Give yourself a break
A solar powered soundtrack to the awakening of Spring, enjoying the layers of the hillsides and a golden filter on everything. Some raindrops to quench, and the freshness in the air has got my mind filled with all sorts of ideas, but also giving myself a break.
April and May have been inspired by Lorde’s poetic and sun-kissed album Solar Power, which focuses largely on climate grief and aging; the overwhelm of time passing [“growing up a little at a time, then all at once”], past generation’s impact on today/our impact on future generations [“through the halls of splendour where the apple trees all grew, you'll leave us dancing on the fallen fruit”], appreciation and love for our family and community [“spend all the evenings you can with the people who raised you, 'Cause all the times they will change, it'll all come around'“].
I have been taking time to muse on these themes and the power of storytelling that enables us to connect with others across the spheres of totally different places, backgrounds, and orientations to the human experience. This had me thinking about the power of folklore within our global culture; the beliefs, customs, stories, and arts of ordinary people. The representation of cultural heritage of a specific community or region that can be translated across the world in unique but unifying ways.
I decided to work on a small project that, for me, captured a moment in time. I made seemingly simple talisman necklaces and beaded keyrings, but the concept stemmed from the sharing and cross-pollination of cultures [in this case, in the form of collected artisan Mexican milagritos charms - small, hand-crafted folk charms deeply rooted in Mexican spirituality and art], the symbolism of the shapes and objects [writing individual descriptions of the meaning and ‘power’ of these charms] as well as repurposing of materials to reduce waste, critique throwaway culture, and give discarded objects a second life [repurposed beads]. These small tokens become tangible objects that carry some historical meaning and connection to a bigger picture.
