Paper

[shapeofthings]

It's just a peice of paper.

Perhaps...

'Round about a year ago I was bumming around one Saturday, waiting for Alex to come home. At that time he was working down on the Coast and was only home on weekends, living with his parents through the week. Normally he came home to me on Friday nights, but this weekend he'd finished late and was returning Saturday morning. I'd cleaned the house in preparation and was just counting down the time when he called: he'd been delayed doing something-or-other rather irrelevant and wouldn't be home for a few more hours. The mix of disappointment and annoyance that welled in my stomach left an unpleasnat taste in my mouth. I was upset - the long weeks at home by myself for the last six months had taken their toll and I was tired of feeling neglected and lonely.

No-one likes feeling upset, let alone me, so the situation needed remedy. I needed to get out of the house and make myself happy, rather than just sitting and waiting for the boy to come home. So I put shoes on, pocketed my wallet and set out the door. My feet soon took me down to Milton and the stretch of cafes and restaurants down on Park Road. I settled on my usual, a delightfully tacky Italian cafe with exquisite iced coffee (made with coffee gelati that cannot be beaten), ordered said iced coffee and bruschetta and proceeded to self-medicate ;-). I must say, I think I had skipped lunch and food made a world of difference to my mood, as did the ever-cheerful service of the cafe staff.

Behind the cafe lies a paper shop. Not newspaper or office paper, but an entire store of fancy paper. Beautiful sheets in every imaginable shade, flourished for invitations and weddings, and the greatest treasure of all, Japanese Chiyogami paper. Bliss! I lost myself among the Chiyogami, marvelling at the intricate detail and artistry of each peice. The consumer lust rose within me - I wanted this beautiful luxury, this glorious paper art! Pulling out each new roll in anticipation of the design within, then I found one I just could not put back. A breathtaking design of white cranes flying above blue fields, all edged with gold. Thirty dollar laters I wandered home, with a spring in my step and a brown paper package under my arm =)

(concidentally, on my way home I discovered that lovely antique print sotre, spending an hour drooling over ancient maps and flying machine designs, until I found out they had biological prints. I found the fish, and they're still there, waiting...)

I decided I wanted to get the paper framed, it was so beautiful, and hang it in the entry way, and when I got home I tucked it away with care. When the boy finally did make it home I was in good spirits and showed him my newest treasure. A few weeks later the whole working away business came to a head and he moved back to Brisbane full time and found a new job, and since then it's been clear sailing - we're more in love than I thought possible and it just keeps getting better! But my sheet of treasured paper lay neglected, tucked away in the bookcase, waiting. I wanted to frame it, but I didn't like any of the framing places I found, adrift in shopping centres and soul-less.

A few weeks ago I met Brett in Toowong after work. We tried a new cafe for afternoon tea (damn fine too) and explored the little arcades that pre-date the shiny shoppin centre. Down one such quiet walkway I found a proper picture framers - the type where the worshop is the shop and you can see the framer at his job. You could see the love he had for it and the eye for design. A week or so later I was back, precious paper in hand. He saw the artistry in it and instantly selected the perfect frame, then talked about painting the cut on the matting to match the highlights - sold! It would finally be framed.

I returned on Friday to collect my long-awaited prize - a beautifully framed cutting of Chiyogami paper. Framed with such concern for the artistry, it looks better than I even imagined it would, and for now hangs in pride of place above the fish tank in the lounge room. It's more that just a peice of paper: it's a work of art with a memory, a story on the wall.