February 8, 2013, 2:09 am
↧
February 17, 2013, 6:07 am
Jennifer Smith. Click here to see Jennifer's Flickr photo streamJoy Harjo's poem, Perhaps the World Ends Here,brings home the sense of family we feel when sitting around the kitchen table .....or any table for that matter.A Table where family and good friendsgather to eat and catch up with whatever is happeningin their day to day lives ....Or a place to find solace,to work, to read, to sip teaand catch up with oneself.
Kenne Gregoire. See website herePERHAPS THE WORLD ENDS HERE by Joy Harjo
The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what,we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table.So it has been since creation, and it will go on.
We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teetheat the corners. They scrape their knees under it.
It is here that children are given instructions on whatit means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.
At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghostsof lovers.
Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poorfalling-down selves and as we put ourselves backtogether once again at the table.
The table has been a house in the rain, an umbrellain the sun.
Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a placeto hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebratethe terrible victory.
We have given birth on this table, and have preparedour parents for burial here.
At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow.We pray of suffering and remorse.We give thanks.
Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table,while we are laughing and crying,eating of the last bite.Kenne Gregoire. See Kenne's website here.Anna Williams. See website here and interview hereKatie Quinn Davies. See website hereHannah Queen. See more at Hannah's Flickr photo stream, hereAnna Gawlak. See more here.Philippa Stanton. Click here to see more of this Table seriesPhilippa Stanton. See more here and herePhilippa Stanton. See more herePhilippa Stanton (This one's for Leslie and Donna :-)I've written about the kitchen table of my childhood here and posted On The Table here . Perhaps there's a message for me in these posts.
↧
↧
February 28, 2013, 12:04 am
Stephen CroeserFrom the poem WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN WAKING by David Whyte
Now, looking throughthe slanting lightof the morningwindowtowardthe mountainpresenceof everythingthat can be,what urgencycalls you to yourone love? What shapewaits in the seedof you to growand spreadits branchesagainst a future sky?
Read the whole poem here.Stephen Croeser. See Stephen's Face Book albums here.When describing his work, South African artist, Stephen Croeser said "Architecture as metaphor might be a good starting place .... the threshold or portal .... here and there .... doorways, dimensions etc ..... yet also mark, music, time death, loss, longing, the spritual, memory, energy, and attempts to keep art and life integrated ..... "
Stephen Croeser. Ink, acrylic and pencil on paper. See more here and here"When space and time are in short supply I tend to work on paper with ink and other water based mediums. It is a way of staying connected and also serves as a means to explore ideas, compositions or territories rapidly. One could say there exists some form of symbiosis between the drawings and the paintings, the mediums being very different with regards to viscosity and the speed at which one can work. However, these distinctions often blur or break down completely. The creative process remains a mysterious one, one that, I admit, I do not fully understand. it is experiment, discovery and exploration that are the compelling agents at work here. Thankfully there is much that remains mysterious and hidden to us all." - Stephen CroeserStephen Croeser. See Stephens Face Book albums herePhoto by Elena Burj. Found here.Photo by Avril on Flickr. See more herePhoto by racons on Flickr. See photo stream here.Window Lighting by Beverly Slone. See Flickr photo stream hereDaniella Witte. See more here.Passage Way 1 by Eric on Flickr. Click here.View by Anne Valeur Erichsen. See Anne's Flickr photo stream here
↧
Erik Gonzales. See more of Eric's work at the Costello Childs Gallery website hereI suppose we all have a place in our hearts, perhaps from childhood or another life time that makes the heart ache when you think about it. A place that has a strong pull but is sometimes too painful to think about because you know you can't go back. I learned to love nature in such a place. When I feel a connection to all the things that live and grow in the countryside I also feel a connection to the farm I grew up on.Erik Gonzales. See more here I find this poem by Pablo Neruda particularly moving.
Lost in the forest, I broke off a dark twigand lifted its whisper to my thirsty lips:maybe it was the voice of the rain crying,a cracked bell, or a torn heart.
