INTRODUCTION

 

Walking, for me, has become an important part of mindfulness and meditation. The shapes, colours and patterns of both nature and cultivated gardens are things which have drawn my attention since childhood.

 

A couple of years ago, as a group, we looked at a project which described Paul Klee’s idea of ‘taking a line for a walk’. The Secret Gardens project is an extension of that idea.

 

 

I don’t have a garden of my own. I am lucky enough to live in an extraordinarily beautiful part of the country but, some days, when I don’t feel like going outside, I use little textile compositions as a substitute for a ‘walk’.  Many years ago, I made a knitted farmyard following a pattern by Hannelore Wernhard. It has now, sadly, been lost in the history of time, children and dogs, but I still hold a cherished memory of walking around that wonderful woolly farmyard, talking to the chickens and sheep and most of all, crossing the knitted footbridge over the embroidered river and wondering where those paths would lead me …

 

So, my idea for this project was that members created their own miniature stitched garden (or map/journey/walk) as an aid for personal contemplation and meditation.

 

Helen Birmingham