Transformation

First ever piñata. Background. The Victoria Zen Centre's annual Buddha's Birthday Party features a piñata for the kids. Assigned the task of creating this year's papier-mâché offering, this project has become more then just newsprint, flour and water, tape and patience. It is offering a peak at some of the conditionings that have layered my life at this time of transformation.

Fortunately, I had picked up a papier-mâché book in a free box outside a house down the street. Then Seishin gave me her son George's small globe shaped papier-mâché originally intended as a paper lantern. This was to be the starting point. From the book, I found the directions for building a Pigasus. With some modifications, I was sure I could pull it off.

Reality Slap #1 Papier-mâché projects do not look perfect from the get-go. This ugly monster of "not good enough" showed up as I struggled with shaping a ball that would become the pig's head. This "not good enough" has layered my life with self-deprecation. This notion of perfect has stopped me from beginning and completing creative projects.

Something Interesting: (found on a google search). Europeans linked the piñata with Lenten celebrations. The first Sunday of Lent became "Piñata Sunday," derived from the Italian word pignatta, meaning "fragile pot." Hmmm, pig, pignatta, piñata... and I, the fragile pot building it.