The beginnings of peace

We will soon be on our way back to Scotland and have been sending our peace weathergrams out into the world the past few days. On the weekend we managed to put all the strings on the ones we will hang in our peace tree here; and string all the ones my Dad shares with his meditation group.

 

And then we managed to hang them!

Some of last year's are still going strong, and you can just see Barry's from this year in the bottom right.

There are still quite a few of Barry's peace doves in the tree as well, and its nice to see them hanging together.

And the worn and the weary from years gone by rest on the chair at the front of the house, gently echoing peace, peace, peace...

We will be in Scotland for International Day of Peace on 21 September this year and so will carry some with us to hang at the cottage as well.

Printing for peace

 Barry and I were lucky enough to have time on the weekend to print our peace weather grams for 2026. Even though International Day of Peace is not until 21 September, we head back to Scotland in the relatively near future and knew we needed to print them here before we go.

It was a great test of our new printing space with the two of us working alongside each other setting up; and then a team effort to print and set them to dry. 

I chose the simplest of phrases - Peace is beautiful.  As I went about it, I thought maybe it could begin a new series of Peace is ... but who knows?

I started with Mistral 72 point, but boy oh boy the word beautiful looked like it would go right to the edge; and it did plus more. So I thought I had better find another way.

There always plenty of problems to solve.

I left the word peace as 72pt, and then moved the rest of the words to 48pt Mistral, and think that looked better. I wanted peace to catch people's attention and then have quite a breathing space before is beautiful. I really like the handwriting stye of this, and the way it looks as if I could have scribbled it myself.

As ever, printmaking leaves you with such lovely images - the starkness of the black and white here and the ink and the tools.

We printed up a storm and our two sets of weather grams are quietly drying (with the aid of a dehumidifier given the rain and the mist we are experiencing).

Given we have had so much weather, it was no real shock to find that several of our weathergrams form years past had fallen from our peace magnolia tree (partly we think because we also recently had it pruned and everything was just a tad more exposed). So here are some fragments and some remnants resting on our chair by the front door.

And some other cheery wee ceramic stars that keep the wishes for peace alive...

2025, the year in review

 I usually use that never-never time between Christmas and New Year to ponder and reflect, to plan and to dream. This year it has not been like that, with all the heft and heaviness of shifting and moving, but I have grabbed some moments to ponder the year of making that was.

I felt like I was an artist almost each and every day last year; but interestingly I didn't make a huge amount of things. What I discovered as I wandered back through the year was that I had done some lovely things; one thing was very involved, intricate and time-consuming; I spent a lot of time in my head writing a conference paper and preparing courses; my making was varied across materials; and that a lot of my art time was thinking about how to move what to where, how to promote and sell art when we don't have a physical shop and generally re-imagining my world as a maker.

As ever, in alphabetical order only and with no ranking of favourites, here are the ten things I made this year that I like the most.

1. Book of Silences

I loved this whole process; the honour of working with the words of friends, and the testing and trialling that came with the challenge of a representing silence... In the end the wee book is a marvellous thing and I cherish it, and its making.

2. Building Narrative

This is a bit of a catch all for me as maker. I included Building Narrative because I enjoyed it and was proud of it. I presented a paper on Building Narrative in Artists' Books at the  BIND25 Conference in NZ; and I presented two one-day workshops on Building Narrative here in Maleny at the studio of my friend Kim Herringe. Both of these things took a lot of work,  a lot of care, a lot of thinking, and both are a creative product (in my mind). Not so much to show and physically hold in your hand - but I am comfortable saying I made them!

3. Silver pebble jewellery.

I continued to make and sell sterling silver pebble jewellery. I did some commissions, I went big, I tried new things. It is a lovely thing to wear jewellery that you have made I must say; and I also love seeing it on others as it shimmers and moves .

4. Nest.

I really enjoy working with Lindsey when we are in Scotland, and this time I asked her if I could try to make a nest. It was such a fun process and I really got into it. The result was a layered, sterling silver nest that could be sculptural, or a pendant. It has inspired me to try and make more.

5. Peace around the world.

We have been making and sharing peace weathergrams for International Day of Peace for many years now. Over a decade at least. This year was no different - the weathergrams are used cutlery holders that my dad and his folk collect for us; and we letterpress print a message of peace on them and make a hole and tie some string. But this year felt different. It felt like there was such a yearning for peace (and care, and kindness) across the globe. And this year, without prompting, folk sent me photos of their weathergrams flying boldy and bravely in oh so many marvellous places. It truly lifted my spirits and gave me hope.

