Maria got the idea for scarves made of vintage hankies last year, and she has sold every one she has made, usually within seconds. The vintage hankies have added a new dimension to our lives, become a presence here. They seem to arrive in small amounts every day. People mail them from all over their country, they come in small envelopes and big ones, there are usually some in our mail. Sometimes people arrange to drop them off if they contact Maria first and she is around. On sunny days, there are usually some vintage hankies on the clothesline by the back porch, Maria often leaves them there because she knows I love to photograph them. I do.

Maria’s art is founded on the notion of making art out of recycled fabrics, and the vintage hankies are a wonderful example of recycled art. More touching is the sense of community Maria seems to have spawned, how people find their mother’s and grandmother’s hankies in drawers and boxes and are generous enough to send them to Maria (people can also use our Post Office Box, P.O. Box 2, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.) The hankies are points of light, points of connection, symbols of the kinds of powerful communities that can form online, that can form anywhere.

I never heard of vintage hankies until less than a year ago, now there are small flags flying over our lives. Do not be fooled by their news, warmth and love and community and connection thrive.