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‘In any creative work, be it the artist or the artisan, the creatve person unites with the material they are working with, which symbolises the world outside him/herself. The worker and the artefact become one. The human being becomes one with his creation. ‘ Erich Fromm

The word Poiein in Ancient Greek (ποιεῖν) means making. It is where the word Poetry comes from. Plato had pointed at the connection between craft-making and poetry, calling us to gaze at the rich worlds of form and meaning that come to life when we take raw material from our landscape and create with it. It is possible, when we look at a handcrafted object, to appreciate the emotion and soul life that the maker had infused in it.

Sefrou is located in the heart of the middle Atlas. Traditionally, a market town located amidst fertile farming lands, it is known for its fruit orchards, cherry festival and the large Jewish community that lived there up until the last century. Sefrou is still home to a large community of local artisans, metal smiths, woodworkers, weavers and button makers. Though the community is still thriving, few are the ones of the young generation who wish to learn these skills.

Visiting local crafts people in their workshops, we will learn about their work and daily lives as a way to get a sense of the place through the people and their working spaces. An orientation of the city from the inside out hosted by Culture Vultures, will lead us into a deeper relationship with Amazigh women who spin and weave and we will participate in a hands own textile workshop.

We will be introduced to ‘The Loom in Local Rituals’ and how women used the loom as a sacred medium for protection. On Sunday we will make a day trip to a mountain market town in the Middle Atlas where the wool comes from, to meet women who practice unbroken textile traditions in the region.

Alongside these visits our work will consist of listening to the stories that emerge from our activities, as well as engage with traditional stories from around the world to bring into clearer focus the role of craft-making in the life of the Soul. On our last day we will share these stories in a storytelling evening (no previous experience necessary). Daily shamanic practices will help us access ancestral knowledge and seek healing for modern day’s rupture between skill and community, craft and Time.

KARMIT EVEN-ZUR

conversations with nature

hanging up the show
selection (clockwise)
Diving
Bird suit
Laguna de la Janda
Patterns and relationships
I see you
selection (clockwise)
 
Felt artwork by Karmit Even Zur, exhibited this month in Conil de la Frontera. For more information about individual pieces or hosting the exhibition contact info@earth-speaks.net 
 
'Life forces, abundant in their creativity, flow through our bodies, connecting us to all that is living around us.
I practice making a personal and cohesive relationship with the earth I stand on, and the great ocean that laps up to the shore. I stop and listen to the rocks that stand still, humming a silent song, to the trees that teach me something about who I am and didn’t quite remember. I get to know all of these as a continuum of my own body, and enter into a dialogue with them. I feel my way into a non-verbal way of communicating with the elements and remember my real mother tongue by observing relationships and patterns in nature. They point at processes, interactions and attractions between every part of the web of life, and this includes me in it. When I slow down, when I stop and listen, I have perceptual access to the complexity, the networks, and patterns of organisation inherent in living systems, and the intelligence that arises from them. When I slow down and listen, I re-establish sensory connections with my environment and have some wonderful conversations within nature.'
 
Karmit EvenZur, September 2016
 
 
 
 
#felt #art #exhibition #geomancy

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