Return to Travellers' Shrines

A good Friday - couple of community meetings; planted some veggies; and got to do a solid afternoon of art.

Last time I blogged on the Travellers' Shrines I was doing for the Peace and Stillness exhibition I was asked if I had more available or was I going to make more. Well the answer is yes; and today was the day. I started 4 shrines today; and finished two to the pre-polishing stage. Why 4 shrines? They are a bit tricky to make as one is making metal boxes and fitting one metal box within another - I'm never convinced that they will always be of good enough quality to sell to folk - even though I personally like the simple handmade hammered nature of all of them.

Anyway, a few photos of the process are below. The photos are a bit blurred as I took them hurriedly with the iPhone.

Marking up the metal....

©2013 Barry Smith - Large silver plated EPNS placemat marked for cutting 

Shapes of the lids cut, drilled and ready for filing, bending and riveting..

©2013 Barry Smith - Lids - cut and drilled 

A couple of the shrines are completed to pre-polishing stage - and of course I need to make the bits and pieces that are carried in the shrines. This time I'm making a couple of small rectangular shrines - dictated by the available metal. These rectangular Travellers' Shrines are a little bigger than a match box (about 7cm long, 5cm wide and 1.5cm deep) - almost pocket size - certainly handbag size.

©2013 Barry Smith - Small rectangular Traveller's Shrine - silver plate lid and brass bottom

©2013 Barry Smith - Small rectangular shrine and larger square shrine

And of course they started life as trays etc.

©2013 Barry Smith - Metal for shrines

Fiona is cooking up a Friday dinner that will be accompanied by a red so I must away.

Travellers' Shrines

Over the weekend I completed my last pieces of work for our upcoming exhibition by making a few Travellers' Shrines. There is still a lot of tidying, polishing and adding hangers to various exhibition pieces - but the body of work is done

Quite a long while ago I made a prototype of such a portable shrine but never got around to making any more. But given the theme of exhibition I was inspired to make a few more.  The ones I have made are in the style of much simpler box type Tibetan travellers 'shrines' such as those in the photo below.

©2013 Barry Smith - Fiona holds and unfolds the contents of one of B&R's collection of 'travellers' shrines'

My shrines are square (about 8cm square and 2.5cm deep). They have a brass lidless box that slides into the silved-plated EPNS lid; and the brass box is lined with felt. The lids have folds and rivets on the four corners. In the end I will only put two into the exhibition as the third shrine just did not come together well enough to be exhibited and sold.

©2013 Barry Smith - Silver-plated EPNS shrine lids - formerly plate coasters

©2013 Barry Smith - Travellers' Shrines - lids and boxes showing contents

As you can see from the photos above and below each of my Travellers's Shrine will include: a small hammered EPNS bowl (about 40mm in diameter); an incense holder made from a goblet stem; a small stamped EPNS Peace Leaf (about 70mm long); a small bundle of Japanese incense; and a yet to be added silk cloth.

©2013 Barry Smith - Travellers' Shrines - lids and boxes showing contents 

©2013 Barry Smith - Travellers' Shrine - set out with incense burning

I imagine that people who would buy such a Travellers' Shrine would add their own 'sacred' pieces including: written sayings; crystals; amulets etc.

©2013 Barry Smith - Traveller's Shrine incense burner in operation

These are meant to be personal pieces that have history and sacredness added to them over time.

Portable personal peace shrine is completed

Fiona and I have been able to get into the studios again today - great feeling. So I have been able to finish the portable personal shrine (PPS) I started on Friday.

In the main it needed polishing; collecting and adding the bits that could be stored in the base section; and organising the binding material to keep it together if one took it travelling.

Barry Smith © PPS - unpacked ready for use

As you can see from the photo above I have made this shrine a portable personal peace shrine - with help from Fiona. The shrine's storage section holds many pieces:  Fiona 'donated' a piece of a burnt and encaustic page with the word "wonder" left behind; she also made a small scroll with the quote "peace is every step" on it; she bound a few of her sticks of incense with fine twine; she 'donated' some sari silk cord; I added an F she had written on a stone for me; a piece of EPNS I stamped with the word peace was added; a small candle holder was cut down to fit the storage space (it can be used for a candle or incense); and a natural clear quartz crystal has been included.

As you can see from the photos below the shrine can unpacked and set up when one has arrived at a place of contemplation-meditation; and then repacked when one is moving on in one's travels.

Barry Smith © PPS - sari silk plaited cord threaded through the storage section

Barry Smith © The wonder of silk and Fiona's word and work

Barry Smith © PPS - looking at the spread of contents of the shrine

Barry Smith © Packing up the PPS

Barry Smith © Raw silk 'wool' to hold the pieces in place during transit.

