My love affair with paper mobiles

Have you ever fallen in love at first sight?

Well, I have and it was about 3 years ago. I was walking down the street on a normal day lost in my mundane thoughts and suddenly my inner voice came in and said, "Stop! Look to the right!" I looked over my shoulder and all of a sudden there was this bright light shining on the object of my desire. I didn't even know that I had a desire prior to this moment, but it was obviously staring me in the face and I was utterly shocked by its beauty.

No, it was not a 6ft tall handsome man (that's a story for another time), it was a 4ft tall paper chandelier hanging in the window of my favorite store in Toronto. It's a store that sells Japanese paper, paper craft kits and all kinds of other beautiful things. I stared at it for a while with amazement and curiosity before I decided to go inside and ask the man behind the counter who created this mesmerizing object on display.

It turned out it was this very person and I excitedly begged him to show me how he did it.

It was around that time when I started crafting a lot at home. I think I was distracting and healing myself from all the challenges I was surrounded with. One member of my family went through a deep depression during that time and creating helped me to stay positive and to not get sucked into the same dark hole.

I was sad when the man told me that he wouldn't be able to show me how to create one of these mobiles. "It just takes too much time and effort.", he said. I was able to tell by the details that he must have spent weeks finishing it.

Later that day, when I got home, I searched the internet for the word "paper chandelier" and that was the beginning of a beautiful love affair that is lasting to this very moment. Ever since that day I have been fascinated by these feather-light objects that I create out of rye straw and tissue paper.

With amazement I found out that there was nobody on the entire continent of North America who offers any workshops for this craft, so I pulled up my sleeves and taught myself. The process is really calming and requires a lot of patience. Cutting the straw for a whole mobile takes a long time. All the pieces have to have the exact same length. Cutting out the paper and folding it into flower shapes takes even longer and I get into a total trance when I do it.

When I searched about the origin of this particular craft I found out that these whimsical mobiles were first born in Poland in the 1800s by women in rural areas to decorate their houses for special occasions like Christmas, Easter or weddings. The superstitious belief was that the straw protects the house from evil spirits and that a mobile brings happiness and good fortune to its owner.

Well, I wouldn't say I'm superstitious, but I can tell you that since I've started making pajaki (that's the Polish word for these mobiles), I really have become more happy. Every time I walk into my studio and see all these vibrant colours, I have a smile on my face. When a breeze comes through the window and makes them move in slow-motion, you forget your troubles and you can't help but feel peaceful.

Creating your own happiness is absolutely possible. In my case it just took a pair of scissors, paper, straw and a whole lot of love.