Artwork

In this scene of the felted flock recently shared on social media platforms it was the Magpie that caught all the attention. The bird resonated with sheep producers and stirred a common exclamation of familiarity and awe. And that has me wondering why.

One little magpie. A familiarity of the scene. One little magpie brings the relevance of this project to light, becomes the link that connects sheep producers to the real life aim of this project. One little magpie connects onlookers to the real life community of animals wool comes from.

Magpies gliding over herds of livestock, lighting on the back of ewes, watching for morsels of dog food, playing with fate as it tries to steal, lighting on a body after a death, picking at bones. For North Americans living a land and livestock life the magpie is the ever present travel companion, giving both annoyance and comfort. The magpie is every place, every season; the magpie sees all. The magpie knows what the shepherd sees day in and day out. We’ve all watched the magpies and we’ve all been watched by them. If the magpie shared our verbal language what stories would it tell us and tell others?

Magpie. A symbol of relevance and of familiarity and connection in a land and livestock life. A reminder to tread lightly and show respect, there is a Magpie watching.

To stand back and see deeply what is present in the gift of creating.
To encompass the whole and see coexistence that is often missed when we only look close.
To shape what we see into a creation by way of being shaped by what we see.
To know the details of our vision but not stew on them so much we mess with the creation.

To stand back and see deeply what is present in the land’s offering.
To encompass the whole and know that coexistence is who we are; a piece that is missed when we only look at the numbers.
To shape our farms by way of being shaped by the landscape before our eyes.
To know the details of our back forty and our animals but not stew on them so much that we mess what is already perfectly created.

Artwork and agriculture are not so different, particularly when we are intentional about what we are creating and when what we are creating bears relevance to our Selves.

I don’t know what prompted me to stand the little felted ewe in front of this painting but upon doing so it presented a visual statement of how much art and agriculture are alike and what art and agriculture can mean when we are intentional about what we are creating. When we care enough to put our heart into it.

And when what we are creating bears relevance to our Self a healthy amount of good goes out into the world with it. What we have created, be it art or agriculture, resonates with others and a peculiar type of magic happens that extends beyond ourselves. I think agriculture could use a little bit of that good and a little bit of that magic.

The painting is by Canadian artist Dawn Banning. I am positively thrilled it hangs in our home. You can find more of Dawn’s artwork and her insights on the impact of artwork in our lives on her blog at Dawn’s Originals.