 | Something Quirkier |
L: So when I say the words ‘small blessings’, what does that mean to you?
A: It brings me back to my time in lockdown when there was no connection to people but the magpies in my area became my small blessings.
L: How did they do that?
A: Just by being themselves. They got used to me being at home all day. So when I was at the clothes line they would just come down and be themselves and wande around fearlessly. We didn’t try and touch each other, we were just in the same environment. As time progressed, if I left the door open, they saw no barrier and would come inside.
L: So what sort of connection did you form with them? Did you communicate?
A: Yes because when I would offer them some of my breakfast cereal I did a wave away from me and said ‘table (not the table in the house but the one under the pergola). And they got to recognise me, my action and the word and jump up on the table and eat. And they still do that.
L: How does remembering this story make you feel?
A: Really wonderful….. we have had a connection for over four years. I will be interested to see what it is like when they bring their babies in because that’s coming soon.
Anne, Canberra.
Awaiting a creative response
17. A conversation between birds.
"I live in an apartment, and I was on the couch and a couple of cockies [cockatoos] flew up to the balcony and were just ok with me being inside and looking at them and being there. And they were doing their curious dance as they do, sort of just poking around, and I think one of them started eating a plant, a succulent, that I had out there, but it needed pruning so that was ok. And they flew off and then they both came back pretty quickly and one of them decided that time was off and flew away. And I could see the other one looking down at the other one a thinking “I don’t want to go yet.” And I could hear the first make this sound that pretty much sounded like “Are ya coming?’” in their squawk language. And the one that remained sort of looked back inside, looked to the direction that the first one had flown away and just followed “Like fine, I guess”. And it was just so unexpected because I don’t usually see native birds at all on the balcony (there’s plenty in the surrounding trees). And you can always hear the cockatoos at morning tea and after work, I thing that’s when they have their gossip sessions, what’s happened in their day. But it’s just really lovely to witness a conversation between birds.”
As told by Stef, Canberra.
This story inspired the collaborative community arts installation “A Conversation between birds".
This is the installation on the day of the opening of the exhibition. Over the three months more birds will be added. Also - the branches will slowly bloom with hand made wet-felted flowers.
Flowers have been made and contributed by: Lynn, Anne, Sandy, Nikki, Clive...
17.1 A patch for ‘Enveloped.’ Merino fibre felt made by Lynn, stitched by Stef using yarn from Blackwattle Alpaca.
Many birds have been made for this installation.
People who have made birds for the installation: Lynn, Jo, Gillian, Bron, Jacki...
Photos below: Pink/Green bird made by Bron (both sides pictured). Bron modified the Spool Bird pattern. She also took great care in selecting just the right sized and shaped rock to sit in the palm of the hand (now inside the bird).
Next you can see some of the many birds created by Jo - made from hand dyed blanket or handmade white merino felt embellished with alpaca curl or repurposing silk ties.
The two flying birds were made by Philippa and the multi coloured birds made by Gillian W.
L: What does ‘small blessing’ mean to you?
B: When I first saw this [info about small blessings] actually, and I get all my best ideas at nighttime, so just before bed when I first saw your email ‘small blessings’ it was like, my small blessings are my small boys, my little boys, my blessings. Then I thought, the ability to have children is, well it’s not a small blessing, it's a huge blessing, but it is a small part of your body that it able to do that for you. And so I thought oh, i would love to crochet or knit a womb or something, or a little embryo… so that’s where i kind of take that.
But ‘small blessings’ are in the everyday things, I mean a cup of tea, smelling the flowers… my son, when we are walking home from school “What does that one smell like? Smell the flower.” So we do that on a daily basis.
L: So you have small blessings with your small blessings.
B: Yeah, oh yeah (laughter).
L: When you are thinking about this story or these incidents, how do you feel?
B: Oh, joy, happy, contentment I think.
L: So, to construct a metaphor about a small blessing, associate a small blessing with something… so a small blessing is like.. and tell me why.
B: …I’ve got an example here [looks at mug of tea clasped between two hands]…. a small blessing is like sitting down and having a cup of tea with both hands around the cup and looking and smelling and just sitting… because it is bliss.
As told by Betty, Canberra.
Tea Trilogy. Patches for ‘Enveloped’ created by SS.
Small blessings can take many forms. For me, the term easily describes something that makes me smile, especially when unexpected. A small blessing can bring me down to earth; it has the ability to be humbling and bring joy. For example, when visiting a friend with children, the older of the two, a 5-year-old boy, saw me waiting at the door before anyone else did. He yelled my name in excitement, announcing my presence to the whole house. Not getting all that much in the way of a response from his 2-year-old sister, he bounded up the stairs to tell her I was at the door. A squeal of excitement was then heard from the top of the stairs, followed by the chant of a 2-year-old declaring my arrival. I was happy to see them regardless, but the pure joy and excitement from them both really did make me smile and feel special.
Story shared from a friend in Canberra.
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A patch for ‘Enveloped. Felt made by Lynn. Stitching by Stef.
I won’t speak for others, but I have never found deaths in the family to be easy. We have unfortunately been through a few; sometimes close in distance, other times oceans away. This time around, for the first time in a very long time, we had a baby as part of our family, an innocent witness to the grieving. A beacon of joy and hope in a sea of black and bewilderment. A particularly smiley, bubbly baby. Please don't get me wrong, the blessing of a child itself is huge; but if you’ll indulge me this little play with the English language, I’ll say this: the infectious little smile of a small person at any time, let alone one of grief and sadness, is a small blessing indeed. That is to say, a blessing that is small in the amount of space it takes up in the world, but large in its effect.
Story shared from a friend in Canberra
Awaiting a creative response