This is a call for making a small talisman of love for
“I dream of a world where love is the answer”
a collaborative project joining hearts from around the world
The talismans need to be small as there is a lot of weight to suspend already in
the 44 pennants that have flown out to this circle of hopes and dreams
H 1.5cm x W 1.5cm (H 1/2″ x H 1/2″)
they can be made of anything that speaks from the heart of love for our beautiful broken world
cloth, stitch, metal, buttons, feathers, shells, stone, bone, wood, paper, etc
(PS If you want to send natural materials like feathers, twigs, rocks, bones, etc the best way is clean the article thoroughly and declare it on the customs form at the post office as Australia has very strict quarantine rules)
all the talismans will be stitched to the branches of the dreaming tree, they are jewellery scale like Mexican milagros
if you want to stitch, paint or write more words perhaps a paper or cloth scroll that is 1.5cm (1/2″) in height x as long as will fit into the width of 1.5cm (1/2″) when rolled up and tied with a thread
(using thin cloth or paper will help to give more space to work with)
Definition of a Talisman-
“A talisman is something thought to be imbued with some magical property. It can both protect, and radiate power, and is often used in ritual.”
from “Amulets – A world of secret powers, charms and magic” by Sheila Paine 2004
“The word talisman is derived from the Greek root teleo which means “to consecrate.” And it is precisely the act of consecration which gives a talisman its alleged magical powers. For contrary to the amulet, which is usually an object naturally charged endowed with magical properties, the talisman must be charged with magical power by the person preparing it. Also, while the amulet is used for general purposes, such as averting evil or attracting good luck, the talisman is always prepared for a definite reason.”
from “The Complete book of Amulets and Talismans” by Migene González-Wippler 1991
“Plant your love and let it grow” as Eric Clapton sang all those years ago
if this resonates with your heart & you want to make a talisman please e-mail <mocrow(at)iinet.net.au>
for my snail mail address, the talismans will need to be made & posted to me by December 2018
the installation will be exhibited in the Braille for the Soul show scheduled at Artsite Gallery for March 2019
am halfway through reading “No is not enough” by Naomi Klein, it’s heavy going, our beautiful broken world is in a very precarious place, the hollow men that have made this corporate coup are paper tigers, we can make them irrelevant with love for our beautiful planet and caring for each other but things are going to get very strange in the process
“I dream of a world where love is the answer”
It's Crow Time 
Mo, this is so timely. I’m working on some small more sculptural pieces, and one might be perfect for this. A lovely idea. Will you show them unrolled as well, though?
(((Arlee))) the scrolls will need to stay bound & tied with intent as these small talismans have to fit in between the 44 pennants hung from the branches of the dreaming tree. I will photograph the scrolls unbound and will produce an issuu book of photographs to record all the pennants & talismans contributed with providence of the makers, materials and intent for each contribution.
Yes – would love to be able to join this if it’s ok to do both?!
(((Susi))) thank you for all the good vibes stitching both a pennant and a talisman, we are dreaming this world into a place where love truly is the answer!
Something that has always fascinated me about a branch is the growth marks . . . I know they aren’t really scars but it is as if a scar shows growth. Mmmm . . . thinks
(((Wendy))) love your thoughts about those signs of growth, also thinking of the talismans as cauliflory a botanical term referring to plants which flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks rather than from new growth and shoots.
This is really lovely ❤
(((Sarah))) circling our beautiful broken world with love and caring
Thinking about a talisman, Mo. Wheels churning… Love your sketch. (((Mo)))
(((Carol))) this is growing so fast!
Yes please Mo, such a beautiful project. (the pennant arrived yesterday) ox
(((Margaret))) thank you, you are so good at exquisite detail & the good thing is there’s plenty of time!
this is exciting exciting — both to see your process up close (again — it’s always fascinating) AND to get to take part. I’ve already dreamed up a tiny turtle with rainbow stitching — to represent the healing of North America.
Klein is brilliant, one of my new heroes, along with Rebecca Solnit and Michelle Alexander (The New Jim Crow) and Maxine Waters. I listened to an hour long interview with her recently, plus shorter ones specifically about her new book. I’ve got to read it too. Her message about saying ‘yes’ to something after we resist and say ‘no’ is a powerful one… got to know more.
