![]() If you would like to go on an adventure to find your own one please get in touch and we’ll see what we can do. A great way to resolve any problems, or create a story. Whoever holds the stick, they talk and everyone else listens. Smaller ones are amazing for making a talking stick, an object passed around a circle. Then sanding, or you may just like to leave it as it is, maybe decorate it with found objects. To fashion it you’ll need a sharp knife and about 10 to 15 hours of stripping off the bark and digging out the honeysuckle from the twisted wood. ![]() ![]() I reached out to it and just pulled…a seasoned silver birch staff with three spirals at the top, tall as myself! Magic. I’d not seen it before I was so swept away by the beauty of the spot. This is the spot, I thought, as I closed my eyes sang my “Awens” again and said out loud, “Will you grant me a wizards staff?” I opened my eyes and right there to my right was a perfect one literally hanging down from a tree in a mass of honeysuckle. A grove of hazel high above a river with golden Beech trees in full autumnal glory all around. Then it’s off into the flow of the forest…which way…just go…sense it…spread your arms out, turn around and let your arms point to the right direction…have fun with it! One of the best ones I ever found was after an hour of walking through pretty hard off the beaten track woodland, when I chanced upon an amazingly beautiful spot. I’ll ask to be shown a “story stick”, the most magical one possible. I sing it – “Ahhhhh Ooòòooooweeeen” – three times and it feels like the tree and yourself are now in communion. It’s a Welsh word, “Awen”, the inspirational poetic flow, the dawn light shining feeling. I favour giving the tree a good old fashioned hug and I’ll chant a little magic word I learned from The Druids when I was initiated as a bard. Walk into the wood and find a majestic tree. Follow your instincts and you’ll arrive at the right woodland. Just make it up as you go along with the happy feeling of finding one. Where a unicorn’s horn touched the ground.” I like going for a drive in the country while singing my intention: So how to find one? Well, there are many ways. It mirrors the movements of the Earth around the Sun as the Sun travels around the galaxy, connecting you to the story of the cosmos. The honey suckle, which will eventually pull the tree down, winds itself around the tree in a sunwise fashion and the combination of these forces results in a glorious spiral twist to the staff. The sap rises and falls with the moon and with the seasons…more flow in summer, less in winter. If you can find a naturally twisted one, it’s even more special. As part of a tree it connects Heaven to Earth in and of itself. This work is the precursor to an ARC linkage project titled Folio, which looks at the history of Australian Comics.There is something inherently magical about a staff. The report was authored and led by Dr Patrick Grant (UTS FASS) with Gabriel Clark (UTS DAB), Dr Elizabeth McFarlane (University of Melbourne) and Dr Ronnie Scott (RMIT). The findings of the report show how the creative ecology of graphic storytellers in Australia cultivates a robust skill set of national importance it provides evidence of the need for government and industry support of this community and illuminates a pathway for contemporary and future practitioners. The team also produced a substantive non-traditional research outcome using the comics medium. The findings were delivered in a written report with full-colour illustrations and data visualisations. The print outcome of the report, a large-format comic poster, tests what the research team calls the graphic storytellers’ skillset, enacts the knowledge produced in comics-making & explores how comics-making is used. However, this particular creative industry remains severely underfunded and is often overlooked in the arts and creative commercial practice communities. We found that their skillsets were applied throughout professional industries to inform, communicate and educate target audiences on various topics through visual means. The team surveyed a total of 260 cartoonists, illustrators, and comics-makers in Australia. Our research sought to understand how self-taught creative skills within the creative community are applied beyond the creative industries. Previously, Emily was an Event Mana ger at Harvard University and also held positions at PYMNTS, Pineapple Public Relations. Emily Landers is a Senior Account Executive at Greenough Brand Storytellers based in Watertown, Massachusetts. Graphic Storytellers at Work is a report commissioned by the Australia Council for the Arts about the working lives of Australia's comics makers, cartoonists and graphic storytellers. Senior Account Executive at Greenough Brand Storytellers. Students with accessibility requirements.Short course and microcredential participants.International Studies and Social Sciences.
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