GATHER

Stitch together an hour, a day, a week or a month and curate a galaxy of objects from around your home. Mark this moment in time.

This Glow Moment offers a different way of being creative with your babe. Over time, you’re invited to gather objects from around your home that speak to you in this moment, and place them together in a mandala like fashion.
Everyone’s home is different - and so each galaxy will be made up of different objects.
There is no right or wrong - only what feels right to you in this moment. Because of this, you might like to return to this moment at different times in your child’s life and notice what you are drawn to.
You might like to curate your galaxy over an hour, while the babe is asleep - or maybe it will be a process that you dip into over several weeks. You and your babe can decide the pace.
Once you have identified a gathering place in your home, it could be a basket, bowl or drawer - or just a shelf or clear space that you can use to gather things together - you can spend however long you can or wish, bringing the elements together.
Visual Artist Nikita Hederics, shares her process as she gathers small clusters of objects and images, or a ‘galaxy’ around her child.

“Often when she is asleep, I feel unsure of what to do, there are too many things. But sometimes, as a way to check in with myself, I gather objects and things around me into something like a constellation. It feels playful and beautiful and sometimes meaningful. In these moments I reflect on a poem or piece of writing that I’m drawn to, and gather a galaxy of things.”

Find a space - step 1

This might be a simple basket or a bowl. It could be also be an open space on the floor, the wall or kitchen table.

******** - step 2

Choose a reflection from the suggestions below that speaks to you in this moment.

Or perhaps there is something of your own that you would like to ruminate on during this process.

It may even be a piece of music that stirs your heart in just the right way for now.

“I looked at the words of the poem, and they felt bigger than me, than the mess that I was in. Bigger than all the limitations around me.

They felt magic.

The macro / micro, the words called to me.

And I began wondering, what do I have around me that is like those words?”

A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places. ........................... Paul Gardner.png

A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places. ........................... Paul Gardner copy 3.png

A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places. ........................... Paul Gardner copy.png

A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places. ........................... Paul Gardner copy 2.png

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Gather - step 3

Gathering objects could take place over an afternoon, or a series of days or even a month. It’s up to you, and your rhythm with your child. There is no hurry. Over time, you can gather together the things that speak to the poem / moment.

“Letting my mind and my hands wander around the room, the home, collecting objects, images and materials that can be symbols of this moment, this day, this chaos or calm.”

Take a photo - step 4

You may like to take a photo of your collection. Perhaps include your child in it too - like a snapshot of all your galaxy holds, so precious and fleeting, in this particular blink of an eye.

“I took some photos of her in middle of this new galaxy, and it felt like I had captured a rich moment. This process helped me create a kind of living time capsule, a bit of my external life and a bit of my inner life too.”

Renew - step 5

As you put things away, consider keeping one or more objects where they are, almost as an essence of your reflections.

Perhaps these form the basis of your next Galaxy?

This process is something you do more than once, as the season changes, as your baby changes, as you change.

“This was something I could return to, to guide me through these early weeks and months. Something that was reflective, that considered my creative needs and that was separate yet inclusive of my baby's life.”

“When I did this process with my first child, it helped me to observe him and our interactions. As he grew, it became more about journaling the new things he did or funny things he said - now the whole family adds to the journal and we have a laugh, and he is intrigued by these creative reflections now that he’s older. Returning to this gathering process with my daughter has reminded me how our ways of creating and observing our children evolves as they grow, but when you’re in those first few months with an infant and feeling exhausted or just a bit disoriented, taking a minute or an hour to gather a few things or symbols, can really help return you to yourself.”