Barry Smith © PPS - packed and bound

Whilst I have made this portable personal shrine with a focus on peace - the owner of such a shrine could personalise their shrine by adding in the things that are important and sacred to them. As you can see from the unpacked and packed photos you can fit quite a number of objects and pieces in a small space (about 6X8cm) - and there was even a bit of room to spare. The stand is packed flat on the bottom of the storage area.

Given the contributions Fiona made to this test shrine I have gifted this first shrine to her - imperfections and all - though I think the slightly imperfect look suggests history and use.

Barry Smith © PPS - a sacred object?

Time permitting, I will create a series of these personal portable shrines for sale as I think they can bring positive energy and opportunities into the lives of owners of such pieces. All would be unique of course as the recycled materials available will often contribute to the form the PPS takes.

Portable shrine - work in process

Today, Friday, has been a balanced sort of day: a morning walk and coffee; some community work; art; acupuncture; weeding; and now a glass of bubbles - all is well.

Barry Smith © Portable personal shrine -- front - reflected sunlight and mountains

The art today took the form of starting on a portable personal shrine. As you can see from the photo above and the series below I have got a long way with it but have not finished polishing; lining; installing a few bits and pieces for the user; and adding the silk tie to hold it together when it is being transported.

Barry Smith © PPS - shrine and storage section

Barry Smith © PPS - front and back - plus 'stand'

Barry Smith © PPS - front - on timber

The shrine is 12.5cm high and 8.5cm wide  - the pointed bit is about a third of the whole piece; and the body is roughly a 8.5cm square. The back storage and shrine section is made from recycled copper; and the front from a left over piece of brass from one of my COMA pieces. You might see I found a flat steel object which I have adapted to be the 'stand' when setting up the shrine. The silver decorative pieces are from an EPNS fruit bowl I cut up ages ago. The piece has many hand formed copper and brass rivets. The holes punched in the storage area of the back is where the silk tie will be threaded through.

I hope to get the time to complete this piece over the weekend.

Amulet boxes, talismans, personal and portable shrines

My interest in objects that might assist us in contemplation, reflection and meditation has led me to create a number of different beaten, formed and assembled metal items including: meditation bowls; incense burners; and personal shrines.

Barry Smith © Personal shrine - to the moon

I think my interest in personal and portable shrines, amulet boxes and talismans began a few years ago when our friends Boris and Richard showed us an amulet box they had purchased - which still had the sacred and secret objects still in the box - still wrapped and preserved in their sacredness. On a recent visit B&R shared more insights into this area of Tibetan personal portable shrines and amulet boxes (gau).

Barry Smith © Sacred content of a small simple Tibetan gau 

Barry Smith © Aged, worn, simple and sacred gau

Barry Smith © Carved portable bone shrine with sacred words and symbols  - front

Barry Smith © Carved portable shrine with sacred words and symbols  - back

In our visit to NYC a household shrine and a portable shrine (below) were part of the exhibition in the Rubin Museum of Art which is dedicated to the art of the Himalayas including Tibet.

Barry Smith – Tibetan amulet box (gau) - Rubin Museum 

Recently I have been fascinated Stregata's work on amulets and talismans; Gaby's small portable shrine; and Mairedodd's talismans. And Mairedodd (MJ) gave us the gift of such a beautiful talismanic piece.  MJ's gift has many layers: the sacred tablet, the words stamped into the metal behind the tablet and words stamped onto the fabric. The piece has other symbols of spirit and enlightenment including the bell and the double ended crystal. And of course it has been personally crafted and energised by the giver.

Barry Smith © MJ's talisman gift - now above our work space

What I love about the portable personal shrines is that the owner can take them on journeys with them  - whether it be for pleasure, duty or business. Wherever they find themselves they can set up, and in some case open the shrine, and they have a small place of contemplation, reflection, mediation or prayer with them. They can create a sacred place wherever they are - in a room, a park, the woods, on a mountain trail, on the shores of the ocean etc. The portable shrine is a gateway to the inner self, a connection to hearth and kin and the spirit realm. The shrine can contain secret and sacred objects and messages (of spirit, love, peace, giving, enlightment) that are important to the owner and maybe have been given as wishes, prayers and protections for the owner. In themselves these portable personal shrines are unique personal and powerful.

Barry Smith © Wrapped contents of a portable shrine

So where is all this heading? I have been inspired by what has been shared with me and what I have seen to have a go at creating a small portable personal shrine.