Heavens Above

The Muqarnas of Sadu (final reveal)

“Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

Martin Luther King, the night before he was killed

This issue encourages us to look up. It touches on stars, the moon, mountains, ceilings, domes, stained glass, bats, birds, clouds, kites, smoke, storms, the night and darkness itself.

Many of our ancestral stories come from the world above. The constellations have been a common storybook for peoples across time and space. The seven stars known as the Pleiades in Greek mythology have a similar story for Australian First Nations, as told in the Kungkarangkalpa Seven Sisters story.

While the heavens offer a transcendent link across time, stories in this issue bear witness to our increasing distance from the world above. Light pollution makes the stars and moon much less visible in our night skies. Urban development and the decline of insect numbers also affect the creatures of the sky, birds and bats. While our understanding of custodianship focuses mostly on the land, we need to extend our care to the sky above.

We need the heavens more than ever. They offer respite from the crises that stream through our news portals. One of the few ways in which the Palestinians currently trapped in Gaza have to escape their trauma is through flying kites. As one said in a recent BBC documentary, “A lot of times when you look at the sky, you forget that there’s more than the drones and the jets and the killing machines above, and it is refreshing.”

Thanks to the writers who have shared their precious stories. They come from Aotearoa – New Zealand, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.  And our gratitude to others who’ve helped, including Sheikha Bibi, Aunty Gail Dawson, Bernard Kerr, Susan-Elin Solimani and Ilka White.

This 10th-anniversary issue of Garland coincides with the Cheongju Craft Biennale (where it was first launched) and Wedge: Australian Ceramics Triennial.

Stars

Portals

Creatures

Ornaments

Dedication

This issue is dedicated to the memory of Dinara Chochunbaeva (1956-2025), an inspiring leader of Kyrgyz culture and crafts. See A daughter’s tribute to her beloved mother by Altynai Osmoeva.

✿

As the sun set on the fall equinox: Hospitality for winged visitors - James Casey talks with Amy-Claire Huestis about a performance procession at Hwlhits'um (Brunswick Point) to honour the endangered migratory shorebird.
Of storms and stillness: Embroidery with passion - Hansika Sharma travels to Kutch to find the indigo that will connect her to the skies above.
moon landing: A lunar collaboration of weaving and music - Margo Selby talks about her collaboration with composer Helen Caddick to produce a weaving for Canterbury Cathedral in honour of pioneer women computer circuit makers.
A daughter’s tribute to her beloved mother  - In loving memory of Dinara Chochunbaeva by Altynai Osmoeva
Shankar Lal ✿ Weaving with smoke - Soumitra Bhattacharya walks with a ringaal weaver from Kiruli village, Chamoli district, in the Himalayas.
Pilgrimage of the Hajjanaut - Shireen Taweel guides us across the stars to Karajarri country on the Indian Ocean.
Bonne Aventure ✿ How stars come to earth - Loraine Savary of Rousse tells the story of celestial ceramic works that promise good fortune.
Dou Mu, Mother of Stars of the Northern Dipper - Angela Sim recounts the dazzling festival that honours the Queen of Heaven. 
Cloudburst talismans - Vicki Mason has recycled costume jewellery to make a charm that squeezes raindrops out of clouds.
Bright moon over heavenly gate - Jacky Cheng talks about the epic evolution of her Paifang gate, from dyeing workshops in Laos to a mother-daughter collaboration in Broome.
A handmade sky: The people, art and craft behind Kashmir’s Khatamband ceilings - Shivani Kasumra celebrates the sublime ceiling craft now being revived in Kashmir.
Sky Series: Painting the heavens with glass - Zoë Veness employs an open cloisonné technique to make pendants that capture fleeting skies on Dharawl Country.
When heavenly arts moved from London to Caboolture - Pamela See talks with Michael Strong about the Abbey Museum of Art and Archeology and the art of stained glass that it celebrates.
Ying Ying Karang: Song of the wattle - Jayde Halls honours her country with a bird identified with the Bunurong men who lost their lives during colonisation.
The Muqarnas of Sadu - Ghadeer Mohammad pays homage to the sublime ceiling decoration in Islamic architecture.
Heavenly jewels to ascend Kailash - Surabhi Sahgal’s rings reflect mythical symbology embedded in Indian narratives of heavenly pursuits.
Unfurling/Night sky: Rituals as art practice - Kathryn Bird shares her healing ritual for a collective witnessing of the evening process.
A Chinese dragon flies to Paris - Meikei Huang writes about master kite-maker Wang Yongxun, whose creatures of the sky connect peoples across the world.
Biosphere Boodja: Clay creatures on giant domes - Vanessa Gould tells of Fleur Schell's journey from childhood enchantment to shared appreciation of Country with Aunty Tracey.
Being curlew across Yorkshire - Matt Lewis talks with Matt Trevelyan, the man who walked 53 miles dressed as a curlew.
Skyways - Shannon Garson reflects on the childhood that inspired a love of the night sky that she captures in her moon jars.
An echo of something no longer - Sarah Stewart writes about Bronwyn Ward's invocation of birds on glass as a way of reflecting on loss.
Tāwhaki’s journey to the realms of wisdom above - Xoë Hall reflects on her mural about Tāwhaki's journey to the celestial realm and the knowledge he gains on the way.
Birdland: Works from a Naracoorte Artist Residency  - Thea Katauskas fashions ceramic birds in response to the threatened diversity she witnessed on the Limestone Coast. 
Nganin nganitj cry to protect the night sky - Bat teaches Kelly Ann Blake about the need to protect the night sky which can be lost due to light pollution.