Friday 26 June 2015

solace


dear friends.
thank you.

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 i've just returned from the Observatory
where
i observed the solstice
by hanging the solace pennants

opening each parcel i travelled around the country and around the whirled
many of you enclosed letters with your work
letters of joy, hope and sometimes sorrow
moving me to tears at times

as i held each piece in my hand i felt the love you had put into it
i learned some new words
(and will need to relearn long-forgotten morse code to decipher one flag)

you sent wishes for peace
blessings for the natural world
prayers and hopes for friends and family in need
and for loved ones you had lost.
you told stories of gathering to share food, talk and stitching
shared memories and stories
shared precious fragments of cloth that held personal significance
i thank you all.

you'll have noticed the indigo dip didn't happen.
the water situation at the Observatory is tenuous
(it all stil needs to be carried in)
and so i had to abandon that idea
which was as well, i think
as they are beautiful exactly as they are

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i shall be building a website for the project
carefully typing out your collective poem
and will leave the postbox open
in case there are more to come
in which case i shall add them to the circle
whenever i visit the Observatory

in the meantime, my gratitude goes to

(and in no particular order)
Heidi Monks
Cherilene Chan
Donna Kallner
Frances Westwood
Bodil Møller Larsen
Jo Roszkowski
Denise Fordyce
Isobel McGarry
Cassie Gibson
Mary Heath
K O'Donnell
Joy Hopetoun
Cynara Mori
Jenni Worth
Shari Bubner
Arija Schwerdtfeger
Nicole Howe
Wen Redmond
Amanda Holloway
Gerdi Schumacher
Dorcas Pennyfather
Penny Crompton
Evelyn Parkin
Louise Plint
Therese Swift-Hahn
Mo Crow
Cathy Wycliff
Celeste Hansel
Liz Ackert
Beth Brennan
Cindy Monte
Maya Sara Matthew
Jo Ann McGeever Metzger
Yvonne Habbe
Malin Sjöstrand
Suri Vangolen
Morna Crites-Moore
Janet Tobler
Susi Bancroft
Lajla Nystad
Holly Story
Diane Kingsley
Christi (Possum) Carter
Wendi Trulson
Jenny McHenry
Indra Stephenson
Tracy Duddridge
Eva Rodriguez Riestra
Lotta Helleberg
Emma Riley
Sue Fisken
Jane Flower
Kathy Wonderlin
Tina Meakin
Helen Trejo
Carola Heptinstall
Donella Wilson
Sue Gilbert
Fiona Burchell
Lynn Jones
Ronnie Ayliffe
Kathy Jolman
Jessica Grantley
Eileen Schramm
Nanette Gilbert
Jo Brook
Deb Cocks
Jan Rowan
A Sibson
Robert McCulloch
Mary McCulloch
Lorraine Meeks
Carrie Vartarandi
Emma McWilliam
Pat Morrissey
Margaret McCathie
Diana McPherson
Parvin Morrissey
Kate Bowles
Bridget Ely
Barbi Crisp
Jo Britt
Suzanna Klein
Nancy Thorne
Lindy Frayne
Jyah Gage
Tricia Copeland
from
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
the USA
England
Wales
Scotland
India
Denmark
France
Germany
Sweden
Spain

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Christi has kindly been gathering some of the backstories here

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some screenshots from my batfone below
you can see i have a bit of editing to do
and then
i need to choose an image of the whole circle for the postcard....



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there's a bit of blue creeping in, conditions for photography were not ideal and sunshine/wind/shadowdancing were the orders of the day
 

14 comments:

  1. THANK YOU for taking part in solace , sorry to hear about water and the blue , when time goes it will be exciting to see what happen with the flag .

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  2. Just wonderful and touching!

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  3. What a marvellous thing, India. Truly impressive.
    BTW Thanks for the information on NOLA a few months ago. Had a wonderful time.

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  4. I loved this idea but time went by and I didn't make a flag, now I am making my own solace cloth for my sister who is very ill. I will think of all those other cloths blowing in the desert and take comfort in them as well.

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    Replies
    1. wishing you and your sister well...and liking the thought of solace cloths being made and hung wherever in the whirled

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  5. This may be a duplicate... does not look like my comment posted.
    I let time slip by and did not send a flag, but I still have plans to make one for inclusion later! YOu might enjoy our site for womyns work and our apron project at http://www.womynswork.com/

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    Replies
    1. oh yes, thank you so much for the link! i'm an apron-wearer from way back.

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  6. This project was
    a joy
    a gift
    an eye opening experience
    a healer
    and a blessing to be part of ....

    And as you say, they are beautiful exactly as they are!

    Thank you.

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  7. want to email me your postal address Mo? it's the only one i don't have and i will need it to send the postcard...

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  8. How wonderful to see all those contributions waving in the wind and to be in such fine company finding ways toward solace... thanks for the opportunity!

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    Replies
    1. and thank YOU dear heart for making no less than eight!!!

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  9. to see those offerings waving their blessings out to all, brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. a beautiful ting you started.

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  10. I came by to see if you might have documented the change over time ...

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