Winner ~ Best Community Building Idea
LynnLough, VA
My desire for a local celebration of Goddess 2000 is to create a canned goods public
labyrinth that would be in place for the solstice...after the lab is dismantled the canned
goods will be donated to a local women's shelter...I have spoken to several people about
this project and have gotten very positive response...after the VA Fest I will be putting
the execution of the project in the forefront of my activities
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WInner ~ Best Indoor Lighting Idea
Kaitlyn Breene, NV
Jar candles are always good and fairly safe for altars and quarters. If you are inside or
cannot have a bonfire use many jar candles in a tight grouped circle with candles in
holders of different hieghts to create a glowing centerpiece to dance around and focus for
meditations . A real fire is always best and should be lit in a ceremonial manner. Assign
people (Or the folks acting as the quarter callers) be torch bearers and have each person
bear a torch blessed with an energy such as "Healing", "Love",
"Abundance", "Peace" or whatever qualities the ritual is calling
forth. The torch bearers can light these from the altar flame and dance them to the
central fire ring. Sayingsomrhting like this as they light the fire "I bear the fire
of Transformation May it burn brightly...." It is very important to have Jar Candles
or Tiki torches surrounding the central fire, they should be at the far edges of the
circle, outside where participants are standing. This creates a warm circle of light and
lets the dancers and folks at the back feel part of the energy and not out in the dark. If
you use Torches, always get torches that have removable fluid cans, this makes life much
easier for clean up and transporting.
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Winner ~ Best Outdoor Ritual Lighting Idea
Trian Saith, OK
One Kind of Ritual Outdoor Lighting I'm in Oklahoma and we have our share of inclement
weather too. I bought a bunch of whalers lamps..I think that's what they're called.
They're can-shaped and made of tin with holes punched in them or sometimes panes of glass
set in them. You can make them really cheaply with a pair of tin snips or even a
screwdriver (to punch just holes) and some Folger's coffee cans. At night they shine
prettily and they're covered so your candles don't burn out. We've even lined some of them
with colored tissue paper (but only when using tea lights, fire risks being what they are)
and they created a soft, diffused light that was very special. Happy Howling!
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Winner ~ Best Childrens' Idea
Andi Fasimpaur
Projects for Kids (or anyone else) 1.) offeratory goddess sculptures... Using clay, any
kind will do, make small goddess sculptures. This is a great way to teach a little art
history, you can have pictures of paleolithic/neolithic goddess sculptures (which are
usually pretty simple, which makes them easier for small, untrained hands)... Choose a
myth or story related to the theme or timing of your ritual (I love the Story Teller's
Goddess as a source for myths, when I'm not feeling energetic enough to write one for the
ritual...) and read the myth while the children work. The use of a myth helps inspire them
and give them ideas if they're stuck, it also allows them to work without anyone watching
them (which makes a lot of kids self-conscious)... Place a seed into the clay, I would
recommend a seed for a native wildflower, something that isn't going to be invasive to the
environment where you will be making your offerings. Place the children's sculptures on
the altar for the ritual to charge them. After the ritual, the children can take their
sculptures home with them and the next time they go to a favorite place, they can leave
the unfired clay sculpture as an offering. The unfired clay disolves into the earth,
enriching the soil of the surounding plants. Usually, the seed will germinate in it's next
growing season, as a reminder of the blessed offering you made. 2.) Sidewalk Goddesses and
Labyrinths. Have children make sidewalk goddess murals using sidewalk chalk. The chalk
drawings are temporary, so you don't need any special permits or permission. The images
are there to be enjoyed for a short time, which makes them more special. To make things
more interesting, there is glow-in-the-dark sidewalk chalk available (I believe Prang
makes it, there may be other brands out there) so a labyrinth drawn during the day would
be visible for walking after dark.
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Winner ~ Best Ritual Idea for Kids
Anne Weller, CA
For the kids, we are putting a troop (on the spot) together of all ages of kids.I have
bought about 20 scarf-length pieces of colorful chiffon, and they get to dance and run
around within the circle as the "Rainbow Children of the Future" while we all
chant or sing...song is yet to be decided, but possibly "Love is the Healing
Power". I have lots of ideas .....how about having a large ball, yellow like the
sun.and using it in the ritual for people to roll back and forth around the circle, and
everytime it gets to someone, they say a blessing for the community or a way they want to
see things evolve and grow as the sun returns after solstice!
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Other Great Ideas
From Kym Greenfield
Michigan
~~~~~In Honor of the earth I recycle found and discarded furniture and tranform them into
functional art. For the Goddess 2000 project may I suggest that you go to a garage sale,
junk yard , local dump,your own basement or attic and find a piece of furntiure to
transform into a Goddess motif. This can be painted with Goddess images,symbols,words,
stories, animals,insects,plants and/or objects can be
attached(ie:stones,feathers,sticks,shells,clay renditions of the Goddess, let your
imagination be your guide) Adorn your creation with what best fits your path. After your
project is complete it can be displayed or used as an alter.
