A Winged Serpent

An Owl

A Blanket from the Sea (for today’s bridal felting party)

A little bit of Doll Midwifery (Rosella’s little dolly in progress)

A new friend at Lavendilly House (first time away from Mama)

AND …

a repaired hearing aid (Yay for Australian Hearing!!)

Soon to come …

A Blessingway this Sunday

Experiments with plastic bags

life is busy, life is full, life is good … but looking forward to a little quiet time too

a serpent with wings,

an owl,

a blanket from the sea

a bridal shower

a little bit of doll midwifery

a new friend visiting Lavendilly House

a repaired hearing aid

a blessingway

experiments with plastic bags

and the usual family life

The artist lives in two worlds simultaneously.  The external or outer world, the skeletal framework of his life, with which he engages to work and play and practically relate to those around him.   Less visible, but perhaps more potent, is the existence of his inner world, the womb of creativity, where he perceives and listens with different eyes and ears and lives a parallel existence within this private space.

How different these two worlds are!  And how separate they can feel from one another.  One deals with tangible realities, the other with invisible realities.  One deals with the here and now, the other is musing on past, present and future all at once and framing a view through which to understand them.  One is relatable and accessible, the other is difficult to capture and contain in a way that can be shared meaningfully… and yet, what is the job of the artist if it is not to capture something of those invisible realities and make them known to the outer world?

Now, you say, the artist does not have the monopoly on the private musings of an inner world.   Naturally.  Point taken.  Invariably though, the artistic temperament seems to feel the keenest divide between the worlds, to have the most vivid experiential dichotomy between the two, and to have the greatest need to reconcile them.    Enter creative expression.

When the world inside your head feels more real to you than the world outside your front door, the action of creating something that can be expressed, seen or heard produces sharp relief.   Presenting your inner interpretation of the world you experience seems to produce a bridge that links your two worlds together.    When a melody comes up from inside of you and sings to your surroundings, when lyrics are penned that make known a thought that was previously known only to you the ripple effect is profound.

The very act of creative expression in this context is an intersection or apex of your dual realities.   It gives you, the thinker, the reflective one the chance to be known, to relieve the inner loneliness that comes from flowing in a river with a deeper current than most.   It gives the opportunity for the world around you to interact with your inner world, to be given a back-stage pass if you like to the theatre of your heart.  There is great joy in being known, especially in giving glimpses to such a core dimension of you.

Not only is there the relief of reconciliation and the joy of making yourself known however, but also there is the thrill that comes from presenting something valuable to those around you.  To serve others is to be enriched.  To allow others to perceive something newly by seeing through your eyes is to contribute greatly to the world.  To enable them the vicarious relief of getting something said that is so hard to put into words is no small service.

And so it seems the bridge of creative expression is a two way street, a servant that serves two masters by all at once providing the artist a way out, and others a way in.  And in doing so, both reflecting and participating in the divine.

Today we had another doll-making session  - or doll-midwifery session as my friend refers to it – and indeed some cute brand new babies are being formed. I am getting better at making these dolls now, and although they still take time and care and love and patience and skill they are being formed faster than ever. Over the last two days we have begun three child dolls and two newborn dolls and two friends from a previous session came to help their little ones finish growing too.

The dolls are so cute and it amazes me that each one we make is completely different in looks to any other doll, although we all start with the same raw materials.

This will be my last doll-midwifery course for 2009, however they will come around again in 2010.

For the next course, the demonstration doll, and $10 from the cost of each doll made will be donated to Ayla’s Rainbow Foundation. Ayla is a little four-year-old friend of mine who’s developmental path is meandering along at a different pace, and perhaps in a slightly different direction to that of other children her age. Ayla is a cheeky little sausage who is capable of giving everyone big surprises when they least expect it. In recent breaking news Ayla has STOOD UP for the first time to reach a cracker on the couch!!

Please visit Melissa’s blog to read about life with this beautiful little girl, and also Ayla’s progression through her treatment, and please click on the link to the ABR site to read about how her treatment works. Creating traffic to the ABR site will help Melissa and Steven a great deal because traffic linked back to their blog will enable them to hire the equipment they need for Ayla’s treatment at a discount. And every bit counts because Ayla’s treatment is very expensive.

