… of A Quiet Week in the House. Thank you so much Lori for creating this amazing artwork! This makes me very happy every time I look at it.
From Lori’s comments, the flower vase is an ear to appreciate one “hearing” you without words, silent support… and it also refers to the over-sensitive hearing that gives problems with background noise.
And yes, the image makes sense to me in so many ways. It feels familiar and relevant yet strange. The flowers convey the idea of a unique sweet-sour taste of red berries and those specific soft white flowers, lemon (?), ancient science & scriptures, and decorative stingy bushes and ferns. Symbolically, the image seems to carry a message about the beauty of receptiveness; listening to friends; inspiration from listening; uniqueness and trustworthiness.
The ear makes particular personal sense to me. If I was to draw my own unique Sensory Homunculus based on my intuition, then the ears would be huge on the drawing. Ears, hands, feet, and skin surfaces would be giant features.
Ears are not just hearing-tools. Hearing is just one of he ways the ears assist (or obstruct) interaction with the surroundings. The skin on the ears senses subtle air flows in the surroundings, and the ears move subtly and change expression in response to feelings and sensory inputs. They are fine tuned communication organs in more than one way.
The ears are important instruments for sensing my own position in a space and estimate how far away the edges are. I like that a lot when I walk down the street or navigate a crowd, or even drive in my car with the windows open. When that function is switched off, then moving in a space tends to feel fumbling and unstructured.
When I imagine calming rhythms and sounds and sensations that help me align my inner rhythm with that of the surroundings, then it feels like they happen in the ears, although I do of course know that it is an imaginary activity that happens inside the brain.
Ears are also too wide open giant receptors that allow all the noise of the world to pass straight into my head and flood my mind like a cacophonous wild ocean (that is what a shopping mall sounds like, for example). No thanks to the ears for that.
The image remind me what I like to be: I like to be a good listener. I like to be a good friend. I like to learn. I like to grow from the inspiration I take in from other people. Thank you 🙂
history of bad parties 
At first glance, I didn’t even recognize the ear. How absolutely incredible! As your friend gave her a special take on friendship, you also have the ability to present a fresh take of your own.
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Yes:-)
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Simply beautiful! Not only is the artwork amazing, but the depth and meaning behind it as well!
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That is really a beautiful piece of art, and I love the way you think about it. I’m in grad school right now for something that involves knowing an absurd about about the function of the cochlear and vestibular systems, so I have a private little love affair with the ear. It’s so cool to read how it is beautiful for you, because then I know all this geeky science I’m absorbing about it isn’t just about facts and figures, it’s about something that really matters to people, even if they don’t often think about it.
Also, and this is silly, but it’s kind of fun so I thought I’d share, your description of how you use your ears (and how we all use our ears without articulating it like you’ve managed to do!) reminds me so much of how a cat uses her whiskers. Whiskers are sensory, telling the cat how far away they are from things, which is how they move around so easily in the dark. They are also a cool little trick the cat has to know how wide she is, so she’ll stick her head in small space before she jumps in, to know if she’ll fit (doesn’t always work for chubby kitties, but that results in great clips to put on the internet). They are even linked to emotional response. And while you may not think of your ears as particularly emotional, I bet intuitively you know they are! Have you ever gotten dizzy when you were confused or emotionally overwhelmed? That’s your vestibular system inside your ear. If you are alarmed by something at first, but gradually gain trust that it is not a threat, the sound of it will soften, like traffic outside a city apartment, or the voice of someone you meet for the first time if the conversation goes on long enough for you to start feeling comfortable. Your ears even know to turn on extra powerfully when you are fearful, and to drown out sound and voices when you are content with your own thoughts.
Yay for ears. 🙂
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Thank you very much for your reply. I like all the connections you are drawing … cochlear studies and whiskers and emotional integration and all!
Actually I very much like to think of the whiskers-comparison. Yes definitely it is a comparable function, even if it technically performs the function in a different way.
Yes… very much so! And the ears/hearing system’s filtering properties – (also such as the cocktail party effect) are a fascinating superpower! even if it isn’t my strong side.
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Yay for ears and yay for whiskers both, actually!! I think the two cats I have curled up on top of me right now would want me to add that.
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Thanks to your cats for their input. I agree with that, ears and whiskers are great features.
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Oh man, I’m so scattered these days, I meant to add this link to my comment, but now I am posting a third time!! Please feel free to edit all three of these together if you feel like it! Or maybe just take this link and stick it in my other post? Whatever you want, I don’t want to muddle up your awesome post. http://animal.discovery.com/pets/question592.htm
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I appreciate your input, that is not muddling up anything:-) And you can write as many comments as you like.
Thank you for the link. I knew some of it, but I wasn’t aware that they are mood indicators too and that they grow in more places than the whisker-place! It is funny cats have such antennas… almost insect-like!
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I wish I had antennae too! They’re cool 🙂
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Yes:-)
Luckily, you do have ears:-)
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I have been so anxious for what I would say to you, how I would thank you for your thank you. Can fingers get choked up like one’s voice? I suspect so. Your words are so beautiful and capture my intentions precisely. How lovely to have a dear friend, only separated by electrons and a glowing screen.
Cheers,
Lori
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Thank you so much:-)
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