Something from far off: it seemeddeep and secret to me, hidden by the earth,a shout muffled by huge autumns,by the moist half-opened darkness of leaves.
Wakening from the dreaming forest there, the hazel-sprigsang under my tongue, its drifting fragranceclimbed up through my conscious mind
as if suddenly the roots I had left behindcried out to me, the land I had lost with my childhood --and I stopped, wounded by the wandering scent.- Pablo NerudaAn Unwritten Book by Fiona Watson. See Fiona's Flickr photo stream hereFiona Watson. See more of Fiona's work hereFiona Watson. See more hereOne-of-a-kind artist book by Jill Hubley. Click hereEverything/Something, a unique book with wooden pages, screenprint, gouache by Karen Kunc. See website here.Bee Mapping by Cas Holmes. This piece is currently on tour in the 5th European Quilt Art Tour. See website here and blog hereRosie Turnbull textile print. Click here.Exquisite Leaf by Francis Ooi. See more here Mayumi Sarai draws inspiration from organic structures and other natural processes to create her carved wooden sculptures. See more hereBronze sculpture by Mark Hall. See more here
↧
The hands of fiber artist, Maria Hwang Levy by photographer Eric Swansen. See more of Eric's beautiful photographs here.seedsencaseduntil the time is ripefor new lifenew thoughtsnew ideas Maria Hwang Levy. See Maria's amazing work at her website here"These vessels are receptacles for my thoughts, memories and feelings." - Maria Hwang LevyCrowned Venus by Bronwyn Berman. See Bronwyn's website here."The pod form is deeply 'known', an encapsulation of life to come, a concentration or distillation of all that is complex in nature, containing seeds of new life, of the promise of transformation to new form." - Bronwyn BermanGeopods by Bronwyn Berman. See website here"I love the look and texture of the woven form, weaving is women's work, and the forms are female in their nature, seed pods are givers of life, and the pods have a torso kind of quality . " - Bronwyn Berman
Bronwyn Berman. Website here.
Ceramic pod forms by Debra Fleury. See more at Debra's blog here.Debra Fleury. See more hereSeed Pod Rattles by Demetria Chappo. See blog here Marisa Molin (cocoon of twigs, screws, zipper ties and copper wire) See website here and Face Book page hereDonna Anderson. See website herePat Hickman. See website hereSusanne Klemm coats natural objects in a fine layer of polyolefin or epoxy. See more hereSusanne Klemme. See more hereScott Cardamatis & Joseph Saad. See more hereMagdalena Abakanowicz. Website here I couldn't resist this image doing the rounds on Pinterest. I 've not managed to find the artist.
↧
↧
Gathering Stillness by Robyn Gordon
My word for 2013 is stillness.A dear friend of mine suggested that we check in with each other every week or two via email, to refocus on our chosen words. Sometimes I forget to check in but ever since we decided to do this little exercise I have found that I am able to maintain my focus, unlike other years when I've forgotten my word within days. Doing this with a friend has made all the difference. Even when it seems that all is chaos around me I am able to find moments of calm in my day. I am gathering stillness. It is even affecting my art.Gathering Stillness by Robyn Gordon "Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully." - The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton JusterAngel by Omar Galliani. See more here.Linda Vachon. See more on Linda's Flickr photo stream here.Road Trip by Carole Leslie. See Carole's blog here and website hereFrom Stillness by Heidi Hass Gable. See more images here Center by Intao. See more of Intao's work here. Brian Ferry. See Brian's work here. River of Grass by Matthew Hillier. See website hereResting by kerrdelune on Flickr. See more here.paulus.iosephus on Flickr. Click here."In the midst of movement and chaos,keep stillness inside of you". - Deepak Chopra
↧
↧
↧
The Loeries woke us this morning. What gentler way to slip back into city life after our week in the wilderness than to hear Purple Crested Loeries calling in our garden.
