Safety.Sanctuary. Bursting with Mimosa
from Nano Nagle website
Mimosa trees bursted in yellow-
spoken word was a mist of mellow.
By the fountain water was flowing
also the sound of a gong was glowing.
A spot of tranquility met panoramic city
and spoken words echoed into mutuality.
Answers to questions were displayed
and your invaluable input was conveyed.
A map of the event
The Silent Conversation Installation displays new answers to questions about safety. Continuing providing water droplets with information about water from Cork Environmental Forum as an element to be attached to an answer, which resonates with you most.
I fell in love with CEF the moment I started their GAP (Global Action Plan) programme. They deliver it for free and educate in an intimate group setting about how to live greener. I found it super useful and learnt a lot, which directly affected my behaviour, too. Do check them out.
Maria Minguella - Gong Baths
Maria Minguella is a lady of many talents. She found me through the Safety.Sanctuary. event in St.Peter’s. We worked together on the next event for Cork becoming the City of Sanctuary. That is not the only thing she is involved in though. She is a composer and a sound therapist. She has many wonderful instruments, gongs among others. She joined me for Safety.Sanctuary. in Elizabeth Fort, in which she played gongs throughout weekends. This time she joined me in Nano Nagle Place where she was playing next to an amazing fountain, which looks like a waterfall.
Gongs - sounds - vibrations - water - flow.
Phil Alexander Edgar
This man is a poet and a writer. I met him in Ó Bhéal where he regularly takes part in an open mic. Sound is one of the aspects I love to explore in different places, and very often I focus on acoustics. When I encountered Phil’s poem ‘Bat’s Equality’ it made me think of echolocation and of a very nice game ‘Bat and Moth’, which normally is explored with children but then, we are big children so we should sometimes play those games too. Phil was invited to do one to one performance during the event and explore echolocation with people in a beautiful spot overlooking the panoramic view of the city.
More Clay Less Plastic
The flowers on a photograph are in fact bird feeders. These are made by Marta Cashman. I met her during a two day workshop organised by Creativity & Change titled CONNECT////IMAGINE////CREATE with Susanne Bosch. It actually took some time before we joined forces and the first time I actually encountered her flowers was during Cork Environmental Award Ceremony. One time we were coming back from an event in Galway and we stopped at the petrol station. She felt like having a coffee and she took out a ceramic cup she made out of her bag! That’s how passionate she is. This time, her flowery bird feeders served as a light path: we lit candles for the Comfrey Planting Celebration Procession .
PLANTING CELEBRATION PROCESSION PERFORMANCE
I talked to Danielle, manager of Nano Nagle Place about wishing to do a procession performance involving planting as part of my event. She smiled and asked if I knew that processions took place on these grounds back in the day. I should have concluded it but I actually did not know much about this place except for feeling intense pull and resonating with it. She handed in a photograph to me. At the back it says ‘Quarantore Devotions to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi at South Presentation Convent, 1952’. I must confess I felt somewhat strange. And do you see a statute of Christ on a cross? In the upper right corner. Maybe it is just a coincidence but that’s where my procession performance ended too, and I did not plan it that way. More about it in Comfrey section.
Comfrey
Comfrey illustration from Kohler’s Medicinal Plants, 1887. (Public Domain)
The initial idea for Procession Planting Celebration was to plant a Bramley apple tree. However, for logistical reasons it was difficult. I was talking to Future Orchard Cork what could be planted instead and Geraldine suggested comfrey. I was waiting for response from Ellie, the gardener, if she saw a place for comfrey and if she wanted it. What wonderful news it was when it turned out she actually had it in plans to plant comfrey so it was handy. She still did not know the precise location and I was to find out later. Where do you think it happened? Practically at the feet of the Christ figure on the cross. Why do I perceive it as unusual? In the column to the side I provide some information about comfery if you do not know about the wonders of this plant.
Comfrey illustration from 1807. (Public Domain)
Since at least 50 AD, doctors who have seen comfrey in action describe what sounds like a wound healing miracle. Whether its skin, cartilage, tendons, or even bone, comfrey appears to weld tissue together, and often erases any trace of a scar. It is said you need to make sure your wound is thoroughly cleaned as when you use comfrey it seals it extremely quickly.
‘Comfrey has been cultivated for healing since 400 BCE.
The name Symphytum comes from the Greek meaning "Grow together" + "plant". And comfrey comes from the Latin meaning to grow together.’
Wild comfrey contains allantoin, which is found in the milk of nursing mothers. It encourages cell-reproduction and thus stimulates the healing of wounds. It also has a high mucilage content, which smooths the skin. This makes comfrey a valuable addition to salves and lotions and a soothing addition to baths.
Comfrey should not, however, be used for very deep or puncture wounds, because it can actually make the surface heal faster than the lower part of the wound, causing abscesses. Make sure a wound has been thoroughly cleaned before applying comfrey, so as not to seal dirt inside the wound.(1).
https://witchipedia.com/book-of-shadows/herblore/comfrey/