A Day Off and Making Scoodoos
I’ve spoken
before about trying to get the balance right .
It’s something I still struggle with because I feel I have to fit so much into
my time and with that end of year season on the way, the pressure is on to have
stock ready and plans in place - see I didn’t mention the word but other
crafters will know what I mean J
This
weekend however, I took Saturday off and was so glad I did. Myself and my husband Mark were invited by
friends Ciaran of The Garden School and his partner Hanna who is behind the Scoodoos idea to come and help
out making Scoodoos as part of the #greeningofranelagh project in association
with the Ranelagh Arts Festival.
I had seen the work that Ciaran and Hanna do and
loved the idea of Scoodoos, both the concept behind them as well as the actual
shape and structure of them.
It was a
glorious day when we arrived and there was a bustle around the centre of
Ranelagh, the Arts Centre was open and there were many hessian sacks around
with little plants as well as a hive of activity around the garden area.
Already some of the Scoodos adorned the little flower beds and I was dying to
find out how they were made, so we got to work. Here is a little snippet of the beautiful idea behind Scoodoos (taken
from the Scoodoos website:
‘Once upon a time we Scoodoos were
commonly seen throughout the world. As humankind spread as a species, the
Scoodoos retreated, seeking refuge in the arboreal world, we are spirits of the
trees.
Not much is known by humans about us
Scoodoos in modern times. Our existence has been the subject of rumour and
superstition. We are tree spirits. In past times we were known by many
different names in different cultures; for example in Japan tree spirits are
called Kodama, in Greek mythology tree spirits were called Dryads.’
I certainly felt that as our first Scoodoo took form, there was a feeling of personality and life in it and each one is quirky and lovely. Although our initial attempt required a bit of adjustment, I was pretty happy with it - here it is!
Here's Mark with another larger Scoodoo
And here are some of the Scoodoos decorating Ranelagh :) (photos below courtesy of Ciaran Burke)
And finally, the team, from left to right - myself, Mark and Rafika
.... and the real Scoodoo team, Ciaran and Hanna :)
It was fabulous day for many reasons - it's always lovely to see people coming together and fostering a sense of community. Creating a green space is beneficial to everyone . Being outdoors and having great company made the day too and I definitely can't forget to mention the great food provided by Rasoi, so good I had to get a second helping :)
So, all in all, sometimes it's good to take a break and renew your energy!
