Pysanky Making

Although I would love to get out to the garden and start clearing the way for spring growth, the weather has been pretty horrible recently, so at weekends I have spent some happy times playing around with eggs. Pysanky Eggs are a Ukranian folk tradition. Eggs are decorated using a batik style, with wax and layers of dyes. A finished egg can be kept for many years.

The hardest part is controlling the flow of wax. Traditionally the tool used is a kistka, and these are readily available on the internet. However, what I have to hand is a batik pen, given to me a long time ago. It is similar - a wooden handle with a metal nib and reservoir. Some beeswax pellets are put into the pen, which is held over a candle flame until melted. Then you draw the pen over the egg, in whatever design you like.

 I found this helpful book at a jumble sale just before Christmas. It has lots of helpful tips and wonderful drawings of traditional motifs, as well as descriptions of Ukranian Eater customs. I also found this site very helpful - a great introduction to Pysanky. There are some some good colouring pages too.

It is lovely seeing the pattern and layers of colour build up. The instructions help you to build up to complex geometric patterns but there are also many traditional folkloric motifs which draw from nature, and are more freeflowing.

Finally you melt off all the wax and get the big reveal! This is the exciting part! And addictive too...

A friend recently challenged me about the pagan origins of egg painting, but as I thought about it, not only are these eggs lovely objects in their own right, they are, in the words of Jerome Berryman 'real Easter eggs...the eggs were trying to say with colours and words what had happened that day'. If Christ is in the business of making all things new, then I think that can apply to our art and celebrations as Christians too.

Easter Club Week Three

Our group met again yesterday, a little smaller than usual, but I don't mind, as there is always more time for each child in a smaller group. I took a little extra time to help the group get ready for the story. It is a wonderful group as they are so enthusiastic and participate in everything, but I realised that they also need to know about being ready on the inside - which isn't about being quiet and sitting still - although that can help! We talked about being quiet on the inside so we don't miss something which may be just for them. This is such a helpful part of Godly Play, and respectful of where each child is at. It helps them to learn about themselves and prepare themselves internally.

I started telling the Faces of Easter story, which can be told over several weeks. Last year my material was very simple - laminated pictures, but this year I am so happy to have the artwork mounted on boards and a nice wooden rack. There are a few people in Inverness and the Highlands starting out with Godly Play. We have got together a couple of times to make some of the  materials together. I will have to share about those days another time but they have been great fun and very enjoyable - especially all the cake that people bring along!

 At the end of the story, instead of the usual wondering questions, the children are asked to find something else in the room that helps tell the story. They were very enthusiastic about that! As it was in our living room there were many items they could choose, and their reasons for doing so were very interesting and beautiful.
As this first part of the story focuses on the birth and childhood of Jesus, I asked the children if they wanted to make a gift for Mother's Day. In Great Britain it is always three Sundays before Easter.  I supplied some simple cloth bags, pens and fabric paints and let them create a special bag for their mothers. They worked really hard on this and everyone produced a gift to make any mother's heart fill up.

 Of course I had to be very careful not to look too much at what my boys were doing! I'll show you their's in another posting, but if you were celebrating Mother's Day today, I hope, like me, you had a wonderful day.

More Godly Play at L'Arche

 Here's a link to a post on the L'Arche Inverness blog about a Godly Play session I ran this week. I didn't take the pictures - the first one will give you a laugh - my boys think I must have found something scary in the desert! There, you can't resist looking now, can you?! It's almost worth a caption competition!

 I had a chance to use my new Desert Bag - which is a big strong bag with cords to pull up and safely transport the sand used for a number of the stories. I told the story of the Exodus, as we'll be having a Passover Meal in a few weeks time and I thought it would be a good way to help understand the meaning of this meal. Then we really get to 'taste the story'!

Another view of the bag - a bit of an odd angle, not sure what happened there...I made it using these instructions from Johanna at Godly Play Finland. Instead of making it square as suggested, I went for a rectangle as I think it's important to have plenty of space. However, the instructions were great, especially the corners which are really strong and nicely done. I had to think about them for a while to 'get' them, but they are brilliant.  I had to use two lengths of thinner cord doubled up, and ended up with 3 layers of cloth for strength. It was what I had in my stash and I'm really determined to use what I already have for making things. I'm very pleased with the result and got some enthusiastic help with pinning and cutting from my youngest. Another reason to love Godly Play! Both boys enjoy the finished product too...although I have seen the odd dinosaur creeping in...not surprising really!