We've just returned from our annual Wild Coast holiday where we woke every morning to spectacular sunrises and the haunting cries of Fish Eagles.This is the view from our bungalow. I would need to be a poet to describe the beauty of this place ..... and since I'm not, I'll share a few photos and a story or two about chance encounters and new friends.
Otter tracks on the dunesTime to try my hand at land art. Nothing serious but quite absorbing all the same.I played while M fished.I thought these flowers could be from another planet.We met many lovely, caring people who shared our enthusiasm for the Wild Coast. Two young veterinarians on honeymoon presented me with a bar of delicious Belgian chocolate on my birthday as well as a huge driftwood log (because they knew I loved wood). They hauled it along the beach, floated it across the estuary in a canoe and dragged it up the hill to our veranda where we found it when we returned from our walk. I was so touched ! So if you are reading this, Robbie and Taneale ...... the log is at home in our courtyard reminding us of you.
One evening I heard my husband talking to the couple who had just moved into the neighbouring bungalow. They spoke with American accents and had visited all my favourite places so of course I had to go out and chat with them too. Slowly it dawned on me that I actually might know who these people were. Several months ago a mutual internet friend, (a reader of Art Propelled) had asked me to email a few travelling tips to her friends who were thinking about visiting South Africa. What an amazing coincidence that we should meet them by chance and spend a lovely evening together before they left on the next leg of their trip. Synchronicities always seem to happen when we're on holiday. I suppose that's the magic about taking time out, away from home.Of course I had to bring home a cache of Wild Coast pebbles to remind me of the happy days spent gathering them.
↧
↧
↧
At the moment I'm obsessed with decluttering. After cleaning and painting and throwing out anything I haven't glanced at in a year I'm finally sitting in my little think tank/computer room and being able to call it a studio again.
For a while it lost it's identity midst the mounds of things other people didn't want. The best thing I did was to ditch the exercise machine which lay supine right in the middle of the room. "Nobody" wanted to get rid of it just in case "Somebody" wanted to use it. Nobody ever did use it. You know the story! Now that it's gone a weight has lifted and I've been inspired to create a little nest where I can carve (though I will still do the messy machine work outside). All I need is some sort of mat on the floor that will make it easier to clean up the wood shavings and a lamp shade to replace the one that was smashed during the Orbitrek exorcism.
I've held onto my daughter's old desk which was passed down to my youngest daughter and then to me. It will be a good place to carve. Notice that God and Tom occupy the same space on the desk.
" There is a ritual in it ....entering a space that is set up for creative work." - Terri Moore, Art Making and Studio Spaces by Lynne Perrella
This is Cuddly. He's not nearly as frightening as he looks but he does keep intruders out of my studio ;-)
" My current studio reminds me of the little bedroom I had growing up. In a way, it was my 'first' studio, and it always overflowed with mad experiments, midnight projects, endless tapping on the typewriter, and sliding piles of papers and cardboard. Some things never change!" Lynne Perrella
↧
Graphic artist, Antonio Ladrillo. See website here.
In grade one I was in awe of the little girl who sat at the desk next to mine. She could draw beautiful horses. Real horses! Not just the stick figure kind. I couldn't wait to tell my mom when she fetched me from school. "There is a REAL artist in my class!"
