Exhibition

The Power of Connectedness

The Power of Connectedness is an online exhibit of artworks by The Pleiades Project, an international artist's collaboration. It was originally planned to be a material exhibition in Australia in 2021. Born out of the shared experiences of isolation and uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Power of Connectedness explores themes of connection, resilience, and hope. The seven artists of The Pleiades Project - Estelle Anderson, Lois Denham, and Peta Milne of AU, and Diana Dunkley, Debra Nelson, Nan Renbarger, and Margaret Rose of the US - have created this online exhibit until it is possible to have an actual on-site exhibit in the future.

Please scroll down for two collaborative pieces and work by the individual artists.

The Seven Sisters Spirit Bundles

Theme of project: From the Stars

To begin with, each Star Sister was asked to form a base for a bundle which was to be between 2 to 3 inches / 5 to 7cm wide, 4 to 5 inches / 10 to 12cm long 1 to 1.5 / 2 to 3cm inches deep. When that was done they passed, or posted, their bundle onto another Star Sister. This process continued until all Seven Star Sisters had added something to the bundle. Apart from the size restrictions the only other guideline was that some of each layer should remain visible. Each participant was asked to photograph their addition before passing on a bundle. This project began in January 2019 and was to be the first of two collaborative projects for a Pleiades exhibition in Australia. Each Bundle has the spirit of each of the members of The Pleiades Project in it!

Side One

Side Two

The artist who started each Bundle, from upper right, going clockwise (They are the same for both sides) :

Lois Denham

”Imagining the travels of the wood from our land as it slowly emerges into a Spirit Bundle".

Margaret Rose

I have been doing meditations and contemplations on the concept of impermanence. This has led me to start a bundle--the beginning 'bud' of a bundle--whose center contains impermanent elements including fragrance, male and female parts of a flower, petals and leaves. The enfolding parts are made from encaustic monotypes. M Rose, Feb.5, 2019

Debra Nelson

Constant vibration of life
Heartbeat, pattern, rhythm
A bouquet of flower pattern within

Peta Milne

The different parts of my life pieced together.

Diana Dunkley

The sacred glue that holds our Pleiades Collaboration together.

Estelle Anderson

Wrapped messages from the hearts of friends, tied with happy memories of times together.

Nan Renbarger

The longer I worked on this piece, the more it seemed like a magic carpet circling thru Space.

Stardust Strip

The Stardust Strips are a real-time Fabric Installation originally created to be exhibited in a 2022 Australian exhibit which did not materialize due to COVID. The strips further interpret the theme of the exhibition: The Power Of Connectedness. Each artist was provided with a piece of fabric on which to add their work in any medium, and was only restricted by the size of the fabric. We intend to install it in a future exhibit with an introductory interaction taking place to display the Strips. For this online exhibition the pieces have been stitched together digitally for their display.
The artist and the information about their individual components appear to the right of the strip they created.

Lois Denham

Title: Star Sister Spirits Traveling Across Time Zones.
Medium:: various fabrics, threads, and paper pieces hand and machine stitched.

Debra Nelson

Title: Compassionate Solidarity
Medium: Embroidery Thread, Felt, Foam Sheets, Metal Beads, Organza
Date: April 2, 2021
Compassionate Solidarity was created during a world pandemic and a divisive political nightmare in the United States of America (there was no sense of united). The process of creating Compassionate Solidarity gave me a glimmer of hope while making a rainbow of unity arched over the earth of humans and animals coexisting in balanced harmony.

Peta Milne

Title: All of Us Joined Together
Medium: Fabric and thread
Date: 2021

Diana Dunkley

Title: Global Connectedness
Medium: Tulle and Organza with Metallic and Glitter Felt
Size: 22"H X 39”WDate: 2021

Estelle Anderson

Title: Hullo
Medium: Tulle, Netting, Recycled Sari Strips, Thread, Sequins
Date: 2021
Statement: The simplest of words hullo connects us daily. Sometimes, it is all that is needed or it starts a conversation.

Margaret Rose

Title: Interbeing
Medium: Fabric, Digital Graphic printed on fabric, Stitching
Date: 2021
The term “Interbeing” is about the connectedness of all people, all beings with each other, with nature and the world. Living beings are star dust and clouds and sunshine and fragments of past generations, relying on the earth for substance. The world can be seen as one big molecule, each part integral to the whole.

Nan Renbarger

Title: OM
Medium: Artist dyed fabric, sewing thread, charms. Freeform machine stitching.
Statement: OM is the primordial sound of creation according to the Hindu faith. Om is pronounced with 3 phonetic components: A-(aaauuu) represents creation or the waking state. U-(ooooo) represents manifestation or the dream state. M-(mmmm) represents destruction or the unconscious state. By chanting OM, the mind becomes aligned with the breath resulting in a great calm, aligned chakras, and a sense of inner peace.As I was stitching (chanting) this piece, I felt a great sense of connectedness to the Universe and my Pleiades Star Sisters.

Estelle Anderson

Lois Denham

Diana Dunkley

The RESPECT AMONG ALL THINGS Project: a conceptual Artwork initiated by Diana Dunkley, 2022

Current list of project activities and artwork:

Interviews and online discussion group
Spoken and Written word
Performance
Music collaboration
2D and 3D artwork
International Graffiti competition
Yard signs
Distribution of “Flash” items - rocks, cards, flyers, T-shirts, etc.
Workshops for groups and individuals
Meditate on it every day
Practice it every day

Click on these flyer images to view examples of artwork responses to Respect Among All Things:

My thanks to Rachel Rose for hosting this workshop.

My thanks to Emily Price and Illona Root-Chang for organizing this workshop.

My Thanks to Kimberly Butts, GATSA President, and Emily Price for organizing this workshop.

Click on this link to participate in the Respect Among All Things mindful art making and reflection workshop with Rachel Rose of Workshop Muse and Diana Dunkley: https://vimeo.com/744231326

Example of yard signs - available in several languages:

Ways to participate in the Respect Among All Things project can be as simple as this suggestion made by a participant in the Rachel Rose workshop:
to paint rocks that say “I’ll be your rock, will you be mine?”, and leave them lying around to be found.

A list of questions for contemplation and action around Respect Among All Things:

How can we recognize and acknowledge the inherent value in everything?
How is respect among all things reciprocal?
What would be good tools to keep respect among all things in the universal consciousness?
What will help focus on respect among all things?
How can we live our values?
How can we respect things that we question as being deserving of our respect?
How can we express the interconnectedness of the cosmos?
What indicates a shift in respect?
How can YOU participate in this conceptual art project?