Tree Writings

A Centuries Old Tradition


Timeless

Nearing the End

I have finished writing my book today. All I have to do now is proof read it and then I can have it printed (which I'm doing with blurb.com).

I'm so excited that I have achieved this. I dont know whether anyone will take an interest in it but that doesnt matter...well it does kind of but the biggest achievement for me is that I have actually done it. Its been a life long ambition to write a Photographic/Story book and with a BIG THANK YOU to my friend Yvonne, I have managed to realise that ambition. Yvonne may no longer be here with us on Earth but she has been my inspiration. Without her sacrifice I would not have known that part of my calling was to Remember those we lost at Lockerbie.

A Blueprint of Two Souls

It is true I wonder....before we are
born here on Earth
 that we write our own Blueprint?
 A map of our true life,
the life that leads to the fulfillment
of our personal destiny.

A spiritual person told me that my
Blueprint is a Contract,
a promise that I have to
fulfill before I am accepted back into
Heaven.

I can easily believe it.
I want to believe it.

A 'Calling' must be a
memory of something we have to do
 to fulfill our Blueprint,
otherwise why would the 'calling' feel so
important.

It is a deep knowing,

A release from the chains that may be holding us back.

It doesnt really matter whether we believe there is a Blueprint.
Listening to your heart, following our intuition
is usually the key to enlightenment I believe.

 Knowing there is a purpose,
knowing that there is something we have to do.

Connections

My Art Work for the Exhibition is now completed. Its Title is CONNECTIONS.....I changed it from its original title of 'Sea of Souls' because my original idea didn't come to fruition. Time constraints were an obstacle, and unfortunately I didn't get the response that I was hoping for. But that's OK because I feel that I will continue with another project in the future as I think there is more that I can do.

The Connections are those between myself and my friend Yvonne, the landscape of Scotland and Wales and the Connection of 'Oneness'....feeling connected to all of humanity in the physical and spiritual sense.

The Art Work is a photographic piece...eight images representing my personal journey through my emotions. I have based it on the concept of Equivalence...I have used the landscape as metaphors for my feelings and hope that the viewer will experience some of those feelings.

The Exhibition starts on the 24th June and shows for a week...I am hoping then to contact Lockerbie Visitor Centre and to gift my photographic piece to them.

In the original work, the images are separate and have text attached to them. One of my images is 'untitled' as I wanted to create a 'living piece,' an image open to the viewer's interpretation......to give it a name if they so wish.

Many Thanks to anyone who has been following my progress.

Penelope George

Catch Up

ONE SPIRIT, ONE JOURNEY

Its been a while since I wrote here, my emotions have been a little raw and until now I have not felt able to write....

I visited Lockerbie and discovered the unexpected. Out of the devastation I found restored beauty...from turmoil I found peace .... from chaos I found serenity.

I cant thank the community of Lockerbie enough for the hard work and dedication they have shown in creating peace in their small town for those of us who visit to find it.

My journey was a difficult and emotional one.....but it was a journey well worth taking and I was able to find peace in my acceptance of the loss of a friend and her baby daughter. The Garden of Remembrance is a place that to me symbolises the connection between heaven and earth. The town is filled with a strength of heart that I have not found anywhere else. It is a place that restores your faith in humanity...at least it did for me.

I met people who I know will become friends .... I look forward to seeing them again.

My work in Lockerbie is not finished....I feel drawn to it for reasons I am unable to express....my faith in knowing is all I need.

I am fretting over my Art Work....the Exhibition starts on the 24th of June and I am working towards the completion of my contribution. I am not confident that it is good enough, but I hope that Lockerbie will accept it as a Remembrance of all those souls taken from us, as, not only the memory of my friendship with Yvonne, but as a hand of friendship to Lockerbie's Community, and also a Thankyou for allowing me to find the peace I searched for.

God Bless You Lockerbie.....

My Journey to Lockerbie

At this time I am unable to write ....so I will return another time when the emotion of my visit has subsided.

LISTENING

I need to listen now....I need to hear..I need to see...its important.

In a few hours I will be on a train...making a journey that will, I am led to believe, affect the rest of my life.

I have something to do....exactly what it is, I don't yet know. I have been touched by a Higher Being, a wise old friend.... each step has been prepared for me. I have a 'calling'.....deep in my heart there is a voice....its been calling me for a long time and now I have heard and I am following the path set out before me. I have learned to trust it.