From as far back as I can remember, I have perceived artists to be the most amazing, luckiest, magical people. "With the word creative we stand under a mystery. And from time to time that mystery, as if it were the sun, sends down upon one head or another, a sudden shaft of light.... " -- Pamela Travers, Creators on CreativityChoreographic Drawings by Tony Orrico. See Tony's website here.Self portrait by South African artist William Kentridge. See more here.Anselm Kiefer putting the finishing touches to his painting, Journey to the End of Night. Click hereApril Zanne Johnson working in her studio. See more hereAbstracts by Conny Niehoff. See website here.Isabella Ducrot. See website here.Jennifer Moss. See more of Jennifer's work here and her Etsy shop hereNnenna Okore. See website hereWoodfire Ceramic Artist, Ahwani Bhat. See website here"I gather shapes from the world around me, from travel, and from my journeys through books. I also look inside myself for forms that arise from my experience as a dancer, seeking to rephrase that understanding of the body through a new medium of expression, the body of clay." -- Ahwani BhatJoshua Vogel (Photo by Rose Callahan). See website hereAriele Alasko makes eye catching furniture from reclaimed wood. See Ariele's website here.Wood sculpture by Bruno Walpoth. See website here.Patrick Dougherty. See Patrick's amazing sculpture here."Life is so ridiculously gorgeous,strange, heartbreaking, horrific, etc.,that we are compelled to describe itto ourselves, but we can't!We cannot do it!And so we make art."-- Miranda July
↧
I've been looking at paint charts and enjoying the names of the colours:Anthill Grey, Elephant Dung, Kalahari Sand, Hippo Pool, Limpopo, Zambezi Sand, Kariba Sunset, Serengeti Sand ......
All such beautiful African coloursTake a look at this colour chart hereRope and Pulleys. Found hereI'm drawn to the naturalsthe colour of ropewheat and haystacksPatterns in the sand on the east coast of Scotland. Photo by Martyn Gorman. See more heresun warmed beaches
Tourner la page by Nathalie Dumonteil. See website hereaged, discoloured papersMbuti bark cloth. Exhibition of historic textiles assembled by Seth Siegelaub. See more herethe hues of Mbuti bark clothCollage on canvas by Eva Isaksen. See more at the Duane Reed Gallery, here.Glorious paintingsbeautiful art
Her Spring Ribbons (oil and wax on panel) by Jeane Myers. See website hereI don't know much about colour therapybut I do know the colours that have a calming effect on me.
By Vered Gersztenkorn with Jermaine Passmore. See Vered's paintings on Face Book here.Natrals and neutralsgive me great satisfaction a sense of coming home.Vered Gersztenkorn. See more hereThe Book by Alexander Gurevich. See more here and website hereCeramic murals by Jeanne Opgenhaffen. Click here to see website
Jeanne Opgenhaffen is a Belgian ceramicist who creates murals from thousands of fine overlapping porcelain tiles. They remind me of stacks of aged papers.
Jeanne Opgenhaffen
"Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body" - Wassily KandinskySee my Naturals Neutrals Pinterest board here
↧
↧
Walter Rast (mixed media on canvas). See website here
Many of us are drawn to objects marked by the passage of time and this fascination is often transferred to our art. Looking at the images in this post one can see that some artists use old, sometimes decaying and often patinaed found materials while others achieve the time worn effects through art techniques.Walter Rast. See more of Walter's work on his website hereWalter Rast uses materials such as concrete, sand and pigments applied in successive layers. He scrapes back and scratches into the surface and also uses gold leaf and symbols. Old Posts Hold Stories by Fiona Dempster. See Fiona's website here. and blog here"There is warmth and strength, gentleness, tenderness even, and respect for worn and used old things." -- Fiona DempsterMetal Book by Fiona Dempster. See more metal books here"I really love the look and feel of rust. I love it's discarded beauty; the way it proudly wears its history and I love the sense of rediscovery that happens when I begin to work with rusted materials.