 And if you are looking for very extremely cute Christmas presents for babies and children then please visit Don’t Tell Mamma at etsy, where 100% of the profits from these gorgeous handmade products go towards Ayla’s Rainbow Foundation.

As I have patiently waited out a period of illness, I have still been busy! I have piles of layed-out felt ready for the time when I have enough breath to roll them, but in the meantime I am sitting quietly and working with my hands.

And here is a little person who emerged in this space of quietness and stillness: meet Sally.

I wish Sally could stay and play with us at Lavendilly House, but she is off for grand adventures at Finger Prints Children’s Centre as I am donating her to the kindy for a raffle to find a new home with a loving family, or for a classroom doll … or for wherever Sally feels she will be of most use.

I had fun making her clothes, although you can tell I was so eager to take her picture that I haven’t ironed them yet. She even has a pair of undies on under her jeans, and I wish I had a cute top like that one. She needs some shoes, and a little knapsack to keep some treasures in. Perhaps that will be tomorrow’s task.

I am still trying to work out how to make these dolls without such a great volume of hair. Sally’s has some lovely mohair mixed through it which was very thin and soft.

Thank you for keeping me company Sally!

In preparation for our next MYSHA Circle tomorrow night I have been emersing myself in the world and mythology of the selkie: the woman-seal who sheds her skin by the moonlight. More to come, with insights from our evening, in another post.

Our MYSHA Circles are becoming popular, we are now taking advance bookings and considering a second session.

Do you dare call your sacredness forth?

This Mama Doll was made for my friend who is due to have her baby by home birth in about 10 weeks…but this doll was started about 9 months ago – before she was even pregnant! She has had a gestation period of her own

There were a few challenges along the way…but now I know how to crochet At first I asked my Mother-in-Law to to help me. She made a large doll from the pattern that my friend purchased on Etsy, and I had planned to gently enter the world of crochet by making the clothes and adding the details, but I was stumped as I had only 1 crochet hook, which was clearly too small…and no crochet hooks to be found in Spotlight for weeks….so, aware that Rebecca’s pregnancy was progressing I took a crash course in crochet and gave the doll a go.

I am SO impressed with the person who designed this pattern. It is very intricate, but not as difficult, in the end, as I first thought.

I still have the orginal doll, and I will find out what size hook was used, then finish her and keep her for myself.

This doll is a Birthing Mama, and I couldn’t adequately display her without showing her full potential….the pictures speak for themselves.

Be warned that you may find them a bit disturbing if you have not watched a birth before. But this is a santised birth – no mess and a smile on her face the whole time!!

Mama at full term - happy in anticipation of her beautiful baby's birth

Beginning to feel contractions - judging by the smile on her face she is full of endorphins

The head!!

A safe and successful home birth!

With placenta still attached, this lotus birth baby begins to feed

Yes! The pattern for this Birthing Mama Doll includes a womb, placenta, umbilical cord….and every detail down to the pubic hair.

She was a lot of fun to make and makes everyone laugh when they see her…having said that I don’t think I will be in a hurry to make another one for a while!

Peaceful Priestess

Crone

Medusa

Needle felted Matryoshka Dolls

Triple Spiral Meditation Mat

Rainbow Meditation Mat

Owl Meditation Mat

Rainbow Tree

Selkie Moon (Unfinished)

All of these are for the Goddess Conference this weekend.

Except the selkie, of course … it is a shame she is not finished, but there is another purpose for her I think.

Peaceful Priestess and Crone were laid out almost a year ago and have been waiting all this time to be felted.

Medusa is also another oldie, but I feel it is time to say goodbye to her now.

Thanks to Donna, Rebecca and Melissa for your help during the last two weeks.

Thanks to Renee for the inspiration for the Rainbow Mat

I have a few more goodies but they will be posted next time.

Oh for another week!

I have heaps more ideas that want to be made!

I will soon be teaching a doll-making workshop as a fundrasier for

Finger Prints Children’s Centre.

We will be making limbed dolls like the one I made for my little cousin Frida:

The workshop will be held over two Saturdays and hopefully we will be able to complete the dolls in that period of time. They are complex dolls to make and the process cannot be rushed! So we will do our best, and there may be a bit of homework.

Part of the cost to make the dolls will be donated to Finger Prints and the demonstration doll that is made will be donated for a Christmas raffle.

