Feed your curiosity with the Loose Threads Blog

Read essays from Wonder Work newsletters and my other writing about brand strategy, creativity, and the importance of strategic communications. 

A rustic wooden stool with a weathered finish, holding a black ribbed vase filled with dried flowers, and several balls of yarn in black, white, and marbled colors, placed against a white paneled wall on a hardwood floor.

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Nancy Martira Nancy Martira

The Patron Saint Test

An attribute was the single object — occasionally the single gesture or animal — that told a viewer which saint they were looking at. It was visual shorthand, compressed from an entire hagiography into one recognizable element. Catherine’s wheel: the instrument of her attempted martyrdom. Jerome’s lion: the wild animal he calmed in the desert by pulling a thorn from its paw. Stephen’s stones: the instrument of his execution following accusations of blasphemy.

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“OMG, babe. Just trust me.
Take the thread.”

“Theseus and Ariadne.” Undated. Angelika Kauffman (1741-1807)

When Theseus entered the labyrinth to defeat the Minotaur, a lovestruck Ariadne gave him a clew — a ball of yarn — so that he could find his way out again. Join me as I untangle ideas and tie myself up in knots. Maybe together we can weave something amazing.

Oil painting of Theseus and Ariadne painted by Angelika Kauffman, undated. Ariadne offers Theseus a red ball of yarn but he looks confused about why he would need this to fight the minotaur. A club lays at his feet.