* I would like to think the artist Lorraine Karpany for giving me permission to share the images and their Story in my blog. *
Recently I was asked if I would pick up a ‘few ceramic pieces’ from the local Aboriginal College and take them to a rural Community where I was presenting at a Womens Group. The creator of the pieces had been unable to get them to her home and I was very happy to oblige as one of the most enjoyable aspects of my work is meeting other artists and their work.
I thought ‘a few ceramic pieces‘ meant that I was going to be picking up a few plates and painted china bowls but instead I transported several, profound pieces of clay sculptures that quite literally took my breath away!
Lorraine told me that she began by making a basic clay pot like most people do but very quickly the clay began to take shape and give form to her deeply personal healing journey that has involved enormous loss and grief and mistreatment by the Australian government who inflicted the theft of Aboriginal children on a whole generation of Australians. My heart was deeply moved by Lorraine’s Story and her resilience is awe inspiring.
The children who were stolen and the parents who were the victims of the child thefts are known as The Stolen Generation. The unspeakable, multiple losses and relentless pain that members of The Stolen Generation live with is captured in these pieces.
They are also works of great courage, resilience and outstanding talent.
Lorraine tole me she had never created with clay before but in six short months developed an outstanding body of work that reveals her enormous talent and originality. She sells her work so if you are interested in knowing more what her outstanding Sculptures please leave a comment below.
I am not qualified to put captions to any of the photos and apologise for the slight blur in some of the images.
Peace, harmony, balance, generating feelings of relaxation and well being.
Being centered and relaxed with the Mind at rest. These are the Gifts of Mandala, a Sanskrit word meaning Circle.
I created the following Mandala poster for Women living in the domestic violence shelters where I was working, after a newly arrived resident pointed out that the shelter walls were covered in anti-violence posters but all she saw was the word violence all around her and negative imagery and it didn’t feel like a safe place to be on account of that. Shelters often have posters that are considered ‘educational’ but her observations brought into question their true value and worth.
It was a very important message she gave to the staff and I thank her for her invaluable feedback. We invited feedback from other residents and they too made comments such as “that one that says ‘domestic violence hurts kids’ made my little boy frightened especially that one of the woman cowering with her kids in the background”.
We listened to what we were being told through the eyes of women who had come to live at the shelter at a point of chaos and danger in their life and systematically removed all of the words and images that were not aligned with Peace and positivity.
We refocused on Peace to create Peace no longer using the word violence in order to reach its opposite and the other posters and pamphlets that dealt with issues of violence and poverty were in the filing cabinet and only brought our if necessary during group conversations.
The World Peace Begins at Home poster continues to be one of the most popular of what became my ART of Change tools and now lives in many houses on fridges and bathroom doors, each one coloured differently from the next.
It is not only Women living in domestic violence who are leading busy, chaotic lives though It is important for all of us to take some time to breathe, relax, play and create! That’s why Mandalas for colouring in are received so well by women who are living in shelters and women who are looking for some balance in their busy busy lives.
If you would like a copy of the black and white World Peace Begins at Home template, leave me a message with your email address and I will happily and freely share it with you.
*Please see note below for the Dedication of this poster.
This Mandala is freely shared in dedication to the special memory of my friend Janet who lost her life in domestic violence in 2001.
We used to sing “Give Peace a Chance” when we were young and loving life back in the 70′s and neither of us could have known where Janets path would take her.
The world is a little less bright today as one of the true Stars of Australian music has passed away.
Ruby Hunter was the first Aboriginal Woman in Australia to secure a record contract with a major record company but her greatest achievement was her love, inspiration and strong role model she was for all Women, most especially Aboriginal Women. She was and will remain a strong voice for Women recovering from violence and abuse.
Ruby, like so many other Aboriginal children, was stolen from her family by the Australian government and this deep trauma lead her to a period of a life on the streets and alcohol…until she met her life partner and Soul Mate, Archie Roach as a teenager…Together they enriched the voice and culture of Australian music forever.
“Ruby ‘got’ people, was flexible and was generous with culture and causes. She was ironic and humorous. So many little girls have been named afterher!
