Craft Musings
"The universe is composed of subjects to be communed with, not of objects to be used".
Thomas Berry, Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community.
Craftsmanship has been intrinsic to my work throughout my career thus far. Over the years it has helped me overcome my anxieties and cultivate patience. Working with natural materials further elevates the experience as it engages different senses. Sewing on leaves happened to me by accident. Working on the leaves helped me realise the fragility, non permanence and constant metamorphosis of the natural materials and nature itself. I feel making daily choices that can help conserve our planet will take lot of commitment and patience at our end. Over the years, we have been bombarded by innumerable choices which are available at the end of our fingertips. We order and have it the same day and send it back in case we don't like it. We have neither the patience nor the value for the products we consume. Be it eating local, being vegan, buying less, switching from fast fashion to need based clothing, reducing our plastic consumption to just taking the stairs! All of this requires systemic commitment on a daily basis and patience to let it evolve into a lifestyle because it so much easier otherwise.
We have emerged as an extremely dominant species competing with nature in shaping the future of our planet. There is a need to acknowledge that nature, forests, oceans and other living creatures possess personhood and deserve the same rights and protection as do human beings.
Thomas Berry, a cultural historian has long advocated for what is known as "Rights of nature". This school of thought acknowledges nature as possessing personhood and should have same rights and protection as do human beings. The rights of nature concept challenges the 20th century flawed frame of considering nature as a "resource" to be owned, used and degraded. Berry urges that "the Earth is primary, the human is but just a derivative"
This series started as a way to contemplate our relationship with the raw materials of the nature through craft practice.
