Long ago and far away, when my sister and I were little, our family lived in a small prairie town that was safe enough for children to be free range.
On Thursday evenings, my sister and I would walk to choir practice and then home again in the dark.
The stars were incredible! The Milky Way poured across the sky like a gigantic silk scarf that felt close enough to touch.
Sometimes we stood in awe and stared up at the Northern lights.
Always, always, we made wishes on the stars that sparkled, just out of reach.
This mixed media Woven Woman is partly a sense memory of those magical times with my sister, and partly a celebration of Sacred Geometry.
Her name is: “Every Star Invites a Wish”.
Please feel free to make wishes upon her- whether it’s for wellness, peace, calm, clarity, serenity, kindness, wisdom, abundance, or any and all good things for yourself and for everyone, everywhere, may all your lovely wishes come true.
Completing the “Oracle of Stillness” series of mixed media weavings has signalled some deep changes in our home.
This taken the form of a complete shift about of furniture and re-configuring how we use our spaces. Feng Shui in action!
This shape shifting has made us feel much happier with our little home as it feels more alive and cleaner and cozier and ready to receive the new work that is deliciously emerging for us… lots happening with new inspiration, but more about that later.
The decisions around ‘what do we let go of’ and ‘what do we use in new ways’ and’what do we need to bring in?’ has stirred all kinds of musings and dreaming about what ‘HOME’ is and how deeply the concept of ‘Home’ reaches down into our many levels of mind and also into our dream universes.
This Woven Woman from the ‘Oracle of Stillness’ series, “Finding the Way Home” is one of the ‘Grandmother’s Coat’ series, and is also a compendium of fleeting images from many dreams that I have had about the power of “home”.
My wish is: May everyone, everywhere find peace and healing in their homes May everyone everywhere have safe harbor in their homes May everyone everywhere feel heard and seen in their homes May everyone everywhere feel welcome in their homes May everyone everywhere feel restful repose and have sweet dreams in their homes Whatever “HOME” means to you, may you find your way home to that…
I’ve been working with my dreams for more than 55 years. I began learning how to do that back in University, with my Drawing professor, who was a strong advocate for working with dreams. He encouraged his students to learn techniques like Senoi dreamwork and to make it part of their daily practice. I am so grateful to him, as I have worked with my dreams in an immersive process ever since then.
The Woven Woman mixed media figure that I am sharing today from the Oracle of Stillness series is:
“The Dreamer”.
She’s a gentle dream guide that shows up regularly in my dreams, offering wisdom, protection and guidance.
Perhaps there is a ‘Dream Guide’ that shows up in your dreams?
If there is, then do drawings, write down the dream, watch for co-incidences and synchronicities in your life. It will make your life so much more delicious!
‘The Dreamer’ is one of the ‘Grandmother’s Coat’ series that emerged from a dream, carrying all kinds of meaning and information. Follow your dreams!
Have you ever heard Harry Belafonte singing. “We Come From the Mountains”?
If you haven’t, then please google to see him singing it with the Muppets…. it is the most enchanting song that is all about the ways in which we are all connected.
This Woven Woman from my Oracle of Stillness series is another of the Grandmother’s Coat group of mixed media weaving. Her name is, “She Speaks for the Mountains”.
She came from a dream in which I saw a majestic mountain that was clearly a Goddess.
She moved slowly, slowly and I saw that she was made up of countless tiny elements- each one completely interwoven with all the others, with all of life…. and each element needs to be tended, carefully, tenderly with tenderness. How we treat each element is reflected in all of life…
This Oracle of Stillness Woven Woman is ‘ Grandmother Owl Dreams of Waking’.
She is one of the mixed media woven pieces in the Oracle of Stillness.
In the Oracle of Stillness series, there is a sequence that is based on images that arrived in dreams.
In the first dream, I dreamt I was in a gorgeous forest and the moon was full.
I looked up and there above me, was a shimmering Being who whispered that she dreams of waking. “How would that be?” I asked her.
“Like this” and she opened her wings wide, and it was like being immersed in the Northern Lights.
“And, like this” and she opened her arms wide, and I felt embraced by loving tenderness and ferocious Maternal passion with a cascade of images that flowed by so quickly that it was staggering.