There is a light, there are so many lights.....in my minds eye I see them as 'The Sea of Souls' ...one of those souls is my friend Yvonne, another is her daughter Briony....they have been waiting patiently for me to listen...I cant ignore them any more....they need me and I need to do this for them. I see them now..they are near..earlier this evening I heard a voice inside reassuring me....'we are all with you, don't be afraid, listen and you will know.'

I have my life....they are not here to live theirs....they need me to acknowledge them, love them, be with them. the only way I know how to do this is to create an art work, a photograph, a remembrance of young lives taken but never forgotten.

Lockerbie...that's my destination. My eyes have filled with tears many times today.....but I have their courage with me....when I am there, I will open my heart and listen....they want me to be somewhere, they want me to feel something, they want me to understand. I don't want to let them down.

So I will listen. It is the least I can do.

Catch Up

Just a couple of days ago I received my first memory from a friend of Lockerbie .....it was really good to hear from someone and I hope more will follow. My visit there may have to be postponed for a week or so as the Volcanic Ash inhibiting flights in Europe may cause disruption for a few more days yet. I know now that my images will have to be taken in Scotland....I had thought that I could shoot the coastline here but that doesn't seem appropriate. My Art Piece is about Lockerbie and so my images have to come from Scotland. I am looking forward to going there and I am also apprehensive; I just don't know how the emotion of the place will affect me...it is very likely to be quite overwhelming....I just wont know until I am there.

A picture of Yvonne

Family and Friends

Just a quick note on here.....I have sent an email today to the PanAm103 Family and Friends Group asking for their help in contacting those who lost loved ones at Lockerbie. The majority of those people killed were American and I need to try and get in touch with them. I have tried to explain what I am intending to do and that if they are unable to help me, asked if they could point me in the right direction as to how I could contact people. I do hope that they will be able to give me a little guidance.
Love to All xxx

Children's Imagination

My son and I took the Cremyll Ferry from Stonehouse in  Plymouth to Mt Edgecombe in Cornwall,just a stepping stone across the sea.It was a beautiful Spring day and we both felt we would like to go for a walk. The daffodils were in abundance, there were wild roses of every colour and the grass was lush and green.

As we sauntered along, we chatted, stopping to watch the ducks, stopping to talk to some friends we bumped into and just having a lovely time together.

While we were chatting he asked what it was I was doing........I explained that I wanted to do something to remember the Lockerbie Bombing, my friend Yvonne and her daughter Briony and those who were taken with her..... and that I was working on a Remembrance Art Piece to exhibit . I asked him if he had any ideas about how I could display the messages that I might receive from people......he said 'what about like the advent calendar we have at Christmas when we take a chocolate or a message out of them every day'. I thought that was a really good idea and that I could develop it some way.

I know its early days and I havent yet had any correspondence from anyone re memories........so I was thinking that as I would like to make it a 'Living Art Piece' that maybe if I dont get any response from anyone, that when I exhibit the piece I could ask that people leave a memory in a pocket. When the college exhibition is over then I have thought that I would gift it to Lockerbie......if its good enough and if they would like it.....that way when people visited they could interact with it. I like that idea so maybe thats what I should do.

I'm really glad I asked my son because children have such wonderful imaginations, and he has given me inspiriation. Thank You Dyls xxx

Annandale Herald

I am very grateful to Katherine at the Annandale Herald for publishing an article about my intention to create a Remembrance Art Work. I am hoping that when the people of Lockerbie read it, they will write/email me.

I have decided to visit Lockerbie at the end of this month. I am a little apprehensive because I think it will be quite a difficult thing to do, and it will probably be a very emotional visit. I am not sure how I will feel. I'm not sure how to write about it here.......but as I want to create something to Remember all those taken from us, I  I am sure that I will find further inspiration for what I am planning to do. I just really hope that I will do justice to the memory of all 270 victims.

My project is very much in its early stages...mainly thinking about the work, researching and reading articles of the time and also looking at some art works that other people have created......until I visit Lockerbie, I don't think that I will be able to go further than that. I will take photographs while I am there and explore the surrounding area. I can only pray that my  piece will be good enough.

What Once Was Will Always Be............

Guiding Hand

Do you feel sometimes that there is a guiding hand moving you along the right path....that's how I feel about this project. Since I decided that I wanted to create something in Remembrance of all those taken from us on December 21st 1988, things have been happening at a swift pace. Katherine from a Local Newspaper The Ananndale Herald contacted me by email asking if I would call her.....so this morning I did. She has very kindly said that she will write a piece about my idea in the paper so that the people of Lockerbie and the surrounding area will know about my project. It is truly a wonderful opportunity for me and I feel privileged to be involved in some small way with the memory of Lockerbie.