LIMBED DOLL WORKSHOP

DATES: Saturday November 28 AND Saturday December 5th

(attendance is required for BOTH days)

VENUE: Finger Prints Children’s Centre, 1 Alice Bowden Crt, Worongary, 5530 2393

TIME: 10am – 3pm, BYO food and drink for the day.

COST: $80, includes full doll kit and tuition, although attendees will need to supply their own yarn and crotchet hook for hair.

SKILLS REQUIRED: None, although a knowledge of crochet will be helpful.

The class will have limited numbers, and a $10 deposit is required to secure your place.

Melissa and I initiated a Women’s Circle last night ,

and it was a

peaceful

reassuring

safe

special

funny

trusting

magical

place to be. We lived a woman’s life time in fairytale time. The story unfolded in ways I hadn’t thought of – and themes emerged that I also had not considered. For my own part I was grateful for the insights I witnessed and received. From the traditional fairytale of “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” came threads of

finding and expressing our courage

trusting our sense of inner direction

allowing people to help us on our way

receiving

transforming responsibility into joy

budding, blossoming and fruiting

A gift of words that I gave to another woman became a gift that I also gave to myself:

” What you give out to the world will come back to you.

Accept the gift you give to yourself.”

We sang Melissa’s divine music, listened, shared, received and created through painting, drawing and words.

Our Circle continues again next month. If you would like a little taste of what is to come next time I will give you one word to play with over the next month:

SELKIE

Selkie, by Forest Rogers, www.forestrogers.com/forests_illustrations/

Happy Birthday Frida!

I was going to post about the baked beans I made yesterday – but then thought it was about time I shared some of the non-food-related creative things I have been working on. Recently I have let go of a few things in my week which has allowed me a more relaxing space to be creative at home and I have found my inspiration returning. Welcome back!

This is a work in progress. It is a banner for Mikailah’s LilyWomyn journey. It is a very special piece of work and I am relishing the opportunity to flex my creative muscles, which have slackened some-what from recent lack of use. It is also quite large and I am just sinking my teeth into this project  and savouring every moment I spend on it.

As you can see by the progressive expansion of fleece strewn across the floor in each photo, I have completely taken over my children’s playroom, using the only table we have that is large enough to accomodate this piece of work. It is 2m wide at the moment and I am counting on it to shrink enough to be easier to hang!

So glad I have a table this big

So sad, it is on loan

The figure crouching in one of the photos is the beautiful Briony, who was also busy felting a meditation mat:

A lovely, peaceful, creative day.

I have more work to do on the banner yet – at this stage it is ready to wet, soap and roll. Once it is felted I will work some more on it, adding more detail with a felting needle and stitching some embellishments on, as well as adding the words for the banner. The inspiration for the flower border came from earlier work of mine, Persephone, which you can view in my gallery.

I made quick emergency visit to Spotlight yesterday to buy a ball of pink wool to knit the last 10 rows of a nappy soaker I wanted to finish. (It was my first venture into intarsia knitting and I’m rather proud of it). I had to enlist help to take this photo as Rosella, surprisingly, did not like them and did not wish to model (perhaps she is growing tired of me chasing her with the camera?). Luckily, these are for sale, and not for her.

Anyway I was shocked by the Christmas decorations that were already up – in September, together with Halloween decorations! I clucked my disapproval and moved on quickly to the wool section, lest I get sidetracked and forget my mission. But all the same it got me thinking about christmas, and the presents I will be handmaking … and food.

I love Christmas food. Cherries especially. Shortbread. Nuts. Christmas cake with brandy sauce. Rum balls. Ginger Bread Houses. This is one David and I made last year:

Last year at Christmas my husband’s extended family had a fruit mince pie competition. Entries were presented anonymously, tasted and then voted for. It was fun, but mince pies are not my favourite christmas food. I’ve never seen the point in them … and they are always too sweet.

This year the family competition is a rum ball-off.  The categories and guidelines are being formulated – and, looking for ways to use my black tahini (having decided that hommus made with black tahini would look lke compost) I am trying out recipes. Naturally they will be based loosely (as I cannot follow recipes without getting sidetracked) upon the wondrous ‘Peppermint Tahini Balls’ from the amazing Recipes to the Rescue book. I was totally addicted to these when I was pregnant and they give you such a kick of energy. That is how I got started on tahini in the first place. Recently a friend from the UK sent me some “Bliss Balls” to try – and  that is the only other thing I have tasted that has the same kick to it (more so, actually – one Bliss Ball can keep you up all night!)

