Sunday, September 1, 2013

2nd Annual Challenge of Travel :: Staycation Edition

I missed this challenge last year but remember how much fun I had reading all the participants stories.  This year the wonderful Miss Erin has designed a challenge around your home space - "staycation" as she calls it.

Australia is an amazing country and its easy to stay at home and have a staycation.  In fact that is all I do!  There are so many beautiful natrual wonders - from the Barrier Reef to the heart of the country - so that is where I am going to take you.  Through my work I have a lot to do with remote communities - I help establish kindergarten (pre-prep for children the year before school) so I would like to visit the Central-Queensland region to meet some of the families I have spoken and email with.

As you drive inland away from the coast - the soil goes from a brown tones to a rich ochre red.  It is a fine dusty powder that works its way into everything.  White is certainly not a colour of choice to wear!  The earth is rich with stories of the past and present - dinosaur bones have been found in this region and you can walk the dinosaur trail at Winton.

The history of the Australian Aboriginal is prevalent in the outback - the stories of the dream time were woven around the fabric of our land. The Dreamtime (Tjukurrpa or Jukurrpa) can be explained as 'the time before time' when all things were created. Dreamtime encompasses the 'Ancestor Spirits' which are believed to have arrived in human, plant and animal form. The Ancestor Spirits built relationships with individuals and groups, both human and animal, and were responsible for creating the mountains and rivers. These creations are the basis of many Dreamtime stories which have been handed down through the eons of time from one generation to the next.



One such story is around the rainbow serpent. Paintings of the Rainbow Serpent first appear in Arnhem Land rock art more than 6000 years ago.  The Rainbow Snake is a creature from Aboriginal mythology. The Rainbow Serpant is depicted as a long mythical creature made of the parts of different animals - kangaroo's or flying fox's head, crocodile's tail - joined along the body of a huge python decorated with water lilies, yams and waving tendrils.



My cuff is an interpretation of the rainbow serpent.  I was blessed to have a gorgeous lampwork bead from a good friend of mine (Bead Up A Storm) and used this as the focus of the cuff. 

Mythology says that in the beginning the earth was flat, featureless and grey. Then came the Dreamtime when giant creatures rose up from the plains. They looked like animals or plants or insects but behaved just like humans.  The greatest of all these beings took the form of the Rainbow Snake. The movement of his huge multicolored body across the land formed the mountains and the rivers that flow to the ocean. By lifting his tail he makes rainbows.

I hope you liked wandering through the mythology and folklore of my staycation and you enjoyed the visit to this great land.  For other blogs who are participating in the staycation - please visit:


 

 

 
 

18 comments:

  1. I loved reading your post and the inspiration of your amazing country.
    Your cuff is gorgeous and I'm proud to see my lampwork shown off so beautifully, nestled in your stunning beadwork.

    I LOVE the picture of the snake - that could inspire some beads!!

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  2. OMG your bracelet is amazing, Caron... the effect of the snake in the interwoven components is such a wonderful nod to the creation story of your land!

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  3. Two outback inspirations and yet we are separated by hundreds of kilometres! I loved this post, your cuff and the beautiful bead you used. And the way you acknowledged the wonderfully rich indigenous culture. Thank you for sharing this. G'day from Broken Hill. Wendy

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  4. I love your beadwork and the snake moving in and out of the bracelet. It's fabulous!

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  5. Thank you for your lovely comments. Ness your beads are stunning and it was fabulous that this one was perfect for the design I had in mind.
    Thank you so much Monique - I am lucky to have so much inspiration around me.

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  6. Third trip to Australia today, how beautiful your rock picture is, I love to see things like that. Your bracelet is fantastic! thank you!

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  7. Your cuff is beautiful, I loved the story. Thank you for making us travel to Australia.

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  8. Thank you Tanya and Marti - nice to meet you and thank you for your kind words.

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  9. Thank you so much Marti - glad you enjoyed the trip!

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  10. great post Caron! I love the story and folklore .. I would love to visit and see this part of the world. And your bracelet is really a work of art! It is so cool how it looks like you did part on loom and then went a bit freeform .... is it all on the loom? really great piece!

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  12. I love this cuff and the creativity involved in designing it.

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  13. Thank you so much Cynthia - I hope you can get to visit our part of the world sometime. The whole design was created on the loom including the snake weaving its way through the design. An entirely new technique but one I enjoyed trying.

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  14. Stunning bracelet! You are quite a talented jewelry maker!

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  15. Oh great inspiration Caron, I love the Rainbow Serpent mythology. And the bracelet is gorgeous, love the snake!

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  16. You transported me to that dusty red place with the mythology stories. Thank you for that. Plus the fabulous bracelet! Wow! Andrea

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  17. Such an amazing country and with the richest of forelore as well. Thank you for sharing it with us. Your bracelet is simply stunning in your interpretation.

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  18. That is some serious beading, Miss Caron! I am in awe of those who wrangle seed beads. They make my head hurt! What you have done here is magical! I love the fascinating history that is so very deep and mysterious! You totally nailed this inspiration. I am sorry that it took me so long to get around to all the great hometowns! I wanted to be sure that I could spend uninterrupted time enjoying them all! I have always, ALWAYS wanted to travel to Australia. If I ever get that passport you will have to fluff up the guest pillows! ;-) Thank you for joining me on the journey. Enjoy the day! Erin

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Thank you so much for taking the time and stopping by my blog. Your thoughts are appreciated. x