The Joys of Sparkly Fingernails
When I was 10 our family lived in Southern CA. This was the year when it rained steadily for 5 days and 5 nights. So much rain eroded a twenty foot section of our tennis court surface and fence and sent it down the hill. The tennis court was rebuilt, but the large pieces of cement with several posts festooned with wire remained at the bottom of the canyon.
Adults had no reason to go down there, but I did, alone or with friends. What a great place to play pirates swinging from the rigging and to have other adventures which required catching things in big nets.
This scene came up in a IFS session where I was exploring how to be seen and heard. Two young parts came forth, a 5 year old in adult size combat boots and a 13 year old. We worked with them and at one point they asked my older self, "Do you have the courage to slide down the hill? "
This question started this wall hanging.
I started by stretching the sequine orange and pink fabric for the sky. It was too bright so I added a veil of black. It is just possible to see beyond or at least behind this veil.
My older self came quickly sitting on the edge of an abyss, made with some velour fabric, that elegantly suggested a mud slide. This older self really wanted blue socks. I was reluctant to give them to her because there was nothing else blue in the work, but she insisted. And later more blue came.
One of my friends commented that going beyond the veil didn't look very scarry, but sliding down the hill looked dangerous.
"The Joys of Sparkly Fingernails" was finished in 2014.
My younger parts showed times when they wanted to be seen and heard, when living the the trenches with combat boots was too much, or when the desire for outlandish over the top sparkles was not encouraged.
The 13 year old wanted to talk with the older part about sparkly fingernails and how much she loved things that were not practical.
Once these parts had their say they wanted to be unburdened one at a time. The five year old wanted to tie the shoe laces of her combat boots together and fling them down the hill, hoping they would land on the poles below. She was glad to accept help when flinging them over board. Here I've entrusted the boots to the older part.
When my 13 year old part came to be unburdened she said she was so light she could fly up without effort.
Here's a closer look at the mud slide. I'm always delighted when fabric can look like something in nature.