So this afternoon I made, with the help of an eight year old and a five year old, some organic black tahini balls with honey, almond meal, raw cacao powder, coconut, and a few drops of lemon oil (I was looking for mandarin oil, but couldn’t find it amongst the chaos of my bottle collection).

Y.U.M.

My fuzzy photography does not do it justice.

That cacao powder sure gives you a buzz. I had to restrict how many the kids ate, but felt that such restrictions didn’t need to apply to me.

I was pretty happy but I have a bit of work to do on the recipe: they are not too sweet, which I like, and when rolled in the cacao powder they they actually have layers of taste: first you bite through the bitter chocolatey powder and then you sink into the black squishy sweetness.  They could have done with a bit more lemon oil (I really did want to find the madarin), they are a bit too soft in consistency and I think I’d like a bit of crunch to them by adding some puffed rice, and chopped pepitas…

So there is lots more recipe-playing time before christmas (and lots more eating time). Going to have to work out how to make them firmer because our family is spread across country and we shall be mailing them to each other in order to conduct the competition! When I hit on the right recipe I will surely post it for you.

My friend Amber Greene, aka “Mama Moontime” is beginning her new Mama Moontime Club next week.

There is a competition on her website for one term’s free enrolment!

Just go to her website and leave a comment.

The term begins on October 7, and runs for 10 weeks, on Wednesdays in Mudgeeraba, on the Gold Coast, Qld.

Here are seven reasons you’ll love the Mama Moontime Club!

1. You’ll be challenged to flex your thinking muscles- and find delight in the ordinary and everyday things. 
2. You’ll learn a heap of fun new skills and you’ll be able to make gifts for your loved ones using these tools
3. You’ll begin to guard your creative flame and hold it so dear, you won’t be able to live without it! Your heart will soar!!
4. You’ll have BIG FUN with a whole bunch of fabulous, exuberant women- just like you!
5. You’ll walk away every night with a whole lot of things to think about, and at least one (but oftentimes, more than one) thing you have created with your own hands! 
6. You’ll keep a journey journal and in a few months, you’ll be able to look back and see how far you have come!
7. You’ll be inspired to reach for your own dreams and make them a reality- with the support and love of your own Mama Moontime Creative Tribe!

I was very inspired by Dottie Angel’s challenge this afternoon and straight away I hauled out the two overflowing boxes of material and old clothes I have been saving for … something …and made a pair of pants for Rosella.

From scratch.

I know. The photo is a bit blurry. But the girl is cute, right?

How’s that for a model pose?

The pattern I made up from another pair of pants she has and the material came from something I didn’t even know I had. It looked like a mattress cover for a cot-sized bed. I thought about keeping it because the Holly-Hobby inspired pattern is so cute, but … well they make pretty cute pants too, don’t they? Retro seems to be the thing right now so Rosella can strut her stuff in her Holly Hobby pants, and I think there may be enough material left over for a skirt too. Maybe one for me!

I’m so proud of myself. Now I’ve got one of my favourite skirts out on the kitchen table, ready to make a pattern from that too … and my old Reader’s Digest “Things to Make and Do” book open at the guide to sewing pages.

I am supposed to be doing lots of felting in preparation for the Goddess Conference but at times like this my inspiration tends to lose focus!

What have I done?

I’ve just written to Dottie Angel and agreed to her challenge only to buy second-hand or handmade items for 365 days. I think I will begin 1st October. I wanted to start on my birthday but that is a month away and I might forget by then…!

There are some clauses to the challenge (including buying underwear) and the challenge does not include gifts that you may receive. For the rest of the clauses check out Dottie Angel’s blog.

I’m going add a clause of my own:

I WILL do my best to source second-hand items, but I run craft and felting workshops and so for my business I will need to buy new if I cannot find satisfactory second hand items.

The other thing is shopping: I will buy local where possible and affordable.

So … my birthday is coming up … please feel free to gift me items that I may find challenging to fit into these guidelines!!

Hello friends,

I have put up a few photographs of my felting over the last few years. I have a lot more to add to the Gallery, but it is a slow process.

