What is your passion?
What invigorates and energises you?
What provides a still-point in a chaotic world?
What gives you a voice?
Heartfelt Dolls |
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What is it that makes your soul sing? What is your passion? What invigorates and energises you? What provides a still-point in a chaotic world? What gives you a voice?
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We take computers for granted (until they crash, of course).
They also tend to be quite utilitarian in their design. So the writer automaton, a fore-runner to our present day computer is a breath of fresh air :) Are automatons and robots dolls? I love allegory. It never bores. It appeals to my love of story-telling and the never-ending search for meaning in life. It says, 'Come. Look. And you will find.' Allegory treats me as an adult and allows me to encounter that which is relevant and meaningful to me, now, without preaching and proselytising. Don't you love tree houses? The inventiveness, the creativity, the lateral thinking and problem solving, the courage, the fun and playfulness, the new perspective on the world and what it has to offer, the variety from a few planks of wood and corrugated iron to sophisticated architecture? To live in the canopy ... now that is a refreshing thought:) What is the appeal of unusual collections in odd public places - bras on a fence in New Zealand; chandeliers in a tree in the USA; and dolls on an island in Central America? People are strangely drawn to these juxtapositions of ordinary items and extraordinary locations. They add to them. Come admire them (or not!). What do they challenge within us? Do they redefine what is acceptable? broaden our perception of art? challenge our consumerism? publicise a cause? entertain a bored community? We need time off. Our bodies need time off, through sleep, to regenerate. We need rest from our work so that we can tend to other aspects of our lives and well-being. Weekends. Sabbath. Retreat. Year of Jubilee. Family holidays. Meditation. All honour our need for 'time off'. So why are we so reluctant to step back, let go, rest? How will 'time off' revitalise the creative spirit? I am especially attracted to dolls made from materials close-to-hand, or seasonal materials. They appear to me to be grounded, with a sense of belonging to a particular environment, a particular place and people and time. They speak of tradition, and community, and shared stories. They ooze creativity, and practicality, and adaptability. One of my favourite pieces of music ... and prayer ... and art. What keeps me connected? What keeps me rooted to this place? What prevents me from toppling? What nourishes my roots? What protects my roots? What restricts my roots? What feeds and nourishes my creative practice? What feeds and nourishes my spiritual practice? What feeds and nourishes me? Gratitude. I think it is a life-changing attitude. When we live with a grateful heart, we see others differently; we prioritise our lives differently; we value relationship over ownership; we count blessings rather than troubles; we become attentive to the needs of others. Gratitude is an attitude that needs to be cultivated, fertilised, tended - and our lives, and the lives of those we encounter, will be a rich harvest. Gratitude is a creative act ... become active. |
Liz PearceI am a doll-maker; a doll interpreter; a doll activist, perhaps, using this medium to reflect on the human condition. Archives
August 2020
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