Listen

This installation is erected on the gravesite that I selected in the Natural Path Sanctuary for myself along with my beloved husband, Ken.

The piece is composed of a large nest inspired by eagles. It is made out of birch and willow branches that were gifted to me, and a heart-shaped stone that I found at the NPS and used in my first installation on this site in 2014. The stone is designated as my grave marker when it's time for me to find my final nest.

In the center is a large Listening Stick – an object designed to be held to help us open our receptive channels of deep listening to the voices and beckonings within and beyond. Holding the stick provides a kinesthetic and energetic pivot point or fulcrum for attention and engagement that can profoundly affect our relationship to ourselves, to our life, to others, to nature and to our world.

The stick is a beaver-chewn branch from the Upper Iowa river. It symbolizes the work and dedication it takes to peel away veils and obstructions and reveal our true essence. The large sacrum bone is a symbol of our root and anchor in our physical body in Earth. The elongated stone that emerges from it comes from the Mediterranean and elicits the flow of our emotions. The feathers of Turkey, Pheasant and Goose are, respectively, for gratitude, fertility and homing. The additional objects - lare blue, glass beads and a Hamsa (hand in Arabic) are protective personal amulets that come from my homeland, Israel. The spiral is the symbol I hold dear of the journey of life.

This piece marks a resurrection. I have been creating Talking Sticks for over two decades and paused for almost two years as I contemplated issues of appropriation. By listening I was able to hear the call to return to my art and to allow it to re-emerge with a clearer voice and purpose.

You are invited to stand at the site and pick up the Stick with care. Please spend some time listening to the voices within, the sounds surrounding you or a distant calling. Writing tools - strips of fabric and permanent markers - will be available at the site to mark and share a word or phrase from your experience and tie it to the second stick on the site. In this way I envision us creating a second, collective piece that will remain on this land and become blessings as it slowly falls apart and returns to the earth.

Please place the Listening Stick back in its nest with care, so that the next person can do the same.

I welcome your responses and comments.

Bio
Nature and native traditions provide inspiration and stimulation for Efrat Livny’s art. Her mixed media creations utilize found and recycled objects that she collects as she wanders through her neighborhood and around the world. She is especially enamored with sticks, stones, bones and feathers. Her “Listening Sticks” promote deep listening to self and others, and inspire exploration, growth and connection. She has a particular interest in the continuum of health and illness, life and death. She is a bodyworker and Healing Guide at Open Circle Studio (www.opencirclestudio.com). Efrat is the founder and director of Threshold, a community gathering and work space on Madison’s near East side (www.atthreshold.com).