Please feel welcome to visit the Gallery Page and have a look.

Jennifer

little birds
migrating south
for winter

I sift through ancient

tribalism and heredity

for knowledge of self

only to find trespassers

and onlookers –

purveyors of doubt.

Above is a little something I wrote in a journal in 2004 and hide away in storage since then. Rediscovering it five years later, I still find some truth in it. After all those years of looking outward for guidance, I decided to turn my gaze in. Ironic, though, to find this now, just as I’m beginning to turn my gaze again to the external.

I had the good fortune of guest writing for my friend’s Fitness magazine blog.
“A Tale of Two Soups” was my culinary follow-up to the communal bread-baking experience I wrote about a couple weeks ago. Dig in!

One day I was buying things at the supermarket. I went to line up to pay for the things. A lady came up behind me and mumbled, “Call me mother.” I was terrified and quickly ran off to the other end. To my astonishment, she followed me and asked me to call her ‘mother’. “Just call me mother,” she said. I was so scared so I mumbled “Mother.” Looking satisfied, she went away. I paid for my things and to my surprise, the price came up to $30 when it should have been $10. I was confused so I asked the cashier why it was so. “Wasn’t that your mother?” she asked. “No, I shouted,” I just called her ‘mother’!” Quickly, I ran out of the place. The lady was getting into a cab and I quickly ran over. She was just closing the car door and so I pulled her leg just like I’m pulling YOURS!

Gotcha, didn’t I!

Thank you to the Free Flow Dance theatre Company
On July 17th a group from Tamara’s House attended a Latin dance workshop. The Free Flow Dance Theatre Company chose Tamara’s House for one of three workshops funded by a City of Saskatoon Recreation Grant. A huge thank you to Ryan and Jackie for all the work done to make it happen and to Kyle and for the fun and challenging dance lessons. We had vast fun and hope to do it again!

Check out our display at Saskatchewan Social Services. For the month of August information about Child Sexual Abuse and Tamara’s House will be displayed in the window on 21st Street and 2nd Avenue, downtown Saskatoon.

Summer BBQ – The annual BBQ was a huge success. We filled the back area will great food and wonderful conversation. It was terrific to see everyone’s smiling faces!
We would like to acknowledge all those who made it possible. A huge thank you to Jubilee Ford for donating all the burgers, buns and condiments, Wendy for the clean up of the area and set up, Megan and Paula for food preparation and clean up, and Shelagh for the food preparation and flipping burgers. Way to go team!

Yoga for Every “Body” - Yoga is an expression of self love. It reestablishes the connection between mind, body and spirit. Yoga is a way of reminding ourselves of our inner beauty and interconnectedness with the world around us. Yoga will be held in the Citrine room Mondays August 24th & 31st from 3 till 4p.m.
If you want more information please contact Drop-In staff. Every Body is welcome!

SOS Lunch – Join us Thursdays for a tasty meal over the lunch hour. From 12 to 1 p.m. we put out a nutritious meal in the Drop In Center. Everyone is welcome.

Moving beyond Trauma
Tamara’s House and Adult Mental Health will be partnering in
September for a 9 week focused group. For anyone interested in this group please contact Kelly at Tamara’s House for more information. The intake will consist of a 1 hour interview at Adult Mental Health in mid September. The group will begin in later September.

Full Moon Ceremony
will be held Friday August 7th 7 p.m. at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge. Full Moon Ceremonies are women’s teachings. Child care is available on site. A light lunch is provided after the ceremony. Please wear a skirt to honor your womanhood.

Healing Circle Ceremony is a weekly elder-facilitated ceremony. Every Wednesday evening women gather and take turns speaking from their hearts. It is an empowering group for women. The doors open at 6 pm and the ceremony begins at 7pm. A light lunch is
provided. Please wear a skirt to honor your womanhood.
Bus tickets will be available. Childcare monies are available, however they are limited. If you require childcare please call at least one day in advance.

Survivor Staff meeting will be August 6th following the SOS lunch.

Walking Groups
Join the commitment to our physical health. We meet twice a week in the Drop-In Centre and head out for a 20 minute walk through the beautiful neighbourhood. Everyone is invited to join us Mondays and Fridays at 1:30pm.

Tamara’s House will be closed August 3rd for the Statutory Holiday. Drop In will be open Wednesday August 5th.

