GATHER / A / GALAXY
Take an hour, a day, a week or a month and curate a galaxy of objects from around your home that mark this moment in time.
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This Glow moment offers a different way of being creative with your babe. Over time, you’re invited to gather objects from around your home that speak to you in this moment, and place them together in a manadala like fashion.
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Everyone’s home is different - and so each galaxy will be made up of different objects.
There is no right or wrong - only what feels right to you in this moment. Because of this, you might like to return to this moment at different times in your child’s life and see what items speak to you at different times.
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You might like to curate your galaxy over an hour, while the babe is asleep - or maybe it will be a process that takes weeks. You and your babe can decide the pace.
Once you have identified a gathering place in your home, it could be a basket, bowl or drawer - or just a shelf or clear space that you can use to gather things together - you can spend however long you can or wish to bringing the elements together.
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Visual Artist Nikita Hederics, shares her process as she gathers small clusters of objects and images, or a ‘galaxy’ around her child.
“Often when she is asleep, I feel unsure of what to do, there are too many things. But sometimes, as a way to check in with myself, I gather objects and things around me into something like a constellation. It feels playful and beautiful and sometimes meaningful. In these moments I reflect on a poem or piece of writing that I’m drawn to, and gather a galaxy of things.”
Step 1- Find a gathering space
This might be a basket, a bowl, a spot on the floor, the wall or on a kitchen table.
Gathering objects could take place over an afternoon, or a series of days or even a month. It’s up to you, and your rhythm with your child. There is no hurry. Over time, you can gather together the things that speak to the poem / moment.
“I looked at the words of the poem, and they felt bigger than me, than the mess that I was in. Bigger than all the limitations around me.
They felt magic.
The macro / micro, the words called to me.
And I began wondering, what do I have around me that is like those words?”
Step 2 - Gather
Choose a poem or a reflection from below
that speaks to you in this moment.
Or perhaps you have something of your own
that you would like to ruminate on throughout this process.
“Letting my mind and my hands wander around the room, the home, collecting objects, images and materials that can be symbols of this moment, this day, this chaos or calm.”
Step 3 - Curate
When you have a moment, place all of your objects out on a clear space. Line them up, or arrange them in a shape.
As you begin to curate your gathered objects, you may think of other items that you can bring in too.
Things to consider…
Pairing - what feels right together?
Juxtaposition - placing things in contrast to each other. What is a surprising combination?
Texture - considering how different textures look / feel together.
Size - how do things of different sizes work in relation to each other?
“This was about when she woke up. So I put her down on the floor amongst these things. Her presence there then led to getting some of HER things / objects / toys.”
“I found myself placing her things next to my things, side by side. I noticed the difference - and was reminded that we are separate beings. Her bright colours next to my monotone palette, her simple toys next to my more complex imagery.”
Step 4 - Take a photo
Take a photo of your collection. You may like to include your child in this moment too - like a snapshot of today, of the child within the galaxy.
“I took some photos of her in middle of this new galaxy, and it felt like I had captured a moment. This process helped me create a kind of living time capsule, a bit of my external life and a bit of my inner life too.”
Step 5 - Renew
As you put things away, you may like to keep some objects in the spot you’ve arranged.
Perhaps these form the basis of your next Galaxy?
Perhaps this process is something you do more than once, as the season changes, as your baby changes, as you change.
“This was something I could return to, to guide me through these early weeks and months. Something that was reflective, that considered my creative needs and that was separate yet inclusive of my baby's life.”
“I think when I did this process with my first child, it became a practice from which I began to observe him as he grew older. As a toddler and preschooler, I then journaled the new things he did or funny things he said - now the whole family adds to the journal and we have a laugh when we look back. Returning to this Gathering process with my daughter has reminded me how our ways of creating and observing our children evolves as they grow, but when you’re in those first few months (or years) with an infant and feeling exhausted or just a bit disoriented, taking a minute or an hour to gather a few things or symbols, can really help return you to yourself for a moment.”
Other moments from Glow
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Under The Wrap
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Dance
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Night
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