A dynamic film documentation of Snáithín Baineannach (Feminine Fiber) capturing the energy and intention of the feltworks through moving image and sound.
Exhibition held at the Octagon Center for the Arts (Ames, Iowa), January 30- February 25, 2023.
Artwork: Cynthia O’Hern
Cinematographer/ Editor: Bruce James Bales
1st AC: Emille Lacsa
Midsommer Meditation and Massage was an sensory art activation event held in Brown’s Woods Forest Preserve with the intention of the feltworks coming into their full potential by activating all five sense of the viewers bodies during engagement with them. The focal work was the tactically immersive meditative sound environment of Fuaimdhreach(Soundscape) within Clochán Snáithíneach (Fibrous Beehive Hut) intended to provide respite for body and breath. The meditation experience in the fiber hut was complimented by a smudging ritual with mullein, a massage session, and an offering of nettle tea for full engagement of the five senses.
Clochán Snáithíneach creates a space for breath and solitude. It’s intention is to manifest the beauty and repose of the utter isolation of Skellig Michael within the human body. Skellig Michael is a rocky precipice 18 miles off the SW coast of Ireland that contains the archaeological stone remains of an ascetic monastic community who retreated to the crag to practice rigorous spiritual devotion through their solitude. The stone beehive huts, or na clocháin, of the monastery are from which the fiber hut takes its form. In practice, Clochán Snáithíneach is a reminder one need not retreat to the ends of the earth to find a sense of devoted calm, but rather one may retreat into their own body, into the breath of their lungs.
An Fhuaimdhreach (The Soundscape) is a unique sensory portal that offers a journey into the synthesis of body, mind, and intention. The murmurings of heartbeat and rhythmic breath are laid as sustenance for bodily grounding. The undulating crash of wave and wind invoke the seascape solace of Skellig Michael. And from this corporeal sound environment rises the otherworldly vocalization of intention (in Irish, language of body & landscape activation):
Isteach, Amach.
Tar isteach i do chorp.
Tar isteach i do bhrollach.
Tar isteach i d’anáil.
Tar isteach ionat féin.
Anáil isteach i do rúndiamhàir féin.
•
•
In, Out
Come into your body.
Come into your chest.
Come into your breath.
Come into yourself.
Breath into your own ‘rúndiamhair’-secret, dark, obscure place, intention, solitude, mystical mystery.
In collaboration with Maria Tanner Cohen and the raw wool of West Kerry.
Deasghnáth Crua. It was with Deasghnáth (ritual) intention that we activated this ancient site. To quote Robin Wall Kimmerer author of Braiding Sweetgrass, “Ceremonies transcend the boundaries of the individual and resonate beyond the human realm. These acts of reverence are powerfully pragmatic. These are ceremonies that magnify life.” To magnify life- to honor landscape with art, to celebrate the beauty of collaboration, to invoke the Irish language keeper of memory and myth, to use fiber to literally weave (or mat in the case of feltwork) a connection between the thousands of years of history of the place with our present.
A definition of ‘ritual’: a series of acts regularly repeated in a precise manner. This is where the Crua lies. Handmade feltwork is not an undertaking done without intention. Our ceremonial offering was our labor- the thousands of rubs it took to achieve a cohesive cloth, the thousands of stitches it took to to soften the ‘hard’ stone. And so, Deasghnáth Crua came to be. A temporary fibrous activation of ancient place.
We left no material trace after a weeks time. All that remains are these digital records and the whisper of Deasghnáth Crua on the wind.
The Process:
With the rawest of wool from West Kerry, we began our ritual activation of the Gaulstown Dolmen. Led by intuition, we stretched and laid the white wool creating an energetic form of fiber that would emerge from the mouth of the dolmen. The long tapering woolen form was to be a conjuring of the ancient spirit of the place and an ode to the namesake of the land upon which the dolmen rests, Conic an Chailleach Bán (Hill of the White Witch) as the form was also reminiscent of the long white locks of the Cailleach being drawn in the wind.
A true embodiment of place occurred. To felt in nature with raw wool is an experience like none other. To feel the lay of the land under your hands as you coax the fibers into harmonious being. Saturated in the soap and water as fibers migrate so does the aroma of sheep, lanolin, and shit into your skin. Pungent and earthy, the boundaries between maker, medium, and site become blurred in the liminal space of ritual activation.
Maria Tanner Cohen (visual artist of ancient site and Neolithic monument) and I met whilst attending a bilingual Wild art retreat in the Burren, Co Clare. A connection of a kindred kind was made and she invited me to join her on this endeavor of art activation. We brought the tactile medium of feltmaking, reverence of the ancient past, and a reconnection to the language of the land. Tamsin Jay (visual artist) joined our hands in the arduous process of the feltmaking. Never before have the words ‘many hands make light work’ rang more true to my ears. The hardness of the laborious task was ever so lightened in the laughter, conversation, and singing of the day. Creating a bond of fibers created a bond of sisters. This is the absolute power of art.
The hard ritual continued into the second day filled with many hours of stitching to mend the unruly tufts of wool into a strong form. Followed by even more stitching to attach our form to a wire base to give structure to the flow upon installation. Like the many stitches that came together, so did many people come together to strengthen the ritual installation. Eyal, Richard, Siobhán, Irene, Jack, Uisne, Éiru. As Maria and I crazy danced/shook all the stiffness from our hunched bodies in the corner, level heads continued with the installation effort.
I am always amazed at the moments of inspiration when in the midst of creation. After the first day, we sheltered our remaining wool inside the dolmen and it struck us how completely natural and appropriate the wool seemed inside of the dolmen. It was then we made the decision to soften the hard rock structure by wrapping its interior with the remaining wool as we imagined the history of ancient travelers or pilgrims that, very possibly, wrapped themselves in wool whilst taking refuge within the dolmens walls. Covered in wool that spilled out along the crevices the sense of a soft, protective welcome was amplified at the site.
As day faded to night, the installation was completed. Candles were lit. Offerings were made of flower and holy water. Words were spoken. Meditations were breathed. ‘Fite fuaite’ we were. Interwoven/Interconnected.
To behold Deasghnáth Crua in the flame of candle was sublime. It magnified the gradation of wool from rich soil browns at the base to golden whites at the top illuminating the symbolic flow of energy from the earth of the dolmen to the Conic an Chailleach Bán (Hill of the White Witch) rising behind. In the darkness, the warm glow of the interior was spirited out along our outstretched feltwork emerging from the mouth of the dolmen. Wool and Stone and Light alchemized into a radiant being.