“This is my coat, my Grandmother’s Coat- WEAVE THEM!!!’
– it was like a jolt of electricity shot through me.
And, then, she opened her eyes, and said:
“I am watching and waiting and dreaming”.
Oh my word! I sat bolt upright in bed and started sketching.
I had to make a loom that is specifically for weaving the Grandmother’s Coats (I’ll be showing photos of the other Grandmother’s Coat series soon).
I actually built and re-built the loom for each of the Woven Women who have emerged from the Grandmother’s Coat dreams.
The Grandmother’s Coats are still vibrating in me, and I have a feeling that they are going to be showing up in more new ways…. We shall see what dreams unfold of them and in them!
For decades I’ve work with my dreams & use the imagery & information that comes up in dreams .
Even so, there are times that a dream gives me the heebeejeebees. I wake up with my hair standing on end & exclaim: “May this dream never come true for anyone, anytime, anywhere!”.
A dream I had this morning pointed at part of my life that is challenging (health issues) & left me feeling curdled & crumpled.
Luckily, I checked in on instagram after breakfast & found a beautifully healing variation on a Buddhist prayer that I say daily. I love that there are so many variations of it & I thank @fullywoven for posting this prayer just when I needed it most!
The mindfulness of being free from inner harm made the worried parts in me unwind- whew- what good medicine! I am grateful. Here’s the prayer:
May all beings everywhere be free from all inner and outer harm. May all beings everywhere be filled with ease and contentment. May all beings everywhere know and abide in loving kindness.
I am going to be sharing pics of a series of Woven Women mixed media weavings from my Oracle of Stillness series for a few days. The first one is: The Dream Healer.
She appeared to me in my dreams & I loved her. It took a lot of effort to get the face right.
Not long after weaving her & variations of her, I saw images of the Ukrainian Mother Goddess, Mokosh.
I was astonished- Wow! What I dreamt looked very much like the Mokosh figures.
I found this to be inspiring & fascinating. I don’t have ancestral connections- my ancestors are from Ireland, England & Scotland, so it’s another kind of connection.
And, then, closer to my ancestral home, wow-I discovered Dorset Buttons online- more beautiful wrapping techniques to explore!
Thank you to the Dream Universe for pointing me in the right direction & encouraging me to be curious about what I was dreaming.
Sweet dreams!
I’m working on posting all the images from The Oracle of Stillness here to www.tottietalkscrafts.com
This is ‘Tapping into the Source’ from my Oracle of Stillness-Weaving Coherence in the Chaos series of Woven Women.
Her gift is to ‘Fly High, Dive Deep, Wings Wide, Heart Balanced at the Still Point’.
A couple of years ago, I saw a lovely video of a father and daughter dancing a gentle, powerful hula that felt like it was calming the waves. Their harmony and balance were awe inspiring.
That evening as I was meditating, I lifted my hands and started moving them slowly, rhythmically and noticed that I was tracing the infinity symbol in the air.
I felt calm flowing in.
I have incorporated this into my meditation practice ever since, with a few additions of breath and words and visualizing colors.
Here’s what I do, and you are most welcome to join me: Hands to heart, breathing easily, gently. Say ‘Yes’ and invite your hand(s) (or finger) to draw an infinity loop in front of you, close to you. As you continue to draw the infinity loop (a comfortable sized one) add the words: “This” “Too” “And” “Now” in any order. Acknowledge the things that terrify, dismay and horrify you as if they are waves on a monitor screen…. Keep repeating: “Yes” “This” “Too” “And” “Now” in any order as you gently notice the frightening waves of any color on the screen starting to lift away from the screen and dissolve. And, now, notice that feelings of awe, soothing, calm, and awareness of the Great Mystery and the Great Beauty rise up. Breathing gently, Continue to draw the infinity loop and add the words: Keep repeating: “Yes” “This” “Too” “And” “Now” in any order as you gently notice the lovely waves of gentle color on the screen forming in response to the healing words. They might take shape. Welcome them into your heart. Repeat, often. ❤
Recently, I have been delighted to learn that the infinity symbol is used by many people who work with energy & meridians & other healing modalities. I love it. Synchronicity!
