shop to use Glass Cathedrals to showcase products – a shop window within a shop window… I just made them a box where they can reposition products and people around objects for sale in the shop – creating epic sculptures…objects of adoration. And, true to the quintessential Judy Maxwell dictum, be “Always Amusing”.”
Perspectiva Familiar
Spain via Italy, 2013: Alba commissioned a Glass Cathedral with a flying helicopter for her mom’s big birthday. She ordered it months in advance. Very organised person, Alba. She could not have foreseen me sending that helicopter flying off to Barcelona, Italy. When it didn’t arrive, and my mistake was revealed a week before the big day, I promised to make a new one, express. I ordered a new helicopter – but it must have ‘crashed’ – it was never delivered to me. Then, THE day before Alba’s mom’s birthday, the original helicopter landed on her Spanish doorstep. Destiny!
Everything in My Head
“San Anselmo California, 2012: My daughter Mila loved her 3rd grade teacher. When Ms. Griffin told my eight-year old that anything going on in her head was bound to be far more AMAZING that what she’d learn at school, I could see why :) As a thank you, we gave Ms Griffin this Glass Cathedral, my daughter scribbling everything she had learnt that year on the walls of the box.”
How to Have Fun
“San Anselmo Califoinia, 2012: So we’ve been playing quite a bit of Hide and Seek lately. Cheap thrills! I was struck by how actually scary the game is for me as an adult, and how much better than me my girls are, at it. I had an idea to make a Glass Cathedral showing how time stands still when you are about to be caught. Of course I had the child hiding – something didn’t feel right. My daughter suggested a quick switch and voila! Perfect.”