Interview with Peta Garnaut of Serene Spirit Jewellery

A wonderful interview today with Peta Garnaut who is giving a workshop on Singing Bowls and Tingsha at the Monastery on Sunday 6th.  Petas' website serenespiritjewellery.com is a source of beautiful jewellery and artwork and we'd like to thank Peta for taking the time to answer our questions. Although her extremely popular workshop is fully booked at Manchester in October she also has a stand at the event.  As ever, pop along and say hi!

1 - To start, could you tell us a little bit about yourself please. I was born in Australia and as Asia is such a close neighbour I have travelled many times to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and China. I have 2 cats and a dog. I also like to ride (horses) and hope to go on a trail ride in Yorkshire or Cumbria in October. 2 - Travelling all over the world to source your artefacts, which is your favourite place to visit and why? That is a difficult question to answer, so I will answer with 2 locations. Sri Lanka is my favourite shopping destination for textiles and paraphernalia. It is also so rich in culture and intriguing historic monuments. I visited the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy which was such a peaceful and reverant building where the sacred relic of the tooth of Gautama Buddha is housed. My other favourite is Indonesia, because of the diversity and high artistic integrity of the artisans. They are people whose requirements are simple but they love to do business and share their culture. The people of Ubud are especially the warmest hosts and I have friends and artists who I visit every year. 3 - You've been painting since childhood, how do you feel you've evolved as an artist? My interest in Buddhist goddessess and Angels has inspired much of my recent artworks. The Green Tara and White Tara are quite formal in posture but as they care for all beings I can picture them with animals and birds and have fun with the artwork. Angels are not so formal, but they are very insistent on how they are painted. I start with something in mind and over the hours and days the image will change and develop and then quite unexpectedly  it will be finished. I actually believe they Angels guide my hand.  4 - You're doing a workshop in Singing Bowls and Ting Sha at the Monastery, how did you first get into them and could you tell us a bit about the workshop. I visited Kathmandu many years ago and visited the village where singing bowls are made and bought my first. I used it before meditating. As Serene Spirit Jewellery grew into not just jewellery I saw that good quality Tibetan singing bowls would be an authentic addition. Children and adults love to feel the vibration of the bowls and the hypnotic sounds which are so helpful to focus, relax and empty the mind.  The workshop is not just a demonstration of how to play a singing bowl but there will be bowls available for visitors to try. There is a technique to getting it right and once you have it mastered it is very satisfying to then experiment with the different tones in one singing bowl. The Tingsha are an easy alternative and much more portable. The chimes are gently "clanged" together and the sweet sound lingers. They have some very practical uses too. When the family comes together for dinner use the Tingsha to "clear" the space and enjoy each others company. 5-Which writer/thinker has influenced you the most. The Dalai Lama is such a wise man, I read his book "Widening The Circle of Love" every day.  6- What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given. Never, never, never give up 7- Would you name 6 “Desert Island” books or films (ones you would like if you were stranded on a desert island - for young ones who don’t know about Desert Island discs!) Books -:  Trinity by Leon Uris  -  The Historian - Round Ireland with a Fridge Films -:  The Big Chill. -  The Usual Suspects. - Bridesmaids