Creative Expressions
Come out to Creative Expressions and explore the variety of ways you can express yourself in art. “I’m not an artist!” you might say. GREAT – You don’t need to be – just having a little curiosity goes a long way! The purpose of this group is self-expression, getting in touch with yourself in new ways, and finding out something new about yourself.

For more details on this program, download our dropin program newsletter:

August Newsletter

DREAMS COUNTDOWN

“That was Rick Springfield with ‘Human Touch’ and we now cross over to the 1 o’clock news. Join me, Roger, after the news for more of your favourites.”

I shut off my radio and went to the window. It was nice to laze around again. The exams were just over. It had been hell the past week. The summer hols were there and I was thinking of getting a job instead of staying at home. My best pal, Tanya Carnes had already got herself a job at the supermarket. Just then, the phone rang and I went to pick it up.

“Hello Toni, Tanya here.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing. Just called to see if you’ve found a job.”

“Uh… no.”

“I see. Well, I heard that there’s a place empty at the store and if you want it, I’ll try to get it for you.”

“Um… no, thanks. It’s not exactly what I have in mind. Thanks anyway.”

“No problem. Gotta go. See ya!”

“Yeah, bye!”

Working at the store! Not for me. I put the radio on again. The news had just ended.

“This is Roger and I’ll be here with you for the next four hours and with all your top tunes. Call me anytime for a song or dedication. The numbers are 3379949 and 3376860. This next one goes out to Angie and her boyfriend. Duran Duran with ‘Is There Something I Should Know’…”

I think all the deejays are fantastic! They sit around in studios and spin records and have interviews with stars! Oh wow! I wanted to be a deejay. I’ve been dreaming of being one for so long. I was thinking of having a job at a local station, maybe sorting out fan mail for the deejays. I’d been calling up the deejays and asking for information. They were all nice. I’d called up so many times that I was known as the regular. I picked up the phone in my room and dialed the number.

“Hello there.”

“Hi Roger, it’s me.”

“Ah, Toni Trea, the regular, eh?”

“Ah-ha!”

“Well, what can I do for you, sweetheart?”

“Oh, I just want to dedicate the next song to my best friend Tanya.”

“Sure. Nice to have you call.”

“Yeah, bye.”

Oh, Roger was so nice. He’s blind too but it’s amazing how he works! I’ve talked to the other deejays and they all think he’s great! It just amazes me! I spent the whole afternoon in my room, listening to the radio and looking through all my 16 mags. Those gorgeous hunks just make me weak. Especially Rick Springfield! What a fantastic guy with great talents. Oh, I just hope to meet him someday, someway.

Mum and dad came back at 6. They were both teaching at Ridgemont High. That was where I’d be going if I passed. Mum taught English and dad taught Maths. I went down to greet them.

“Hi dad, hi mum.”

“Hi darling. Had a good day?” Dad asked.

“Mm… not bad. How was school?”

“Okay. As usual.”

We had dinner and after dinner, I settled down in front of the TV to watch ‘Archie Bunker’s Place’. After that, I went up to bed.

It was Saturday. I had called the radio station, Rediffusion a few days before and they’d asked me to go for an interview. I wore my blue denim pants and white cotton blouse. I took a bus there. The place was pretty big. The lady at the information counter directed me to the third floor.

“Miss Toni Trea?” the secretary asked. I nodded and she motioned for me to go into the room.

“Hello Toni.” It was the Programmes Manager, Eric Ridgeley.

“Hi Eric. Thanks for your time.”

“Okay. Now you said you wanted a job here. What do you have in mind?”

“Er… well, you see, I know deejays get lots of letters and I know they don’t have the time to read everyone and answer all of them. I had to wait for ages for my reply. Well, I was thinking that I could maybe manage their mail. When they’re busy on air, I can always run to the record library to get the records they want and maybe, I’ll answer some of the calls for them and you know… oh please!”

“You’ve got it…”

an art, an exact art. And now we are sculpting, sculpting the words, the feelings, the moments into this easy to mold small lump of possibility. As you use your hands to form the details and structures, you also leave something else behind. You leave your fingerprints. Your finger prints leave behind a physical thing that no one else has. The way that you bring out what you feel is needed, the way you see the world, and all captured in your two hands. The possibilities are endless and…