Monday, August 27, 2012

Freedom! July's Bead Journal Project ATC

Each of my BJP pieces this year is about a special blessing in my life. How could I be more blessed than I am with the freedom we enjoy in this country? What better subject for the month of July?


Visiting Eastern Europe several times while it was still under Communist rule, I experienced first hand a little of what it must be like to live under political suppression. In Romania, for example, it was dangerous for folks to be seen talking to me, and definitely not safe for them to allow me to come in their home. A person could be arrested (worst case) or denied food (best case) for speaking Hungarian in a bread line. Nobody knew who might be spying on them, reporting them to the police. Many people didn't even trust their own family members.


So political freedom, such as we have in this country (not perfect, but better than in many countries), is a huge blessing. On my piece, I represent this type of freedom with a 1944 liberty dime. The ink-pen point represents a related freedom - the freedom to write and speak our beliefs and thoughts. I include the blessing of a personal freedom, which I grant myself, to write honestly and freely in my journals, blogs, and books.


The butterfly represents spiritual freedom. It has something to do with allowing myself the freedom to explore spirituality in a way that is not boxed by any traditional religious concepts. The bird? Well, birds fly, bless them. I want to be a bird in my next life, free to fly long distances, swoop and soar, and ride the winds.


When I hold my July ATC in my hand, it seems to throb, to exude the outward energy of freedom. May it grace the universe with each pulse.

I use Ultrasuede Light as a backing for each of my ATCs. With a watercolor paper stiffener between the beading and the backing, I stitch them together using a single bead edge stitch. The title, date and signature are rather casual (nice way to say my printing sucks). Perfection is not one of my blessings.


The fabric I used for this piece is some that I hand-resist-dyed in a workshop taught by Ann Johnston. I had been hoarding it for a long time. Working on Freedom gave me the freedom to cut into the piece and use it! You can probably see how this fabric influenced my color choices and the way the piece is divided into 4 quarters, each with a different symbol. The inter-twining vine ties them all together.

14 comments:

  1. FREEDOM...it is such a huge word, filled with different meanings for all of us. This one seems to traverse well past July and into your own "outward energy"...powerful, dear Robin. Bird that already has wings.

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  2. This is a very beautiful and powerful piece, Robin. Freedom is maybe one of our greatest blessing and one that I think is taken for granted in my country. How fortunate are we that we can not give freedom a second thought?

    I am currently reading a series of novels about the court of the Tudor Kings and Queens that show how little freedom individuals had at that time (especially women) and how people lived in constant fear of doing and saying the wrong thing. What you said about Romania remindes me that not everyone in this world enjoys the freedoms that we do.

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  3. Robin, this piece is one of my favorites of yours so far. It is such a powerful and meaningful piece and so skillfully done. We do often take our freedom for granted I think.

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  4. Gorgeous piece! wonderful detail shots, and your thoughts about your visit to Hungary make it more meaningful...we so take for granted our freedom. we spend our time complaining about the economy, politics, etc. when we are incredibly fortunate to have the right to voice our opinions! thanks for the reminder. Love the objects incorporated into the piece...

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  5. Robin, this piece is stunning. I absolutely love it!! Your beading work is so perfect and the colour and composition are super!

    Having trouble leaving comments. Have you considered turning off the 'prove you're not a robot' word verification? Its really off putting.

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  6. Robin, I absolutely love this piece, it is not only meaningful, but the absolute essence of eye candy. Especially the bird-idea appeals to me. When thinking of personal freedom I invariably translate it with "spreading my wings". Bless you!
    Sabine

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  7. Robin, I really like this piece of art. The pictures you made of it are underlining the object and show the beauty very well. Lis

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  8. I always look forward to reading the Story behind the work you create... the meaning of the symbols. This one was touching, both the story and the piece.

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  9. I love your July ATC! Beautiful beading and beautiful sentiments.

    xo

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  10. Thanks for your comments! I'm so pleased you like the piece and relate to the concept of it. Freedom is easy to take for granted and difficult to protect. I'm not a politically active person, but I see a worrisome trend in this country toward restriction of freedom. Maybe a freedom protection spirit doll is needed here.

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  11. A Freedom-Protection Spirit Doll! What a lovely idea, Robin. I never made a spirit doll so far, but I might take up this particular challenge. However, for the time being this project will have to stay in the grey-cells development department. At present I am permanently doing, thinking, dreaming, breathing mosaic, as I am decorating the second wall on my terrace. But once all the tiles have been smashed, the shards stuck to the wall, the negative spaces been grouted ... let's see.

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  12. I've been thinking a little further about Freedom-Protection Spirit Dolls: Wouldn't it be a good idea for each of us to make one (or more, for giving away)? Such a spirit doll would not only remind us of being grateful for the freedom we enjoy, but it would also help us to remember more often the many victimised people whose freedom has been taken away by others, and - very important - the doll would tell us every day to respect the freedom of others. Maybe the next step could be to show our cuties in an internet place. How about it?

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  13. You put so much thought into your pieces, Robin. Your beading is not only beautiful to look at, but it also provokes awareness and deep emotions. Each small piece is truly a work of art.

    I've just had a message from Amazon to say that your book should be available just before Christmas, so with any luck I won't have to wait until next year to enjoy it.

    I've made spirit totems, but I've never made a spirit doll. If the idea takes off, count me in please!

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  14. c'est une pure merveille ! Admiration ! Amicalement !

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Thanks you for joining the discussion on this post today!