Posted on Instagram on March 22, 2019

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all 💙
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Lately I have been able to overcome some of my fears and eat a little more - and some of the foods I was afraid of (pizza!!).
To get past the anxiety and resistance that would catch me, I started to make fun of it, saying "I am going to eat all the things. I'm gonna be all pretty chubby!"
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See, my beloved Grandma Luisa used to look at the sparrows (and small animals and kids in general) and say: "Oh, how pretty chubby they are!". She used to say it with such satisfaction. She had survived World War Two and the hunger it came with, so for her and for her generation, to be fat was a good thing. .
I wanted to create a small talisman. Something dedicated to the birds that, as usual, have lifted me up while I was down.
I also wanted to put some tenderness, joy, "pretty chubby" in it. The memory of the joyful, sweet, warm person that was my Grandma.
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I also wanted it to be a very small delicate thing, something to wear every day.
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I designed and cut this chubby little sparrow, then I carved the word Hope on his wing.
And on his body, a delicate pattern of decorations, all hand drawn with a very tiny point.
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I love how it feels.
I love what it evokes.
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And I want to make more of these. Because I think we can all use some "pretty chubby!" sweetness in our lives.