The Power of Narrative and the Simplicity of Play

I made stuffed animals. Well, actually, I made entities that are presenting themselves in an approachable form to remind us (humans) that we need to be attentive with our treatment of natural forces.

Our planet, perfectly positioned in a system with one yellow dwarf star, is encased in a magnetic field (thanks to its rotation) and an atmosphere composed of a thin layer of just the right life-giving amounts of gases.

In our perfect little bubble safely hurdling in the dark and freezing vastness of space, we live our entire lives.

Our beautiful blue oceans and lush green forests are the identifiers that make our planet different from all the others in our solar system.

Our invisible layers in our atmosphere are integrally tied to our safety.

Our ozone layer prevents damaging solar radiation. And every layer of our atmosphere is doing a job.

Warming solar radiation keeps us warm and provides the “magic” of photosynthesis that only plants can perform.

How can we not LOVE our planet and all the beings that are here.

In this spirit of lightness and joy, I begin to wield the forces of the universe and create the work that is the messenger. I have in my supplies, fabrics that have been waiting for this moment to become something more. I pull out fire, water, air, and earth from the cabinets. They are all here. I pull out the sewing machine. This is a tool I seldom use, but I am making something and though the thread breaks every minute, I forge on.

Fabrics waiting to be part of something bigger.

These forces that were once so elegantly clear, and revered are now being pushed into the background behind human technological wonders and inventions.

I make them the size of celestial children; bigger than human, but small for a heavenly body:snack-sized and somewhat approachable.

The process of making is a creation of a container for a force that is bigger than the container.

Empty suits on the rack.

I work day and night for days, creating patterns, engineering structures, and gathering materials.

My daughter working on the structure.

Me. Just hanging out.

My daughter, recognizes the work and helps to put the final pieces together.  She braids the celestial "hair". She is fearless. For this exhausted artist, and mother, she provides the agility and skills to piece everything together.  Space and time were met with fruits: my daughter, the artist, and the elemental beings.

They are here.

At this point, our reality is stark.

We humans have disconnected from our primordial inheritance. We see our ”toys” have taken our attention away from our connection to the very heavens. There is no awareness of the direction our planet takes while we presume to see our earth as a “resource” to exploit.

Have we truly forgotten how to love?

Where is the parent?

Elemental Emmissaries: Exhortation. 

Elemental Emissaries was presented at the Bioneers 2024 Conference in Berkeley, California, and on Earth Day 2024 at CT State, Tunxis campus.