Solar Winds Sets Sail

Sailing on Solar Winds

I hung my first ever mobile yesterday at the apex of my studio. This "dreamcatcher" is a "charm" for my studio and my work. Its hull contains "offerings" to spirits on the Solar Winds. That is the uniquely personal part of the project.

But on a totally artistic level this mobile was an interesting venture. Making a mobile is not easy nor is photographing one. They move. They are designed to move. And there are all sorts of balance issues to be considered. It is not just a matter of equal weights but of pivot points and counter-balance.

I really think I want to make more mobiles. I certainly have the ceiling to display them on. And I have always enjoyed ventures into 3-D art. I may even make some mobiles to sell but this one is mine. I made it for me from the cutting of the willow to the tying on of the crystal given to me by my mother. I made it rather like a wizard makes their staff.

Destination

I am working on a mobile for my studio. I have a 14' ceiling peak in the room and it looks so empty. I just had to fill it with something. Then at a fair I saw some rice paper creations by a couple friends of mine and the ideas began. Their mobiles center around women on ladders and flying kites but they had one style which used a boat. My mind immediately started developing variances to their design.

I considered trying to explain what I had in mind and having them do it for me. First larger, two with outriggers. Oh, and it must have a sail. And I think no figure at the "helm" as it were. And red willow. Can you get red willow.

What I wanted truly was a "charm" or "spirit guard" or "dream catcher" for my studio. Years ago a friend made me a house spirit to guard my home. It has been to several homes since then but it always guards well. One of the features of this creation was a hallow bone that I insert offerings of flowers and grasses into. My new studio spirit had to incorporate that aspect as well.

When I began that was all I knew. It is by no means finished but the above photo is my beginning. It is 18" tall and 30" long. And while I have some ideas of where I am going - it seems to control the direction.

Destination

I am not sure
Where I was heading
What direction I had chosen
It seemed more about
Just keeping on
One foot before the other.

I have not stopped
Of late to check the distance traveled
Or the path I'd chosen
Seems a while since
There has been a fork
A choice to be made.

I have not questioned
The course I have taken
Or the heading plotted
Or where it is I want to go
It wasn't always clear or easy
Just a way to travel.

I never considered
Turning back or pausing for long
If asked I might have said
It seemed the way to go
Though to what destination
I still am not sure.

I never thought
Stopping was not an option
It was a journey
I never questioned
Toward a goal
I ill defined.

So imagine
Finding the path you are on
Is going where you want
And where that is
Is closer
Than you had ever thought.

(c) J. Binford-Bell