Some ideas: Lamps ~can be used to represent the Sun or Moon( moon use an appropriate light
bulb color) Chairs~as places of relaxation and contemplation or as art in the
Garden.(chairs can also be rockers,or upholstered and you can paint etc. on the fabric)
Dressers/tables~ as a place to keep sacred objects ,books or as an Alter Old chests~ can
be used to store your Goddess items or used in the Garden to fill with dirt and grow Herbs
in.
***Try using natural Pigments for your paint : yellow Ochre, burnt sienna etc. In Closing
any found object can be transformed and recycled in Honor of the Mother. I often find the
most amazing furniture in the garbage! The trick is to see what it ~ can be! In addition:
It may be possible to organize a group and work on many pieces together with the object
being to sell them giving the proceeds to an organization of your choice! Transformation
and Creation***
from Teresa Chapin, NY
The first thought that came to my mind was "The Goddess is alive, and Magick is
afoot".
To make my vision of the Goddess alive, I plan to make a frame from wood and chicken
wire. To the chicken wire I am going to attach artificial and dried greenery and flowers.
Unfortunately, I live in upstate NY and having an actual "living" Goddess would
not be feasible for the harsh winters we have here. However, I love this idea so much that
I am going to also make a smaller version of the Goddess for indoors that I can train live
plants to go around, much the same as a topiary.
I also have another idea that can be used by people who live in apartments and have no
yard, or those of us that, because of outside influences (ex-spouse, relatives, etc.)
cannot have a nine foot statue sitting in their front yard.
Using Gallery Glass™, Liquid Lead™ (available at most craft stores) and a
picture frame, a stained glass Goddess image can be made to be hung in a window. This is a
very easy project and little to no actual artistic talent is necessary. You can trace the
pattern with the Liquid Lead™ directly onto the picture frame glass from a graphic or
drawing. The bard in our ADF Grove made a fantastic stained glass Greenman using this
method.
This is a very portable project that can be easily put away if the need arises, and
depending on the size of the picture frame used. You could buy a commercially made picture
frame or get a piece of glass the size you want from the local glass shop and frame it
yourself, or have it professionally framed when you are finished.
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from Judy in Florida
Goddess 2000 Project for making Statues
I make various art usuing many different mediums. Being lucky to live in So. Florida I
would like to suggest to anyone wanting to become involved in this project that a simple
stroll down the beach (,if you are so lucky to live by one) try collecting shells, pieces,
dried soft corals washed up uo the beach, (be careful about some local enviornmental laws
as to the collection of certain soft and hard corals, don't want to end up in a jam with
the law.) Collect a piece of driftwood plank, bamboo whatever, get some glue , sand , for
backround, cover area let dry, hen take assortment of your beach treasures and proceed to
lay out and glue in the shape of the goddess , glue them in place, let dry. Then if you
want to get fancy and also helps with the preservation of your statue, spray with an
inexpensive clear laquear or if concerned about using sprays with a small can of clear
varnish and an inexpensive throw away brush give your creation a few coats letting them
dry in between coats and there you have a beautiful Goddess 2000 Statue using mostly just
what you have found in your enviornment also in my opinion giving tribute to all the
beautiful things our wonderful oceans offer us. Actually the same principal can be used
using things indigenous to what ever locale you live in thus again paying tribute to
whatever it is that our Mother Earth has to offer, ie, ( even city droppings, woodland
articles ,leaves, stones, even feathers found in the wild for Her wings, how cool! and the
list can go on and on but you get the idea now, so go be creative , be grateful, be happy.
Peace, Capt. Judy
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Seasonal Household Goddesses
Funny how the Goddess springs from even the winter earth. I guess Deneter was afoot in my
neighborhood today. This afternoon I started gathering fallen twigs, a few weathered
leaves,some withered blossoms still clinginmg to branches, a couple of small pebbles, and
some ivy that needed to come off the walnut tree.
While gathered these ordinary natural treasures, an idea began to form. The idea that each
season should be marked by the creation of "Household Goddesses or Gods" I feel
that creating and living with them would be very powerful. Each one would become a
"Helper in re-membering the sanity and simplicity of the Pagan Heart and
Traditions."
I am going to make a Goddess Figure each season from things I find upon the ground, things
that "feel" like the season I am experiencing. To these I will add thread, glue,
embroidery floss,whatever will help hold them together and bring them to life. A feeling
of simple homage, without lots of "GooGa" or fancy objects.
Many of the Goddesses created over the coming seasons will probably be abstract or
primitive looking. I am also sure that I will make one of these Household Goddeses each
season for the rest of my life. For me, this feels like a path back to long forgotten
moments of Pagan reverence. It is also a way to keep the art of Goddess making alive in
all of us, and our children. A tradition of reverent participation we are creating to pass
along to coming generations.
The more technologiacal we are, the more important it is to remeber the sacredness of the
ordinary and the simple. I love Technology, but I also value moments of gathering,
roaming, and quiet happy creation.
When making art I always use a candle or 2, because the flicker of the flame is an eternal
light whose essence was shared by our ancestors. The shadow play of candle light awakens
my spirit and ancient knowings.
Tomorrow night I will be weaving my Goddess together with calm, anticipoation, I can't
wait to see who She will be. If you like this idea, I encourage you to create your own
Household Goddess or God.
BB Abby Willowroot
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