Under the Moss

Reclaiming Joy: A process in action & a personal reflection

Life can be serious sometimes. The world can be overwhelming. I try to remember some things are outside of my control.

When I made this piece, I hadn’t felt like creating for a while , but for some reason I felt the call to create something- anything really- but something!

In some ways this almost felt like a rebellious act, choosing creativity over the sense of fear that had been nudging at my edges. There has been a lot going on in the world recently- politically, socially and environmentally. And closer to home for me, dramatic changes in the NDIS had been impacting my clients, my colleagues and my profession, as well as pressures of single parenting and caring for my own mental health…. its a lot.

I wasn’t sure what this piece would be about when i began, but it quickly began to feel like me ‘reclaiming’ some ‘joy’ amongst the chaos. It gave me something to actively do, a place for my body and mind to get into a state of ‘flow’. For me, it reminded me that joy can be found in very small things.

It also reminded me just how much as humans, we can be playful and silly and that we truly are an imaginative lot! However, I also recognise there is a tinge of absurdity to this piece and it strikes me that humans are paradoxical by nature. We can be many things all at once.

An yes…I am also aware of the irony that I have used plastic pieces to represent nature in this piece (although I made sure all plastic was from recycled/reclaimed materials). It is a funny thing being human in this current world. I guess for me it is trying to balance the tension in these in-between spaces.