Art Propelled

Lise Carruthers. See more work by Lisa here and here

The Tray by Naomi Shihab Nye

Even on a sorrowing day
the little white cups without handles
would appear
filled with steaming hot tea
in a circle on the tray,
and whatever we were able
to say or not say,
the tray would be passed,
we would sip
in silence,
it was another way
lips could be speaking together,
opening on the hot rim,
swallowing in unison.

Watanabe Takayuki. Click here

"Tea is an act complete in it's simplicity.
When I drink tea, there is only me, and the tea.
The rest of the world dissolves.
There are no worries about the future.
No dwelling on past mistakes.
Tea is simple: Loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me."
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Belocq Tea Atelier. Click here

"When tea is made with water drawn from the depth of mind, We really have what is called a tea ceremony." - Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Tea Infusers found on Tumblr

Tea Pot by Petr Novak on Pots and Tea blog, here

Ceramics by Petr Novak on Pots and Tea blog , here

Raimund Matros on Flickr. Click

Image found on Tumblr

I love the look and the thought of drinking tea from an exquisite tea bowl
Hand made would be nice
I'm searching for just the right one

Black sandstone tea bowls by Kambe Chinatsu at Oli Oli. click here

Robin Welch. See more here

The Frog, eggshell porcelain tea bowl by Jane Reumert. Click here

Colin Hopkins. See website here

Swedish style. Click here

Found on Tumblr

Andrew Wyeth

POEM FOR SOMEONE WHO IS JUGGLING HER LIFE by Rose Cook

This is a poem for someone
who is juggling her life.
Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.

It needs repeating
over and over
to catch her attention
over and over
because someone juggling her life
finds it difficult to hear.

Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.
Let it all fall sometimes.

I found the poem at Shawna Lemay's blog, Calm Things. If you are needing a little quiet time, wander over and feel the calm enveloping you as you read each post.

Her room by Andrew Wyeth

Solo by Natalie Urazmetova

Calm by Neva Gagliano

Afternoon, Tasman Sea, New Zealand by Chip Hooper

Early morning mist flowing down a valley on the South Downs near Brighton by Finn Hopson

Photo by wariatka at deviantart

Fall Leaves in a Row by Shawna Lemay. See blog here.

It seems that I've been busy
Not really...
A lot on in my mind
while I carve and tweak
small carvings for a special order

I've been keeping a secret ....

but now I can share it with you....

It is a cold dark night
The heavens open
and much to my daughter's consternation
we follow the children onto the veranda
Why are we outside in a blizzard?
J has found a bird nest with babies in it
Come and look
My daughter puts on her happy face
and goes out into the rain
The nest is in a ticky creeper at eye level
She peers into the nest
Her face registers shock
My future son in law
drops to his knee
She says yes

Tracey Deep is a floral sculptor inspired by nature. See more here

There is nothing quite like
the feeling of calm that envelopes me
when I'm out gathering "naturals"
in the wilderness
I love returning from a walk
laden with bouquets of drift wood
I'm drawn to driftwood colours
soft greys, warm woodiness, sun bleached naturals.
Wood, tossed about in the sea
the edges rubbed smooth by sand and water.

North Carolina artist Patrick Dougherty create's freeform sculptures woven together out of branches. See website here.

As a boy, Patrick Dougherty gathered twigs. He began "drawing" with sticks and later he used saplings and tree cuttings found along hydro lines to create his magnificent sculptures.

Patrick Dougherty gathering branches. Website here.

"It seems like humans have to continuously struggle with ideas about nature and redefining our relationship with the natural world. Domesticated gardens versus the wilderness are part of a worldwide discussion and part of my (our) inner conflict. Certainly gardens are a kind of rendition of the unfettered wilds. Shrubs, trees, flowers and grass become commodities and are forced into human geometry. I try to free the surfaces of my work using sticks as a drawing material, work them in such a way they look like they are escaping those chains of being planted in a row. I imagine that the wilderness lurks inside my forms and that it is an irrepressible urge." - Patrick Dougherty

I enjoyed John Grande's interview with Patrick.

Large scale temporary sculptures from materials gathered in the nearby landscape by Patrick Dougherty

"It seems that people like gardens and grass, but they desperately desire a connection to wilderness" - Patrick Dougherty

"Tree Fall" by Andy Goldsworthy. The ceiling and suspended tree branch have been covered in clay. Goldsworthy has succeeded in creating a "Hobbit hole". Read about this new installation here.

