A bag that tells it's own story - Sarah recently went to see the wonderful storyteller, Phil Okwedy storyteller with his show "The gods are all here".

His storytelling piece weaves myth, song, folktales and legends of the African diaspora with an astonishing personal story that uncovers Phil’s experiences of growing up as a child of dual heritage in 1960 & 70’s Wales.

Charting the time of life when children are said to view their parents as gods, but never having actually lived with them, Phil considers if his parents were, in fact, the gods he had imagined them to be…Exploring equality, freedom, racism, family and growing up without your birth parents, in a touching, funny and evocative performance.

Part of the evening was a Nigerian folk tale woven through with letters and stories about his parents. The folk tale included a beat up goatskin leather bag with surprising things needed for the journey/quest to heal the two rivers.

Knowing we had some vegetable tanned heritage goatskins in Sarah couldn't resist making a bag to add to the story props. The ink drawings feature some of the parts of the story and the thread colours around the edge symbolise the two rivers merging into one. The pen used to make the ink drawings was a Sakura permanent fine liner.

Using lengths from the hide the strap was made by cutting thin strips, wetting and then rolling them over to form a more rounded type lace. These were plaited together and the plait woven through the tabs to secure in place.

If you follow Phil and get to see his next show you might just see this bag!