After collecting old items from my room and around my childhood home I crafted a hanging talisman which represents the vitality and resilience my family has during hard times. Specifically, COVID-19 has led my family back together in the same home to quarantine together. I strove to create a collage of memory objects in a way that would feel strengthening and peaceful all in one by connecting specific objects together with yarn. Wrapping old bowls together and suspending one from the solid form of the structure symbolizes the binding strength they have together, and the openness they have alone. I wrapped each bowl individually, as well as each of the hanging objects. The bowls were difficult to wrap due to their round shape, and a few of the hanging pieces broke off due to their weight. Re-wrapping and doubling the yarn for strength turned this project into a therapeutic session. Moreover, organizing each piece at a length which complemented or stood out from others around it began as a guessing game, but came together with small adjustments. Holding the structure, the bungee cord allows the sculpture to have mobility, as the hanging items create sounds and vibrations through movement. I chose to use glass bottles, sand, shells and sea glass because of my family’s attachment to the beach, especially my mom. These items represent many of the great times we have had together. Each of the items woven into or hanging from the top of the sculpture has a memory attached to it, which developed into an interactive web of unrelated memories. Together they act as pieces of each member of my family, and swing with the mood of the wind to create a wind-chime like tune which signals our delicate balance with one another. The sounds especially bring peacefulness to my mother while she gardens and my brother while he sits outside to read. Additionally it has become the biggest curiosity to each of our cats, and seeing them inspect it brings it all together in my mind because it does not only act as a comfort to the humans of the family, but to our little creatures as well.
