Lockdown Art - Emerging and Blooming

Do you remember having plans for 2020? Those dates on the calendar that seemed set in stone, places to be and people to see.

For me the end of the university year coincided perfectly with a retreat to Lindisfarne. I planned a weekend away enjoying some space before picking youngest son up after his exams on the way home and starting the LONG summer break.

Well the long summer break became extended, starting way before Easter and I suppose at least the weather played along.

However my weekend retreat at the end of May was, like so many things this year - a casualty of Covid.

Whereas many events have “zoomed” ahead in the virtual world, it was felt that this would have excluded some participants, so instead we were all sent a “Ladies Retreat to Lindisfarne staying at home” pack.

Included was information, prayers, colouring in sheets but most exciting to me a “slow stitching pack”. Scraps of fabric, thread, yarn and buttons. A cornucopia of tactile goodies yearning to be played with, stitched together and overlaid creating shifting patterns, emerging and evolving into ART.

Now for only having 3 letters ART is a pretty big word and I would struggle to call myself an ARTIST, in much the same way as I struggle with the concept of being a Writer with a capital W. But I sometimes write so therefore sometimes I am!

Unfortunately most of us set ourselves such lofty ideas of what these terms actually mean and yet we ALL have the ability to be creative in our own ways.

I knew of a man who painted the most exquisite watercolour pictures but because he couldn’t expressive himself in BOLDER acrylics, he didn’t think much of his obvious talent that everyone else could clearly see.

We always set the bar high and often judge our own efforts much harsher than we would our contemporaries.

It sadly can take years to recognise our own talents, they need gentle nurturing to make them flourish.

I was fortunate to have been part of a church for many years which encouraged art in ALL its forms, and that is the church which had organised this retreat, following in the footsteps of many other artistic endeavours and exhibitions in the past.

So I was in no way daunted by the pack of fabric and buttons – mostly in my favourite colours of pink and green.

I threw open the patio doors, sat cross legged in the sunshine and tipped everything our at my feet to play and see what I could make.

It seemed obvious that the goose had to be a focal point – although I confess I originally thought of the story of the ugly duckling and how he emerges as a swan – but whatever kind of bird it is in reality I wanted it to peep out.

I pulled threads tight and frayed edges; it was emerging boldly from a tangled mess into something new. The felt fabric provided neater boundaries, some enclosed by tidy blanket stitch.

The lily is a representation of the first lily that opened this year on Easter Sunday. New potential, new beginnings – blooming in a world that’s been turned upside down and irretrievably changed.

The sequins are the little pieces of joy that sparkle often catching us unawares. And buttons are a symbol of what holds us altogether. I often use buttons and other found items in what I create, It's repurposing for the next chapter.

I’ve written before about this lockdown being a time of mending and I’m sure there is still much to do, overall what emerges and blooms when this is over is up to us. These are the themes that keep reverberating around my head. Although the continued head spinning often leaves me so dizzy my focus blurs – perhaps that’s a topic I should explore another day?

For many the new ways of doing things will continue to be embraced. The frayed areas will add character making us resilient – Is it any wonder that I called my very first blog unravelling edges about mending my life after my husband died. Some edges will always be raw.

My words, my sewing, my garden and everything I create is a tapestry of my ever-changing life. Some bits may be messy but hopefully there is also much to delight in. And once joined with everyone else’s efforts we can make something really beautiful!

Whether that beauty is displayed in an artspace at the back of a church or in our High Street windows, or the virtual world we also inhabit – let’s resolve to make the world a brighter place as we emerge blinking into something new.

Other Lockdown art - photos from my garden and other creations...