Simple Stitching

As the days inch their way, a little longer, and as I have more and more precious natural light, then I know it is the time to return to my sewing machine. It's always a lovely feeling, a rush of energy and creativity. And with good reason, as several friends and  family members get ready to welcome their new babes.

The only thing I bought in the sales this year was a copy of Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings.  This is a lovely book, full of projects and not just for babies! Her techniques and construction are really good, with attention to detail and some wonderful ideas. I've made a pile of 'Quick Change Trousers' which I would have loved for my boys when they were that tiny. Fully reversible, which is a such a good idea for speedy transformations of mucky little ones.

Boys clothes are often not very exciting, so it was great to be able to go a bit wild with colours, which I think their parents won't mind. Also for another wee one, a simple jumper on the needles, now almost finished.

Small and satisfying, just perfect for brushing away the winter cobwebs.

Tutorial: Making a Finger Labyrinth

I have long found labyrinths to be fascinating. They can be great fun - especially as you know you can't get lost! A labyrinth can also be a very helpful place for thinking and prayer. My husband made a temporary outdoor one for a large L'Arche gathering some years back. It was used by more than 200 people all at once! Not a quiet meditative experience at all, but it did underline the joyful sense of journey we undertake together in L'Arche. This is a lovely growing labyrinth at The Bield in Perthshire. There are words of Scripture written on clay tiles embedded in the grass at various places. They suggest that you walk the labyrinth with bare feet, then spend some time in the shelter in the centre. At a certain point of my life I found it a very profound way of meeting God, when I didn't have any words I could say.

A while ago, I discovered finger labyrinths - but at some cost. However, I could see how they might be really helpful for prayer - with children, with anyone who can't go to a walking labyrinth, with someone unable to express their prayer in words. I'm sure it could be used in many ways. So, after thinking and experimenting for a bit, I finally came up with this. I think I would make it again in different colours, but I wanted to use what was in my stash, and in the end, the colours I found are still symbolic to me. So, I hope you can follow these basic instructions, if you want to make one for yourself. Let me know if you get stuck!

You will need:

An image of a labyrinth, I found loads here but be nice with copyright images. Print it off or draw your own at the size you want. NB it must be big enough for your finger tip to follow the 'path'. Mine was nearly 30cm/12" across. Use paper for easy cutting or thin card for a reusable template.
Knife with sharp blade
Cutting board
Scissors
Backing fabric - something thick like felt, wool or polar fleece, a little bigger than your labyrinth.
A towel
A pen or chalk for marking the fabric
Pins
Thick wool or roving
Needle felting needle(s)
Sponge base for needle felting - I just use a thick kitchen sponge
Fabric for sewing the labyrinth onto - to make a wall hanging, lap quilt, cushion cover - as you wish.

Start by carefully cutting out the labyrinth pattern - I cut away the black path that I wanted my finger tip to walk along. Cut a piece of fabric a little bigger than the labyrinth as a base. I used some thick, soft grass green polar fleece.

Fold a towel to make a pad. Place the base fabric onto it, then the labyrinth pattern. You will need to make sure the pattern is lying flat. Hold in place with a few pins.

Draw the path of the labyrinth onto the fabric. Make sure you draw along the middle of the paths. Then you can remove the template.

This is what it will look like. You then need to lay your chosen wool on the line and needle felt it on, using the sponge to protect your hands and board. You could also simply sew the wool on, if you don't have a needle felting needle. Follow the path, covering your line. Make sure the ends of the wool are very firmly attached

It takes time, but I found the slow making of the labyrinth a gently meditative exercise in itself.

This is the finished labyrinth. You can see the very thick wool makes the labyrinth 3D, which gives a very definite path for your finger tip to explore.

You can leave it as it is, or sew it onto a base. I zigzagged mine onto thick soft wool fabric - I think texture is very important for this project. Then I made the fabric into a simple envelope style cushion cover. It can be used with or without a cushion. You could embroider some words on the front around the labyrinth, or needle felt some wool shapes or symbols. It would be nice to make one with a larger centre area for this. I plan to make a small pocket for the back to hold some cards with Bible verses on. Psalm 139 is especially good to use. I plan to use mine throughout Lent, meditating on a few verses at a time.

If you make one, will you let me know? I would love to see your pictures.
More ideas for Lent can be found here