Letters and Symbols

I've been busy these last few days working on a piece for Alicia's Altered Bits Zine. This is another great opportunity to take part in an online project so if you havn't signed up yet make sure you get over to Alicia's blog and check out the themes and guidlines. I chose Letters and Symbols to work with and have had a lot of fun doing so!

Recycled lace, silk fabric, recycled paper,beads, reused button...and that red wire I am loving so much!

A few small peeks...but enough to show the nautical theme I have chosen. I've never worked in this theme before and it took a bit to find myself with it. However, the nautical side is a very important to this story so after a bit if playing around I came up with a combination I like and the story behind it all is below.

V is for Voyage...

A long time ago when only sailors got tattoos the humble sparrow was an important symbol. From what I have read the sparrow was tattooed onto a sailors as a talisman to keep them safe. The only time sailors saw sparrows while they were at sea was when they were close to land. The sight of a sparrow would tell a sailor that they were nearly at their destination and had survived their long and dangerous journey. Sighting a sparrow was a reason to celebrate!. The tattoo of a sparrow became a symbol of a sailors desire for safety, home and well being.  Over time the use of sparrows became interchangeable with other birds such as swallows and bluebird.Another reason sailors chose sparrows was because of the belief that sparrows took the souls of people to safety (based on an ancient Egyptian belief) and that should they not make the voyage then at least the sparrows would take them home. This is thought to be how the tattoo of a small bird, such as a sparrow, carrying banners with a loved ones name originated,  Incidentally, swallows in tattoos were originally used to commemorate the achievement of 5000 nautical miles at sea. If a sailor had 2 swallows it meant he had sailed 10,000 miles. Both swallows and sparrows were used to symbolise love and loyalty as both these birds mate for life.

Bonsai. 

We just watched the new Karate kid movie, hence the name Bonsai for our foster bird! 

As you probably noticed Bonsai is not a sparrow, he is a thrush! (we think!) and he's our latest foster bird. He's a lot older than the previous two as he feeds himself (messily!) and can perch. It's hard not to feel just a little attached so fingers crossed Bonsai will have a happier ending than Ash and Ang!