‘The boundary between us and not-us is profoundly permeable’, writes Maria Popova. ‘We become ourselves through communion and conviviality with what is not us.’

Pre-Covid, my work often included elements of social practice. A 2019 statement reads: ‘I want my work to spark connections, force encounters, cause a pause.’

Since then, so much has fallen away. I have spent a disproportionate amount of time alone, in my studio, joining bead to tiny bead. There’s comfort and self-soothing to be found in the obsessive action of the process; the silk through the glass. In. Out. The outstretched arm, again and back.

However, enough is enough. Here we are again in Whakatū Nelson, connecting in real life. Here’s to:

·         conviviality

·         craft

·         generosity

·         curiosity

·         colour and, yes

·         finding our joy

How much larger your life would be if yourself could become smaller in it.
You’d find yourself under a freer sky
In a street full of splendid strangers. —G.K. Chesterton