6. Red Card.

I made my first book about Australian women being killed by their partners or former partners over 11 years ago. It is still a crisis in this county and so little has changed. This book is simple. It is loud. It is full of me being so sick and tired of all the talk and still women are murdered with monotonous regularity. I give a Red Card to governments, to the media and to men who kill the women they loved.

7. Resist.

Sometimes your work is significant. Sometimes it addresses national concerns. Sometimes it seeks to encourage gentle and peaceful ways of being. Sometimes it is small, heart felt and simple. Sometimes it is sent as a reminder that people care, and that we all need hope.

I hand stitched these fabric remnants with red french knots, depicting the word resist, and sent it to friends in the US. I used braille as the format language - because nothing is safe with communication and we sometimes need to talk in code. Small. Not much but something, and yet I loved doing them and they are among my favourites of the year.

8. Serviettes.

I did mention sometimes your work is small, but brings great joy, and so it was with these serviettes. The joy I feel is well out of proportion for what they are and what they do, but there you go. I loved exploring the wing needle and hem stitches on my machine and I love that I now have some lovely serviettes to use - and that they look gorgeous!

9. Simply Being.

This book was a long time in the realising. I have played with the words for years and years, finding them in my journal, re-working and re-writing them. Finding them again. And deciding on how to bring them into being - it seemed I had so many options.  And this I hope is the first of a few different ways of making this book. 

10. Square Alphabet.

Again, this isn't exactly a thing you can hold in your hands, but I did enjoy the making of this alphabet so much! It was a recollection of a calligraphic exercise from many moons ago, which clearly has strong connections to the Berber alphabet, and ends up being almost a code I can use to write with.

As ever, thanks for coming along on the wander and for being part of my year - I appreciate each and very person who reads and comments and shares their thoughts. This year's top ten had a lot of variety and I think that reflects that I didn't have a body of work I was pulling together, so instead I got to play in lots of different puddles.

Go well into 2026, and may we all find, and share: love and care; peace and generosity; and hope and kindness along the way.

More peace

EDIT: three more images added today, 27 September

EDIT: A further two images were added today 26 September

EDIT: another three images have been added,  24 September.

Today's post is an update, a top-up, and a refresher, with images of the peace weathergrams from far flung places, and nearby home.

It was so good for the soul to see them in place in different locations and to know that perhaps a few people stopped to ponder upon peace or to be held by thoughts of peace as they passed by.

In a friend's field in Scotland with such rusty beauty alongside.

On a 90+ year old neighbour's hand rail!

A Peace tree sprouted in Maryland in the US - so thrilled they made it through!

In Texas (they made it through here as well!!!). I love how they grow year on year...

In Northern Italy

On a neighbour's tree in Maleny...

And one of my favourites from a few years ago, still going strong in Vermont. A photographer's eye.

With gratitude to Karen and Brian, Lil, Bridgette, Liz, Karen, Faith and Gabriella.  If I find any more images of them flying around them world I will pop them in here to keep the waves and vibes of peace reverberating.

For all the gentle peace-seekers amongst us.

Edits 24 Sept: This year's weathergram fluttering in Vermont as well - the relief that they made it through is immense!

Two more in our neighbourhood

Edits 26 September: 

A peace flag flies in a yurt in the north of Scotland!

And another one flying in Maleny...

With gratitude to all the seekers of peace...

Edit 27 September:

Peace flags and weathergrams from years gone by gather on the seat at our front door, adorned with a peace dove by B

A rusty peace dove twirls in the late afternoon sun

Another weathergram flying in Northern Italy!

So many small seekers of peace out among the world...

International Day of Peace

Today is International Day of Peace. As we have been doing for quite a few years now, we recently packed and posted our peace weather grams and sent them out into the world. It was much harder to send them to the USA this year - our postal system has stopped mailing packages to the US because of the tariffs, so we had to hope against hope that if we packed them correctly they may get through as a letter or a card.  Peace keeps getting harder.

And yet the peace weathergrams flutter and fly; all over the world. In Scotland

In Germany, alongside the remnants of the Berlin Wall.

In Melbourne

In Blackeath in the Blue Mountains

In Maleny...

In so many places, in so many small ways, people who care about others and care about peace do small things to build peace in our communities, amongst each other and between peoples. We need to work together and to remain hopeful.

Times are tough, but hope for peace lives on.