Ruby didn’t just survive, she transcended, created and inspired. She mothered the
whole hurting country. Her passing is a deep loss for Australia and for everyone close to her.”
“Ruby, small in size, but her voice and her presence were huge, she could fill an amphitheater with love. She gave a voice to so many who were voiceless, she sang the songs that gave hope to our spirits, and eased our pain when it seemed insurmountable. She will be missed by thousands who she graced with her music, and her spirit lives on in her children, her music & the love she shared with Archie.”
“First time I sang at the Fly By NiteClub Perth as a soloist, it was as a support act for her and Archie….she had such a warm heart….and with her beautiful heart and warmest, down-to-earth, personality, she squeezed my hand and told me, “you’ll be right bub!”….and I will never EVER forget that! My deepest condolences to the family…praying for peace, strength & comfort during this time. Saddest lost…but what a life & testimony to celebrate & remember always! LEGEND!”
“Sometimes I would be hosting a women’s group for Aboriginal Health /d.v. services and was always mindful that there were some things that were not my place to discuss, areas I couldn’t really go to because I’m not an Aboriginal woman. So I’d put on her album “Thoughts Within” …we’d listen to tracks like “Sister”…”Women’s Business” and it would be RUBY HUNTER who would bring the story and the conversations to the room.
I can not find words to express what this has meant over the years except to say move over Mary Mackillop! “
“As a young Aboriginal Woman…she was my “AUSTRALIAN IDOL ! !”
**********
Some of Rubys music can be found on youtube.
Archie and Ruby’s music makes sure we never forget the outrageous injustices committed against Aboriginal people…and the resilience and strength that defines the Spirit of the rightful owners of this amazing country we call Australia…
We are very pleased to announce that EarthSong is now officially incorporated as of September 8th 2008.
Here are two of our founding members Misters John Hartley and John Williams holding our certificate of Incorporation.
If you are interested in learning more about EarthSong, who we are and what we are doing, please checkout the Facebook EarthSong Aboriginal Healing PathwaysFoundation group here: EarthSong….Putting Action to the shared Vision for Change…
My buddy Deanna and I were both a bit tired, a bit low on joi-de-vivre… we know that this kind of too-much-of-the-city tiredness needs very specific treatment!
It requires packing the picnic basket, spending hours amongst Nature with a cup of tea in china mugs, accompanied by a piece of apple-crumble cheesecake from the Yankalilla bakery…. taking time out of the city away from the mobile phones waves and relentless traffic….noise traffic, mobile phone traffic, people traffic and the news, news, news…
Nothing else will remedy what only Nature offers the weary 21st Century gals!….(;-)
Here is where we went…and if you look really closely you can see the Spirits of Nature all around…
Ingalalla Falls…nestled in between hilly country that is green and clean and lush….
We are having the launch of the heART of the Apology exhibition on Wednesday.
There were 11 posters created during the Apology at Elder Park here in Adelaide in the ‘heART’ Space that we established as a way to give ordinary Australians, of all colour, culture and creed a place to express their thoughts and feelings in a way that was divorced from the political footballing and rhetoric that was flooding the media in the months….and years … leading up to the Apology.
There was sadness and there were years and there was joy…
My buddy Katrina has worked for justice for many years and like so many other Aboriginal Women. her courage and resilience in the face of systemic racism have been out standing.
This fountain sits in the centre of the City…
The plaque reads: This fountain is based on the three rivers from which Adelaide draws its water. The Murray-Aboriginal Man and Ibis…The Torrens- Woman and Black Swan and The Onkaparing-Woman and Heron
The Aboriginal Flag was blowing in the wind behind the fountain…the flag was raised in that very spot for the first time over 30 years ago….
I came across the following interesting info on the Beacon of Light page [click here]… Recently the Adelaide Fountain Group sought to establish a beneficial lift in the energies over Adelaide starting by focusing on a sacred site in Victoria Square. The intention was to use this as a focus, linking out to problem areas to create change. Their work was developed from the original Fountain Group, based in Brighton, England, whose work had created a reduction in violence. The effects of that work are properly researched and documented.
The Adelaide Fountain Group was founded by Roger Brown, who has, unfortunately, now passed over to spirit. This group worked tirelessly, to create community healing, through the use of visualisation techniques to generate positive energy flows in Adelaide.
