Whakapapa

Sometimes a few words of encouragement is all we need to get back on track. I have a couple of large projects this year, so my focus is being easily consumed, but to hear that someone has been enjoying my blog, has helped me get back on track. Another reason I have been taking my time to write/post again, is this is the last commission painting I have to share about and my goal was to get more while writing this blog. I’m sure there will be more in the near future though when I get the time to network. This last topic is a beautiful one, and it is an intrinsic part of creation. It’s the ‘who am I’ question - and one of the answers = Whakapapa

If you are born into this world, then you have a blood line, a lineage, a unique heritage. The special thing about this is that the particular lineage you stem from, is who you are - whether you’re conscious of it or not, it is you. And we feel it. People feel it within, a call, a heart connection to things that resound within them. We may have grown up separated from where we came from physically, and not know much about it even, but that doesn’t stop the feeling of nostalgia or love when we come across it. For me, I know my lineage is Scottish and English, a bit of Irish and maybe a little Scandinavian. I’ve never tasted haggis, never worn a kilt, played a bagpipe, but talk of the highlands and my heart starts yearning. It’s something within me, part of my bloodline, my whakapapa.  

I got a call from a young women a few months back, who is friends of a friend, who I didn’t know at all other than meeting her once briefly. She wanted me to paint her a painting about her. 

  

At first, this dear lady asked when she could come and visit me so that I could paint with her there. I happily set up a time and place, although I explained, that I didn’t need to have her there in person for this painting. With intuitive painting, I basically wait for inspiration then start, but I was happy to go ahead with this other approach and see how it went. It turned out she couldn’t make two appointments in a row, and then the next morning I woke and suddenly got an image of the painting in my mind. I knew then I could start, so I contacted this person to get her permission to start without her there. She seemed happy enough and I soon found out that it was a good thing she wasn’t here as it was very slow to paint, the detail had to be just right. 

I was given the full image of the painting to begin with, even the colours, and as I was painting it, different words would come. When I went to write these words down, they ended up in a diagram. Below is a rough sketch I did up later to remember what I gave her. Please excuse the spelling mistake - Sustenance.  

These words outlined what the painting was about. This diagram is interesting to me as it shows the straight line between earth through us up to our ancestors and to the Creator. Above her is her spiritual sustenance, through her connection with Christ and her thirst for truth and knowledge. Then her physical sustenance is her culture and her family. The painting itself has the Piwakawaka - fantail in the centre then a red koru and some more koru design within that one. In showing her the painting she explained that the piwakawaka is a very significant part of her life. She often finds that fantails will come inside her house and she feels it's her family connecting with her saying hello from the other side. This women seemed to be in search for who she is, but I encouraged her to keep listening to her heart as she already is all this. Her Maoritanga is a huge part of her even if she doesn't speak Te Reo, as are all the other things. This painting was a wonderful confirmation to both her and myself. It was an honour to share this journey.