This Woven Woman is ‘Learning From the Child’ from my Oracle of Stillness series.
I am inspired to post this one, because I adore the Kindergardener from next door.
He drops by sometimes for little visits and it’s always a delight to have a chat with him.
It feels like it was only moments ago that he was a tiny babe in arms and now, he’s taking ski and snowboard lessons and painting the Northern Lights with alcohol ink and watercolors.
I love looking into his eyes and seeing the sparkle of discovery and the joy in mastering new things.
Joy is one of the great connectors of the Universe.
It can burst into a moment that launches the heart skyward, or it can slide in on a silent wave that somehow appears in the midst of suffering and sorrow and leaves a person riding a wave that lifts them when only a moment before, there was oppression, misery and despair.
Joy is a bridge that brings together paradoxes and stitches the Great Mystery and Beauty into a patchwork that says: YES to awe and to life.
When Joy burst into my life, I felt compelled to create this mixed media Woven Woman for the Oracle of Stillness series: “An Uprising of Joy”.
If you look closely at the feathers on the edges of her wings, you will see hundreds of tiny brass safety pins, which I adore as they are charming little bits of amazement that hold things together. And on each of the tiny safety pins, there are seed beads as a metaphor for how Joy seeds new life in us.
May Joy unfold in your life, too!
‘An Uprising of Joy’ is one of 3 of my mixed media tapestries from the “Oracle of Stillness” series that are part of the fundraising Christmas/Celebration of Joy show at Harcourt House: Artorama
We have brought all the mixed media Woven Women tapestries of the “Oracle of Stillness” series home from #harcourthousegallery and our house feels like home again.
Not that it is easy to hang 50 tapestries in one small living room!
But it is lovely to be among all of them again.
My husband and I missed them when they were off in the gallery.
Today’s Woven Woman is “Sanctuary”.
I hope that your home is a sacred sanctuary that brings you healing, joy, respite, renewal and all good things.
I love our 5 year old next door neighbour so much!
The doorbell just rang- He needed to tell us that he had shot his Nerf into the air and hit our roof and was sorry and could he have the nerf bullets back next spring when we clean the gutters?
And, he was freezing and could he please stay in the studio for awhile to warm up?
His Mum said ‘No… we can warm up at home’.
‘But I like it here’. (Aww)
We chatted a bit and then I gave our neighbor/friend back a plant that she had given me when it was tiny and it has now gotten too big for the shelf.
We laughed about trying to get rid of clutter, and the wee boy announced solemnly that Miss Noreen has a LOT OF CLUTTER.
Which I agreed to and then folded up with laughter as his Mum tried to shush his discussion of too much clutter and herd him out the door at the same time.
It was wonderful and I am still laughing. (But Mum, you SAID we have to get rid of our clutter!)
Which brings me to today’s mixed media Woven Woman from the Oracle of Stillness:
“The Songs of Motherhood: Love, Celebration, Laments, Loss, Learning, Essence” and how on earth did I forget to add “LAUGHTER” to her naming?
She hereby will be blessed with the addition of one of life’s greatest gifts: “LAUGHTER”.
Sometimes, when our bodies are challenged, the best place to dance is in our dreams.
This mixed media Woven Woman tapestry, “The Dance” is part of the Oracle of Stillness: Weaving Coherence in the Chaos series.
I twisted wire to make the armature for “The Dance” and freeform wove the beads to shape her into that moment of stillness that sparks the moment between the movements.
It is the Pause, Breathe, Begin Again that nurtures and heals.
Yesterday was a day full of challenges and mistakes… I am working on a new series of mixed media weaving and had to do a lot of re-considering and re-working.
I also got a couple of other things quite wrong, so had to remind myself to be curious about what I could do about that.
At bedtime, I asked my Dream Guides and Wise and Well Ancestors for guidance, and what immediately popped up was: Do some Ho Opono Opono, so I did. It’s very helpful!
This morning, I woke up with a cluster of phrases in mind as I floated in the hypnagognic state:
Gifts from the Dream Guides and Wise and Well Ancestors, for sure:
“Pax Vobiscum”, “Fiat Lux”, “Que La Lumiere Soit” and “Pause, Breathe, Begin Again”.
It also made me think:
These challenges are the reason why the mixed media Oracle of Stillness Woven Woman: “Paradox- Joy and Sorrow Walk Together” is so important to me.
She speaks the truth of dealing with the challenges that help me to understand that life is multifaceted, complicated, messy, sometimes uncomfortable and downright miserable at times, too…. BUT… in among all that, there is still Peace, Wisdom, Strength, Tenacity and the ability to maintain the Courage to be Curious and the willingness to accept that sometimes I say and do things that I am unhappy about and have to find a way to reset my compass, and to Pause, Breathe and Begin Again….
Yup. It’s a Paradox and it’s profoundly healing and deeply soulful. Not easy… but oh so necessary.
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.
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!
When I was a little girl, I adored one of my grandmother’s best friends, Mrs Wall, who was kindness incarnate. She was the perfect Granny, exuding comfort, sanctuary, and gentleness. She taught me crafts from her childhood, which made them a precious legacy. I was thrilled when she taught me how to make ‘Yarn Babies’.
When I was designing Tiny Angels for the Weaving Kindness Project, I decided that they needed to be made using wrapping and stitching and not weaving as an homage to darling Mrs Wall, and all the kind people who make the world a better place.
Happily, I have figured out how to use the ‘Yarn Baby’ technique on the Kindness loom.
I am thrilled with these Tiny Angels.
They’re less than 2 inches (5 cm) tall with my signature ‘Hugging Arms’.
I’ve designed two variations- one with a skirt and one with legs. Their wings are shaped like the infinity symbol.
It’s so soothing to make small things that bring a feeling of connection and community.
Making small Kindness treasures to bring comfort and hope can be incredibly healing.
That’s what the Tiny Kindness Angels are all about. I hope that you’ll make lots of them as gifts of compassion and kindness for yourself and for the people in your life.
We are all in this together, and are not alone on our journey. May we all, like Mrs Wall, but each in our own way- weave a legacy of kindness, compassion, generosity and healing love.
The link to buy the pdf pattern for the Tiny Kindness Angels is:
Tottie Talks Crafts Blog 