My very dear friend was deeply affected by the Apology Day to the Stolen Generation of Aboriginal Australians as the high profile, political build up brought to the surface many things that happened to her that still have impact today.
It was not a celebratory week for her and she refused the offer to go to Canberra as part of the group representing the Stolen children who have survived.
For those outside of Australia who do not know, Australia had a rigorous, uncompromising White Australia policy in place for many years of the 20th century and Aboriginal children were taken from their Mothers and Fathers, forcibly removed, with no reason other than they were Black children. Many of the survivors of the child-removals refer to ‘when I was kidnapped’ and it is a term that is very fitting regardless that they were removed by ‘authorities’ who gave themselves the power to subjugate Aboriginal people for many years. Kidnapping of children is none the less serious or devastating because it is a ‘policy’ by the government.It is the ultimate abuse f human rights, to take a child from his /her mother and refuse any more contact.
The grief and trauma is still very current in many people’s lives today so the Rudd Governments pledge to “Apologise” was presented as a gesture of healing and reconciliation – although it was made clear there would be no compensation or legal recourse available to the children who survived the kidnappings. Many white Australians have been compensated for far lesser injustices .
My beautiful friend is one of those survivors along with her Sisters. She is a counsellor and healer herself and knows better than anyone what it takes to survive such widespread child theft and disintegration of Family, Aboriginal Law and Culture by the European arrivals who believed the Aboriginal people to be inferior and were often referred to as ‘savages’. Removing people from their homeland also meant that land could be stolen for grazing sheep and mining. This Land Rights based on thousands of years of occupation continues in the courts today in Australia.
On the weekend after the Apology my friend spent a couple of days with Sal and I and I invited her to create a piece of empowerment art to honour the Mother she never knew and the Sisters who were lost to her. The Apology opened up old and deep wounds, the death of her Mother who was never reunited with her Children is a pain my friend lives with in spite of her years of healing and recovery. It runs too deep to ever be completely free of the heartache of losing ones right to grow u with the Woman who gave you birth and loved you deeply. I understood that what my friend needed was not more talking about it all but an opportunity to give shape and form to her sadness and release the anguish from her body in a physical, palpable way.
We created the ‘base’ beads using arir-drying clay, they had a Mother / Goddess theme you can see here:
We painted the base coat and then she took the beads home with her after we spent a bit of time in the market picking the black and orange ‘filler” beads:
Words could not express the joy in my heart when my friend came to see me yesterday on the way back from a gathering of her colleagues who work with the Stolen Generation and she showed me her clay “Empowerment Necklace” in progress…
As I held the amazingly energised, vibrant beads in my hand I knew beyond any doubt that “creating” offers avenues and pathways that ‘counseling’ rarely travels along.. Creativity shifts the energy outside of the body bringing both release and the ‘alchemy’ of making something tangible from something unseen yet profoundly strong in the mind /body /Spirt /emotional circuitry system.
My friends Mother, Sisters, Daughters, Aunty and Grandmothers were all there in this beautiful strand of ‘story beads’..
I love my friend…her resolve not to let the shocking events of her childhood overwhelm her never ceases to amaze me…
Here we are wearing our beads that honour the Mothers whose children were snatched from their arms because the white people in government believed they were inferior to Europeans and needing to be controlled.
Honouring the Fathers, Uncles, Brothers, Grandfathers and Sons also is another chapter of the healing journey unfolding…
On October 11, 2004, 13 Indigenous Grandmothers from all over the world—the Arctic Circle, North, South and Central America, Africa, and Asia—arrived at Tibet House’s Menla Mountain Retreat amidst 340 acres of forests, fields and streams in upstate New York. Within a few days of convening, the grandmothers agreed to form a global alliance; to work together to serve both their common goals and their specific local concerns.
The first council gathering was a time of hope and inspiration.
The Grandmothers are both women of prayer and women of action. Their traditional ways link them with the forces of the earth. Their solidarity with one another creates a web to rebalance the injustices wrought from an imbalanced world; a world disconnected from the fundamental laws of nature and the original teachings based on a respect for all of life.