It feels as if the old, the worn, the forgotten, the discarded and the weary have found; their beauty recognized and valued, and new life given to them." -- Fiona DempsterObject by Tim Rowan. See more at the Lacoste Gallery, here.Marleen Vansteenvoort. See website hereLu Bin. See website hereThe Book by Sally Lee. See more hereJeanne Medina, weaver/designer. Website here Collage by Robert Ohnigian. Website here"Robert Nickle's collages evoke the passage of time and the present's ambiguity; they forshadow future disintegration. By locking paper detritus-soiled, crumpled, cracked, folded, marked, printed, stained and decaying tags, wrappers, cardboard, foils, etc. - in a poetic time capsule, Nickle shows us where we've been, are, and by progression what the future holds." - Devonna Pieszak
Collage by Robert Nickle. Website hereGerry Keon. See website hereRandall Reid. See more at Nuart Gallery, here
↧
↧
Inner Journey by Robyn Gordon
"In order to accomplish an experience, you have to have a chance to dance with it. You have to have a chance to play, to explore. Then each style of exploration that takes place is a different manifestation, we could say. Nevertheless, it is all part of one big game." -- Chogyam Trungpa
It's a good feeling to be surrounded by my totems again. Just before the big clean-up, I was sitting quietly,trying to trace back to a time when I didn't feelthat something was missing from my art practiceand it dawned on me that I was no longer surrounded by my own art. I've been setting my totems free too soon and feeling empty without them.Stillness by Robyn GordonThere are now three completed pieces watching over me, a work in progress nestles on the workbench
and the missing spark has returned.Party Girl by Robyn GordonWhen I met my muse by William Stafford
I glanced at her and took my glassesoff -- they were still singing. They buzzedlike a locust on the coffee table and thenceased. Her voice belled forth, and thesunlight bent. I felt the ceiling arch, andknew that nails up there took a new gripon whatever they touched. "I am your ownway of looking at things", she said. "When you allow me to live with you, everyglance at the world around you will bea sort of salvation." And I took her hand.
Inner Journey by Robyn Gordon" .... and there was a new voicewhich you slowlyrecognized as your own." -- Mary Oliver (from The Journey, here)
↧
JUST THINKING by William Stafford
Got up on a cool morning, Leaned out a window.No cloud, no wind. Air that flowers heldfor a while. Some dove somewhere.
Been on probation most of my life. Andthe rest of my life been condemned. So these momentscount for a lot -- peace, you know.
Let the bucket of memory down into the well,bring it up. Cool, cool minutes. No onestirring, no plans. Just being there.
This is what the whole thing is about.
↧
↧
"Do you know what I need? To escape to the mountains, surrounded by tall trees, I will lay on the moss, and breath in the scent of mushrooms, flowers and wet soil." -- Lyrics by Les Discrets
.... and that is exactly what we didWe escaped to the mountains for four wondrous days
Wherever we wentthrough forests or up mountain slopeswe could hear watergurglingbaboons barkingsharp warningsthat we were approaching
The baboon population seems to have increased since we were there last.
Some spent time on the roofOthers foraged the grass for snacksin the hotel gardens.We watched babies doing somersaults on the lawn outside our roomI'm convinced they were showing off because we were watching them.
I was thrilled that I managed to photograph the Bee Eaters before they flew off, though this image is far better.
The Poet Dreams of the Mountain
Sometimes I grow weary of the days, with all their fits and starts.I want to climb some old gray mountains, slowly, takingThe rest of my lifetime to do it, resting often, sleepingUnder the pines or, above them, on unclothed rocks.I want to see how many stars are still in the skyThat we have smothered for years now, a century at least.I want to look back at everything, forgiving it all,And peaceful, knowing the last thing there is to know.All the urgency! Not what the earth is about!How silent the trees, their poetry being of themselves only.I want to take slow steps, and think appropriate thoughts.In ten thousand years, maybe, a piece of the mountain will fall.
-- Mary Oliver
"But I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected to everything'" -- Alan WattsI take a photo of this dam every time we go. It is always so peaceful and a soothing introduction to our holiday.
↧
↧
September 21, 2013, 3:11 am
The 21st of September is International Peace Day. Last year shwe-shwe flags flew in this same tree. This year I decided to fly wooden flags.The pink Epiphytic Orchids are in bloom,Purple Crested Loeries are calling and the sun is trying to come out from behind the clouds.To me it's a perfect day! Happy Peace Day everyone!
Mary Jane Dodd has invited artists from all over the world to take part, here. I think you will be inspired by all the different flags flying for peace.A peace flag sent to me all the way from the States by Lyle. (Click here) Lyle is creating a series of women walking in search of peace.
↧
