A wall hanging woven in honour of all cyclical beings, and in gratitude to my friend and teacher; Eucalyptus. 

Eucalyptus graces my garden with her presence. A cyclical being herself, once a year she sheds her skin. Letting the old curl and crack and fall, revealing a new young skin beneath.

​

I have asked her if she feels pain from this process of letting go. The fallen skin which she so easily drops to the floor, tells me that it is not the letting go that is painful but the holding on, trying to keep an old outgrown skin close when a new skin beneath needs space to breathe and grow. And as she lets another piece fall from her branches, I admire her trust and acceptance in her slow and beautiful process.

​

She is in her natural rhythm, not holding on for a more convenient time, or pushing herself to do other things. She is simply, without shame, shedding her skin. And as I watch another piece fall, I dare to dream of a society where all women and cyclical beings are free to be as closely connected to their cycles as she. Where, rather than shamed, they are celebrated. Rather than pushed to keep going, they are welcomed to take rest.

​

Like the old skin of Eucalyptus, this entire wall hanging will one day return to the earth. The gentle pink colour lent by Avocado and roots of Madder, the fleeces of the Grey Corriedale and the Manx Loaghtan Sheep will all return once more as the cycle goes on…