Andy Goldsworthy with his installation, Tree Fall

"I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools -- a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn." - Andy Goldsworthy

Islamic/Meso America by Loren Eiferman. Website here

"The wood, for me, is now a line in space created by hundreds of smaller pieces of wood jointed together to create one sculpture. To create my work, I usually begin with a drawing, an intention of what direction I want my sculpture to go in. I start out each day with a walk in the woods and gather sticks that have fallen to the ground." - Loren Eiferman

Black Hole by Loren Eiferman. Website here.

Loren Eiferman. Website here

Roger Ackling "draws" on found wood with a ray of sunlight through a magnifying glass.
I know! Amazing!

Found wood assemblage by Roger Ackling. See more here.

Assemblage by Roger Ackling

Flying machine by Wim Del Arte. Blog here.

Wim Del Arte spends many a day out walking along the banks of La Palma, gathering drift wood and found objects. He then creates the most amazing array of art with his lucky finds. The flying machine is assembled from driftwood, aluminium, copper, rusted metal, bits of twisted plastic and spark plugs found on the beach of Tazacourt.

"Collectors are happy people" - Goethe

Rain by Nazar Bilyk. See website here

It has rained steadily for several days. A relief for farmers in KwaZulu Natal! We are on the verge of being declared a drought stricken region and farmers are pleading for the increase of emergency relief to save their crops and livestock. We're not out of the woods yet but the sound of rain on the roof is comforting.

Rain by Nazar Bilyk (Bronze and glass) Website here.

"The figure has a loose and porous structure and relates to dry land, which absorbs water. In this work I play with scale, making a raindrop large enough to compare a man with an insect, considering that man is a part of nature. Moreover, this work concerns the question of interaction and difficulties in coexistence of man with environment,"

"Almost each sculpture is autobiographical. Senses and questions which fascinate me become fundamental in the creation of 'Rain'. In almost all cases, the sculpture provokes the viewer to look up in anticipation of the same raindrop." - Nazar Bilyk

Ukranian sculptor, Nazar Bilyk with 6 foot tall sculpture, 'Rain'. Website here

RAIN by Raymond Carver

Woke up this morning with
a terrific urge to lie in bed all day
and read. Fought against it for a minute.

Then looked out the window at the rain.
And gave over. Put myself entirely
in the keep of this rainy morning.

Would I live my life over again?
Make the same mistakes?
Yes, given half a chance. Yes.

Sculptures by Nazar Bilyk and Anne Gillespie bring to mind our friends in Australia who, not so long ago, were praying for rain to douse the bush fires. I can only imagine the relief they feel when it rains during the dry season.

Taste the Rain (detail) by Anna Gillespie. See Anna's website here

Taste the Rain (Mixed media; materials fallen from trees) by Anna Gillespie. Website here.

"Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain." - Matthew Bettelheim

David Tress. Website here

I love the way David Tress creates atmosphere in his paintings. He scrubs and scrapes, scores, patches and reworks until he is satisfied with the effect.

" .... there are several recent paintings that explicitly deal with flash storms by apparently tearing a fundamentally tranquil landscape apart with downward flashes or slashes of white or blue slanting dramatically across the composition. Sometimes, again, Tress loves to create a turbulent effect by folding or collaging the heavy handmade papers on which most of his works are painted to create an almost sculptural surface." - John Russell Taylor, The Times

David Tress (See website here)

Storm 1 by Karine Leger. See website here

"Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on earth!"
- Mary Oliver

Hard Rain ( gouche, ink and iron on paper) by Dale Lindman. Website here

Maple mobile by Paco Orti. Website here.

These simple maple curtains appeal to me.

Maple curtain by Paco Orti. Click to go to website

Ken Unsworth's stone circle series
River stones suspended on wires
They feel sacred and mysterious
Simple, yet moving

Stone Circle by Ken Unsworth.

Detail of Stone Circle by Ken Unsworth. See video here

Stephen H Kawai creates mobiles from natural elements.

"Many have the impression that creating them is an exact science involving precise weighing and calculation. Nothing could be further from the truth. They sometimes turn out more or less as planned or, in other instances, unforeseen realities necessitate constant reassessment. They can be products of pure improvisation or they may be carefully designed." - Stephen Kawai

Natural mobile by Stephen H Kawai. See website here

"The objects, or what I term "elements", which make up a mobile are chosen with great care since they are not produced by the artist. Each is a sculpture in itself, having been created by the universe, and much of the joy in creating mobiles is a certain degree of control in arranging such elements in three dimensions. " - Stephen Hawai

Mobile by Stephen Kawai. Website here.

We've a man nest by Gareth Wynne Fitzpatrick. See more images here.

Gareth Wynne Fitzpatrick suspended himself from the gallery ceiling and proceeded to weave an enormous nest, entitled "We've a man nest".