When I visit Lockerbie, hopefully sometime later this month, I will give Katherine a call, and arrange to meet her to talk about how I'm progressing. This really is something that is very important to me, and I think that my Angelic Helpers are pushing me along, encouraging me all the time. I have never before had such a strong feeling that I am doing what I am meant to do. It is very humbling.

In the past, I have tended to live quietly and avoided anything that would put me in the public eye at any level. I have always been quite a private person. But now, maybe its because I'm older, maybe its because I am doing something with my life that I love and I want to give something back, maybe it is having faith that I am being guided to fulfil a promise that I have made along the way....I don't know ...all I know is that is feels right. That in itself for me is a Blessing......xxx 

My Family

Just thought I would put some photos of me and my loved ones here..............xxx

          

Sea of Souls - Day 3

Some Images I took in Wales August 2009 The North Beach, Tenby, South Wales

Cenarth Falls, Cardiganshire, South Wales

Pond in a Friend's Garden, South Wales

Having felt a little lethargic yesterday I needed to do something completely different today....so spring cleaning was the order of the day! Apart from the house needing a 'sort out' my head also did. I've got papers and folders and files for my last assignments everywhere, and I need a clean slate to concentrate fully on this next project. I may not write here for a few days because I'm going to be preparing 'my space' and also trying to work on an Essay I have to do..... but I will be back soon.....or if any correspondence arrives for me or if I have any ideas then I will note them here....so until then...Light and Love to All.....xx

Sea of Souls - Day 2

This morning I woke up in a bit of a panic......this always happens when I am at the beginning of a project. I panic because my lack of self confidence sometimes makes me question myself. Thankfully I have since calmed down and I know that the love I have for this idea will carry me through...and if it doesn't work or if it is not a success...it doesn't matter...I will have tried to give something to Yvonne, Briony and the other souls taken that night and they will appreciate my trying. And as a person who has a very strong sense of faith then I know God and His angels will help me with this project if I get a bit stuck!

I am a bit concerned that no one will answer my request for their memories etc but I will understand if no one will want to share those personal things with me. I am a stranger to them. All I can do is pray that they will trust that all I want to do is create something in Remembrance of all 270 souls because it feels important to me.

At some time during the next few weeks I am going to try to get to Lockerbie. I think I need to visit there so that I can have a deeper spiritual feeling of the place and the people. I would really like to see the beauty of Scotland as I have never been there. 

Until tomorrow.............

Sea of Souls - Day 1

I hadn't realised or maybe I hadn't remembered that the name given to Pan Am flight 103 was 'The Maiden of the Sea' this is apt as the title I have chosen for my project is Sea of Souls.


For the past 21 years I have always felt that my friend Yvonne and her daughter Briony have been at my side and they remain constantly in my heart. I often say a prayer for them and send love and light to all those victims so cruelly taken from us. Recently I have been reminded once again of Lockerbie, I received an email from the Scottish Sunday Express asking if I would comment on the episode from Family Guy which I did. All the memories of that night and the following days have come flooding back to me, and now I want to create an Installation Photography Art Work in Remembrance of the victims. I feel that it is something that I really need to do.


My last project was Landscape.....I have always had an affinity with the Sea and I am panicked if I am too far away from the coast! My images were taken along Whitsand Bay in Cornwall where I spent many hours enjoying the glorious beauty all around me. When I am walking along the vast open spaces of the coast with the tide ebbing and flowing at my feet, I feel a real sense of freedom and joy. It is here that I feel at my most spiritual and it is here that I am most aware of God presence and I am totally at peace.


Here are some of my images.....

This morning I have spent some time researching Lockerbie, searching for information and writing a letter to the Scotsman and the Scottish Sunday Express and I have also looked on Face Book. I have written to ask if anyone would share their memories with me. Part of the Installation that I want to create, is to have the names of the loved ones lost to us with memories, experiences and anything else that people would like to contribute...be it a poem or a favourite song or saying.......I want to make the piece a Living Memory.


I was inspired yesterday by the work of Christian Boltanski .......I need to research more like minded artists and photographers and see what I can find.


I think this is all for today...........I have been on line for hours now and I need some fresh air!!


Please feel free to make any comments.......only positive criticism please....I am after all a sensitive soul!!!