I am working on posting images of all the Oracle of Stillness figures here on Tottie Talks Crafts, so stay tuned. ❤
Living with chronic illness is mostly really the pits. But I have found that the sheesh-awfulness of it has honed my radar to notice and dive into the beautiful moments that unfold in unexpected and wonder filled ways.
For instance, one of our neighbors is the loveliest person… you can feel him quietly walking down the street with his dear little dog. He has a – hmmm- what to call it ??? a perceptible quality of lightness and contemplative presence and palpable kindness that is a joy to behold.
( My husband has this same gentle, loving, powerful presence.)
Being grateful for these lovely people (and ALL the precious ones) who carry the energy of peace inspired me to weave the Woven Woman, “Peace” .
It may look like she is alone, but if you look closely, you will see that there are actually 3 figures all interwoven…. all 3 of them are Mermaids and perhaps the 2 smaller Mermaids are the gifts that Peace brings… perhaps they embody the wish for Peace to flow like the oceans…..
Oh! This reminds me of an adorable moment yesterday… I had stepped outside to say goodbye to my daughter and grandson as they drove away from afternoon tea with us. I was chatting with our next door neighbors and we were utterly delighted when a gaggle of little kids burst out the front door, brandishing various bits and pieces of their Halloween costumes, and flew off the porch. The lead child trumpetted: Imagination for the win!!!!
And, we three adults all simultaneously put our hands on our hearts and swayed slightly and nodded: That’s what it’s all about!
About 7 years ago, I began working on 2 of the larger figures in the Oracle of Stillness: Weaving Coherence in the Chaos Woven Women by drawing a large Goddess figure in pencil on a piece of paper that was over a meter (a yard) square. I then took very heavy wire (fencing wire- probably 6 or 8 gauge) and with pliers and wire cutters, freeform shaped the ‘Patience and Perseverance Advise the Ancient Ones.
The rest of the Oracle of Stillness Woven Women evolved from her, so she is the Mother of all the pieces in the show.
I find it amusing that she was also the last of the Woven Women to be finished… I was frantically sewing the last of the tiny Goddess figures to her as my husband, Jim and our grandson, were unwrapping the other figures all around me in the gallery!
She evolved over the years… she hung in the window of my studio for several years, as I watched the shadows that she cast and tried different ideas out with her.
Then a few years later, just before Covid hit our family, I asked Jim to please weld me a heavy weight version of the large Goddess, so he took my initial drawing and carefully cut and measured and welded a version of her. He used 1/4 inch steel rod to formulate her and whew… she is hefty!
This iteration eventually became: “Flourish, Yes, Even in the Middle of All This”.
She is very dear to my heart, as our daughter, Chloe Findlay-Harder, who is a fused glass artist, taught several workshops to our family and I made the face for ‘Flourish’ in fused glass…. I have painted many layers of oil paint over the initial face to arrive at the final face. I loved our classes with Chloe and have made many elements in fused glass for the Oracle of Stillness figures. Lots of them have fused glass faces and butterflies and other elements.
Chloe’s husband, Clancy, and I had a wonderful afternoon one Sunday when our family were gathered for our weekly dinner together. Clancy and I spent a long time talking about ‘Flourish’ and how she needed to evolve. He and I circled her and shifted elements and talked about the impact of color and texture. It was a wonderful and inspiring time of deep connection…. and, shockingly, not long after, he died of a blood clot caused by the Covid virus. Needless to say, this is a piece that I will never part with.
Clancy also made me a fused glass piece that represented a loom, and I had his permission to include it in one of the Oracle of Stillness figures.
It is the rectangle at the base of “Remembering”, which is a tribute to his golden heart and beautiful presence.
Her face is fused glass as well.
“Flourish, yes even in the middle of all this” and “Patience and Perseverance Advise the Ancient Ones” both took years to complete…. I would work on them, and live with them and come back, over and over. They each are about a meter tall by a meter wide.
After I had a dream in which I discovered that the Oracle of Stillness Woven Women all needed wings, I designed and crocheted their wings and then built wire armatures to stretch and secure the wings in full expansion.
I love the shadows that they cast on the walls behind them.
They are on display at Harcourt House Gallery in Edmonton AB until the 22 of November.
These 3 figures are love songs to sing sorrow into compassion and grief into a larger love, as love opens and blossoms and transforms in unexpected, heart-rending miraculous ways…. ❤
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