Saturday, April 26, 2014

life.pacifism.needles

I watched a play reading last night as a conscious effort to find my own resonance for what is regarded as a huge deal in Australia: Anzac Day. We have a public holiday and people get up before dawn to go into the War Memorial in droves to remember the soldiers, raise/lower the flag etc. While I have much much empathy for the soldiers who have returned from the horror of war and have to somehow continue their lives, I struggle with the air of nationalism, glory and heroism war and soldiering. Like most of humanity, I feel so averse to the idea of governments sending men to slaughter each other in fields and forests. I am newly horrified this week by a photo of our irrefutably unhinged prime minister sitting up in a war plane costing several billion dollars grinning like a boy with a new toy.

Well, last night I went to a play reading my friend Mark invited me to. It was "War Hero" written by Michael Galvin, a New Zealand actor and playwright. The play is about Archibald Baxter, who in 1916 was a pacifist conscientious objector and was tortured and punished terribly for it. I loved the experience of sitting there in the theatre with the actors all sitting in chairs reading this beautiful, funny, moving story. The experience was akin to how I remember listening to radio plays and story records as a kid. I watched the actors with fascination, but part of me could see every scene as well.
At the end, I felt so heartened that there are people telling the story of non-violent resistance to sanctioned murder. I look forward to spending the next Anzac day in a similar way, perhaps even watching the full production or listening to it as a radio play.

I have been knitting up a storm of little leaf bookmarks for the Creating a Welcome (blog here) market at Chalice Uniting Church, Northcote. It's so lovely to have something tiny and portable to knit wherever I find a spare moment. Simply an i-cord with leaf pattern from here.
Think I'll yarn along with Ginny and Natural Suburbia.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Charm of Finches Pozible Campaign is launched! woohoo!

It's very exciting! We have finally launched the Pozible campaign for the girls' EP! I can't say how much I loved creating the video with them in the Oak forest, and now the campaign is live and in the first five minutes someone pledged! It's all a bit exciting.

Monday, April 14, 2014

capturing the soul

My two dear talented girls went into the recording studio last week. recording is a tricky thing. capturing the soul of a song, giving a performance you are happy with to set in stone, preparing to  send a little boats of preciousness off to sea. They coped so well, sang their hearts out (repeatedly, at times), and I believe caught a bit of magic. I'm so in awe of these two dear people.
They were blessed to be working with two beautiful men with so much experience and such big hearts.
Hopefully we will be launching their crowd funding campaign tomorrow. It's been so much fun planning that as well.

We also frolicked in a forest filming their lovely campaign video. It was so fun and free and beautiful.
Then the girls played a small concert in my friend's lovely old 1862  church which is now his home.

I haven't had much time to knit, but it will return when this big project settles down a bit! I am spinning wheel-less, which has been odd but probably well timed, considering my pre-occupation with the girls' music. But one little gem of a wheel is coming to me soon, and my fingers await eagerly to start again!



Friday, April 4, 2014

harvest

::the bounty at the kindergarten harvest festival
 ::sleeves are too short on a shop bought knitted hoodie, so casting on for more stripes.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

toy box theatre

::hectic week teaching, telling enchanting stories to fresh-faced, wide-eyed cherubs.


::creating and planning for a storytelling and art workshop for children: lino cut fun.
(more photos after the fact)

::sadly, too much working and not enough knitting, and no spinning because I had to give my borrowed wheel back! saving madly for my wheel.

::looking forward to the school holidays and sleep.