Man sized nest by Porky Hefer. See website here

Fellow South African, Porky Hefer, is making quite a name for himself designing magnificent nests big enough to house humans. They are woven from natural materials in much the same way as a weaver bird weaves his nest.

Ruth Asawa. (Photo by Rachael Ashe on Flickr). See many beautiful images on Flickriver here.

Installation with suspended tree roots by Guiseppe Licari. See more here

South African ceramic artist, Margot Rudolph (Photo by Eugene Hon)

Season's Greetings and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Hope you are showered with socks and books.

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books." - J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Robyn Gordon 2013

"Every man should be born again
on the first day of January.
Start a fresh page.
Take up one hole more
in the buckle if necessary,
or let down one,
according to circumstances;
but on the first of January
let every man
gird himself once more,
with his face to the front,
and take no interest in the things
that were and are past."

- Henry Ward Beecher

Wishing you all everything of the best for 2014

Belinda Clements art journaling space

"Where's your church?"
"We're standing in it."
"But this is a bookstore and it's Friday."
"Yes, but you might also choose to see it as a cathedral of the human spirit -- a storehouse consecrated to the full spectrum of human experience. Just about every idea we've ever had is in here somewhere. A place containing great thinking is a sacred space."

- Forrest Church

Shakespeare & Company, Paris, France. Click to see the 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world

This is a well known quote by Joseph Campbell but I'm re-posting it as a reminder.

"You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don't know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don't know who your friends are, you don't know what you owe anybody, you don't know what anybody owe's to you. This is a place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen."

Kevin Titzer's studio. Click to see more studio spaces here.

"Our life has become so economic and practical in its orientation that, as you get older, the claims of the moment upon you are so great, you hardly know where the hell you are, or what it is you intended. You are always doing something that is required of you. Where is your bliss station? You have to try to find it. Get a phonograph and put on the music that you really love, even if it's corny music that nobody else respects." - Joseph Campbell

Elizabeth Gilbert's Sky-brary. Click to read an inspiring interview here.

Elizabeth Gilbert created what she calls her "Sky-brary"in the attic of her home. This is where she wrote her latest novel The Signature of All Things . It's so important to find your own sacred space ..... or think tank ... sky-brary.... or bliss station.

"Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again." - Joseph Campbell

Jill Nooney creates sacred space in the garden with her wonderful rock stacks.

"By bringing a soulful consciousness to gardening, sacred space can be created outdoors." - S.Kelley Harrell, Nature's Gifts Anthology

I search for quiet spaces in nature to sit and gather my thoughts.

Land art in the forest. Photographer: Sylvian Meyer on Flickr.

"Many of the tribal peoples of the world recognize that there are four places in nature where you can find deep peace and remember who you really are. One is in the deep woods; one is in the desert; one in the mountains and one near the ocean." - Angeles Arrien, The second half of life.

If you have the time to delve further into sacred space follow these links...

Defining your sacred space by Tod Henry

5 Tips for Creating Sacred Space by Debbie Woodbury

Honouring Sacred Space by David Jones

Nature's Solace

Wide Open Spaces

Creating sacred space

Grid by Carol Lee Shanks (stitched cloth remains onto hemp). See more here

Carol Lee Shanks designs and constructs unique handcrafted clothing from fine natural textiles. The textile art pieces you see here are made from the scraps of cloth left over from Carol's 2011 Fall Fashion Collection.

"She has a great reverence for cloth allowing it to be the foundation of her inspiration. An integral part of her work is manipulating the cloth to create different surface textures." - World Shobori Network

Horizon by Carol Lee Shanks. Website here

Hercacleum Sphondylium by Cas Holmes. (Paper and textile layers, print, worked on top of old teacloths, dye, paint, print, machine and hand embroidery. Ink drawing and transfer). See website here.

"Cas Holmes is deeply moved by the stories of ordinary people's lives, the births, marriages and deaths; the diseases brought on by harsh working conditions and the way these hard facts are hidden from history, forgotten with the passing of time. Her work often contains snippets of text or discarded materials that have associations or conjure up memories. There is always a dialogue with the materials she uses. They bring their own history which is woven into the work" - Moira Vincentelli, Review for Reflections exhibition.

W.I.P by Christi Carter. See blog post here

I love Christi Carter's beaded piece so much I couldn't wait for it to be completed before posting it :-)

Mieke Renders-de Greef. See more at website here

Mieke Renders-de Greef. Website here.

David Quinn. Website here.

I enjoyed reading about David Quinn's process....

