What is a desire path? It’s a concept I will be exploring in depth. The most common way I’ve heard it used is a path that is the shortest point between two distances, often created by foot traffic off the main trail. But that’s a human-centred definition. What about the desire paths of bees, butterflies, caterpillars, beetles, and larvae? There are human-defined roads, paths, and trails, and then there are the ones that nature makes without us. How can we pay attention to the paths of the creatures that were here before us? How can we accommodate them?
I want to explore the concept of “menditation” that Lois Klassen and I first explored in our Slofemist projects. I am inviting you to make your own arbutus leaves out of fabric and stitch your meditative desire trails on the leaves. These can be used to mend an item of clothing or a table cloth, or just used as decorative patches. I found this lovely square of quilting material that is inspired by city maps. It’s fun to contrast the squiggles of a leaf miner over its man-made patterns depicting roads.
There are also desire paths through time. I encourage you to listen to this interview from Emergence Magazine with writer Jenny Odell.
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