There's quite a lot of rigamarole involved in mailing a package to Australia.
A lot of addressing & declarations & valuing to be done
but true to my word to myself [which doesn't always happen]
I actually made my preset deadline of June 1st, stood in the slow post office line yesterday
with pen, tape & details
and sent my Solace pennon off to Andamooka.
I sure hope she gets there on time.
There's also quite a tale still to tell about creating this little flag for I chose to abort my first version
covered in buttons because I'd messed up & not followed India's specs. But I'll leave those details
for another post when all the photos have been edited and I've pulled my thoughts together.
There were attributes of this construction process that I really loved and in the end
flag #2 became a symbolic weaving together of many things I hold dear
and much of what I consider truth.
This was not at all where I thought I was going with flag #1 ....
this went another direction entirely.
Much more personal,
much more about transparency
where fabric like silk organza can symbolize a veil,
where a narrow strip of indigo dyed cotton from a workshop 4,000 miles away
can symbolize the importance of always moving forward toward
the edges of places,
the boundaries of emotions
or past limits I do not want to set.
All the hours stitching were a gift of time which had me looking deep into what's passed
and reflecting on a whole bunch of tomorrows. I wasn't to know when I started
that a bit of a health fright was headed my way [all reconciled now].
What began as a peace project aimed out at the world
suddenly became the exact path I needed to find my own.
Now my little pennon is crossing a great expanse of water
carrying my words on her ragged sleeve,
hurrying [through the good graces of the postal system] to join the
collective poem about to be written
where she'll be dyed a rich blue, hang above a beautiful red desert ...
a most grateful guest of the elements
and time.