"The starting point can be anything, a colour, a found piece of paper, another painting etc. I work on a lot of pieces at the same time. I like being able to see as many of them as i can while I'm working. They feed into and off each other, some sit for ages before coming to fruition, others can come together quickly, the trick is knowing when to step back. I like to layer things up. I probably approach each piece more like a page in a notebook, that's why having lots is important, it means I don't get too precious and am not overly concerned about messing something up. I try to make the most of every mark and layer, look at it from a few different angles and think about how, if at all I could make something of it. This can mean sitting for ages just looking at the work. I want each piece to contain an element of the unexpected and for that to happen means not having too many plans beforehand. Working on a small scale and on lots of pieces at the same time means you can be a lot more spontaneous which I think is crucial if the work is to have life." - David Quinn. (Read the rest of the interview here and see David's website here)

David Quinn. See website here

Indigo by Jennifer Davies (pigment and plaster on handmade paper). Website here

"In the collages, diverse papers are sewn and glued into surprising combinations. The papers used are often covered with prior visual information -- scraps of old monotypes or failed drawings. Their history animates the collage." - Jennifer Davies

Thyer Machado. See more here

Mary Lloyd Jones. Website here

" I search for devices that will enable me to create multilayered works. This has led to my involvement with the beginnings of language, early man made marks and the Ogham and Bardic Alphabets." - Mary Lloyd Jones

Between the Layers post here

Amanda Boe. See more of Amanda's photography on her website, here.

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello you who made
the morning and spread
it over fields...
Watch now, how I
spread the day in
happiness, in kindness.

-Mary Oliver

St. Charles Sunrise by Dale Janzen. See more of Dales images here

I love early mornings
before the world awakes
Everything is quiet and fresh
and then slowly
creatures begin to stretch and sing
greetings to the new day

Early Morning Web by Mike Autry. See more of Mike's work on Flickr, here.

Morning Mist

"I get the invitation every morning to live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy. It's ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee ..... It's the invitation to live, to participate fully in this amazing life for one more day." - Bob Goff

Mornings by Billy Collins

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best --
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso--

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins--
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows--
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.

I'm watching you by Kim Kocinski (Please don't pin this image... All Rights Reserved). See more of Kim's photography on Flickr, here

for some reason I imagine Billy Collins tapping out poems on an old typewriter

"Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?"
"As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning."
"Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?"
"To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise."

- One minute wisdom

(Images without links are from pinterest. If anyone knows the name of the photographer please let me know)

It's been a busy few weeks amidst a long heat wave
Today seems to be a little cooler
but I won't hold my breath
since every day has turned into a scorcher

The storm that didn't...

Bella and Digby are relishing a cooler morning
Diggers doesn't particularly enjoy the heat

This week, I worked hard getting commissions ready
for fumigation before shipping them out
across the world to two different continents
It's a good feeling knowing my totems
are travelling to countries I long to visit.

Packed for fumigation

When it's too hot to work I have a good excuse to catch up with my reading

Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale, West with the Night by Beryl Markham, Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. Click to read reviews.

... a little journaling

.... and endless discussions about wedding plans with the bride-to-be

Wedding chapel at iNsingizi

It's a relief that we've booked the venue
the photographers
the cake
the dj

..... and that's as far as we've got
but it's a start

View from the chapel deck

Inside the chapel

A beautiful setting for a wedding

It's going to be a busy year!

A very old bible of the Ethiopian Christian church, carefully inscribed on parchment in the sacred language 'Geez'.

Secrecy by Margaret Atwood

Secrecy flows through you,
a different kind of blood.
It's as if you've eaten it
like a bad candy,
taken it into your mouth,
let it melt sweetly on your tongue,
then allowed it to slide down your throat
like the reverse of uttering,
a word dissolved
into its glottals and sibilants,
a slow intake of breath --

And now it's in you, secrecy.
Ancient and vicious, luscious
as dark velvet.
It blooms in you,
a poppy made of ink.

You can think of nothing else.
Once you have it, you want more.
What power it give's you!
Power of knowing without being known,
power of the stone door,
power of the iron veil,
power of the crushed fingers,
power of the drowned bones
crying out from the bottom of the well.

Secrecy by Irini Gonou. See more of Irini's beautiful work here.

"Tracce di un dio distratto" by Maria La. Read more about this piece , here.

Sharmon Davidson shares details from Book of Secrets, a work in progress. Read more on Sharmon's blog, here.

"My inspiration for the piece came as I was thinking about secrets and how they are so hard to keep; no matter how well hidden we may think they are, or how well-guarded we believe them to be, there is always a bit showing here and there around the edges. I was thinking of esoteric knowledge, such as magical grimoire (spell book), and how these two ideas are related" - Sharmon Davidson

Book of Shadows, a movie prop from Practical Magic.