(((Dee))) thank you! Naomi’s book is very tough going but she sees clearly in this very dark strange time for our planet, we have to work hard with deep love and caring to make positive change to counter the greedy hollow men doing their damnedest to harm the planet, ecocide is a crime…
Count me in
This is wonderful Mo
(((Saskia)))
yesyesyes…..before reading this post i thougt about to sent you a talisman from the one I make..so yesyesyes
(((Yvette)))
Mo I would like to be included in making your talismans. Let me know what I need to do. I am so excited to see the end result of this one and your blue moon Linda
🌞
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(((Linda))) thank you for coming onboard, to make a talisman just listen to your heart, to what it feels and sees for our beautiful broken world, take your time, then make your response with love and deep intent in any material- cloth, glass, metal, a found object from nature or the street into a tiny talisman 1/2″H x 1/2″W, each talisman will be a votive attached to the branches. I will e-mail you my snail mail address
I’m in, especially after I have an idea! Not sure if you sent me a pennant or not, nothing has arrived yet. Mmm. Love seeing how you think/create!
(((Nancy))) thank you for wanting to make a talisman too! The post from here to there usually takes 10 days to three weeks, your pennant flew out on July 1st so it should get there any day!
The love and layers grow and grow… I do love your sketching.
(((Hazel))) one of the carbon neutral things we can do is make art to mend our world, after reading Naomi Klein’s new book “No is not enough” I am feeling it even deeper that we need to shift the dominant paradigm to a place where ecocide is a crime, where all sentient and non sentient beings sharing our planet are given respect & we can start cleaning up the mess humanity has made since the industrial revolution…
It came today…ready for dreaming!
(((Hazel))) isn’t the weight of the satin delicous!
Dreaming is where it begins.
(((Jude))) you inspired this gathering of hopes & dreaming into being with your Magic Feather Project
love this poem, it weaves with reading your blog each morning to start the day…
In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other
more secret, moveable and frighteningly honest world
where everything began,
there is a small opening into the new day
which closes the moment you begin your plans.
What you can plan is too small for you to live.
What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough
for the vitality hidden in your sleep.
To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.
You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident amidst other accidents
you were invited from another and greater night
than the one from which you have just emerged.
Now, looking through the slanting light of the morning window
toward the mountain presence of everything that can be
what urgency calls you to your one love?
What shape waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread its branches
against a future sky?
Is it waiting in the fertile sea?
In the trees beyond the house?
In the life you can imagine for yourself?
In the open and lovely white page on the writing desk?
– David Whyte, What to Remember when Waking
Dear Mo, I would like to be involved too. I’ve not been ‘making’ things in a physical sense for a while, but am feeling the loss of it, the space left behind, and would like to make a tiny talisman for your project. Your title sings, we all feel it, don’t we, the terrible sadness and sorrow for what is happening to our beautiful blue planet. I sometimes feel so mired in the despair I can’t focus on any kind of meaningful response. I’d like to try here.
So, if I read your instructions rightly, I make a tiny 1.5cm x 1.5cm object that speaks of my love for this world, out of anything that feels right, in any way I like? Does it need to have any ‘attaching’ method on it for you to add it to the branch?
x Christina
(((Christina))) welcome aboard, I will tie each talisman to the tree with strong thread so a hole or handle would be good to incorporate in the making, good thinking!
Dear Mo, I came upon your wonderings and heartfelt thinkings through a mutual fellow deep thinker and very special lady called jude. I love how I feel after reading from the both of you and thus stumbled across your project for the earth. Too late for the pennants but I would dearly like to make a talisman to help sustain and project the vibration of the good into our world, if I may. Thank you. I’m a Queenslander.
(((Jane)))) thank you for coming onboard!
I have just seen this Mo and would love to make a talisman…..I too dream of a world where love is the answer…am I too late? Or in good time…❤️
(((Christina))) thank you for coming onboard!
Am I too late, I’d love to make a talisman?
welcome aboard!
Are you still accepting submissions? Interested, thanks!
Hi Penny, thank you for your interest, all the talismans have to be here by December 31st so you would have to work very fast and get it in the mail by the 20th as post from the US or Europe takes about 10 days to get to Australia. If that works for you please e-mail mocrow(at)iinet.net.au for my postal address ok?