Listening to the Mother

7th Installation of 12

December 21, 2022- January 20, 2023

Perspectives

Perspectives

The 7th installation of the ‘Listening to the Mother’ project.

I headed into the forest to find a place to hang the 7th piece of 12, in the ‘Listening to the Mother’ land art project

Over the short days of January I’ve been sharing my creative time between my home studio and the quieter winter forest. I begin each piece with a meditation among the trees and lichens, with the ravens and the mycelium…to be still, to listen deeply, to receive inspiration, gather materials and ground my racing mind with the ancient rhythms of nature.

You see, my collaborative partners are the teaming life and communities of a particularly beautiful forest in the Pacific Northwest and it takes time, openness and awareness of how much I put my thoughts and perspectives as THE thoughts and perspectives in order to excavate what wants to come forward and into a new form.

When I return to my home studio, the materials I’ve gathered in the forest share their stories and beingness as I work. Their qualities both surprising and challenging shape the pieces as much as my sketches do. Titles don’t usually appear until near the end of the work.

That doesn’t mean my ideas for titles and details of design aren’t formed by me in quick fashion! It’s just that these preliminary imaginings are simply taken into consideration, observed with patience by my colleagues, which in turn slows me down and allows me to consider beyond the easily available expressions of first encounters.

I’ve been able to return to the forest a few times this month with this tapestry. And I’ve been reminded again…and again, to trust the process, stay open to the unknown and tiptoe up to the edge of what I think in order to allow a “more than thought” way to find expression.

The tapestry made of jute and dried grasses confused me at times, as I fought against the story that wanted to be told. These months spent in a relatively small area of diverse life has offered me some tools in times of struggle like this. The trees whisper advice to simply be. The raven’s wing slices the air to call attention to the unobserved. The rich humus webbed with networks of fungi and non human conversations remind me there is always more than what we understand in this moment.

To be patient.
To understand that stories are told in infinite ways by infinite life forms from infinite perspectives.
And all will be ok.

And so now at the end of this making, this tapestry has been named ‘Perspectives’ in honour of these lessons I’m learning
and as a visual expression of the story
of this forest
from the perspective
of this forest
and through this human.