Saruman's Book by Daniel Reeve (Movie prop in Lord of the Rings)

A Book for Devotion: BL M S Egerton. It is believed that the pages have been partially erased by kissing.

Medieval Limp Cloth binding. Photo: Istvan Borbas, National Library of Sweden. See more beautiful images on Flickr, here

Batak, Indonesia (wood, fibrous leaves and string) Late 18th - 19th Century

This is one of the oldest and largest Batak wichelboeken (magic book) known. The text is written on tree bark that is folded concertina fashion. See here

Batak Book of Wizards, Indonesia. See more here

The Batak people of Indonesia recorded information on genealogy, religion, devination, and magic on long strips of bark, some as long as thirty feet, which were folded accordion-style and bound between wooden covers. See more here.

"All the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk." - Lemony Snicket

Commentary on Averroes' Middle Commentaries on the Isagoge of Porphyry, the Categories and De Interpretatione of Aristotle

If you've read the comments you will be as curious as I am about Priya Sebastian's illustrations for the poem Secrecy by Margaret Atwood. See Priya's blog post, here.

Secrecy, Verse 1 by Priya Sebastian.

Secrecy Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 3 by Priya Sebastian. See more of Priya's beautiful illustrations at her website, here and see her blog, here.

Leaf Forms by Barry Smith. See blog, here.

While preparing for this post I kept coming back to Barry Smith's metal leaf forms. Barry is a generous soul who creates his metal artworks with love. He teaches his craft to others and sends his leaves into the world like little ambassadors, spreading peace and goodwill wherever they land.

Leslie Avon Miller. See blog, here.

Leslie Avon Miller's art speaks to me on an emotional level. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm thinking it has something to do with meraki.

"Please keep demonstrating the courage that it takes to swim upstream in a world that prefers putting away for retirement to putting pen to paper, that chooses practicality over poetry, that values you more for going to the gym than going to the deepest places in your soul. Please keep making your art for people like me, people who need the magic and imagination and honesty of great art to make the day-to day world a little more bearable". - Shauna Niequist

History by Donna Watson. See more from this series, here.

When Donna was struggling with a creative block I kept thinking ..... when she returns she will create art that will catapult her to another level ..... and I wasn't mistaken! Her new pieces incorporating cold wax, oils and collage are beautiful. I can see Donna has loved every moment of creating them.

Leaving Egypt by Mary Ann Lehrer Plansky. See blog, here.

A lot of research goes into Mary Ann's art. I enjoy tracking the ideas and thoughts that gently meander through her blog, culminating in artworks.

Gabriel Lalonde. See blog, here.

I visit Gabriel Lalonde's blog regularly because I enjoy his work. I detect a playful spirit with a "what if" attitude when it comes to his art.

Hanelore Baron

This exhibition of Hanelore's work is well worth the browse. I enjoyed reading the press release too.

Lawrence Carroll

Ikuko Ando. See more, here.

" I would like to envelop myself ..... to enclose a sense of space, of landscape, within clay. Creating day by day, like putting entries in a diary" -- Ikuko Ando

Lynn Chadwick

"And what is it to work with love?
It is to charge all things you fashion with
a breath of your own spirit."
- Khalil Gibran

Totem by Robyn Gordon. Website, here.

I felt a deep connection to this piece. The person who commissioned it shared just enough of her story for me to recognize similarities in my own life. I could relate to her story and was able to create the totem for the both of us.

"One of the loveliest words in the English language is the word 'inspiration'. It signifies the creative breath. It also has to do with spontaneity, with the arrival of the unexpected image or idea in the mind. Inspiration is the flash of connecting light that suddenly comes from elsewhere and illuminates." - John O'Donohue

Emil Alzamora

"Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me.
Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands." - Linda Hogan, Native American writer

Ancestors by Emil Alzamora (ceramic, iron paint) See website here

Mark Chatterley. See website here

"Life, death, creation and destruction, this is the world I find myself in. I want my art to echo these thoughts, everything in a state of flux, changing and reforming. A sense of decay along with life. Nothing is permanent and nothing stays the same." - Mark Chatterley

Dreaming Guardians by Hib Sabin. See more here

As a shaman practitioner, Hib is acutely attuned to the connection between the human and animal spirit worlds. His cast of figures moves in and out of the spiritual world and evokes a certain ancient timelessness. Themes of transformation are quite common in his work, specifically transitional moments between life and death.
- Stonington Gallery

Hib Sabin. See more here

Did you ever find out what your dreams were about? by Fran Williams. See website here.

Fran Williams See more of Fran's beautiful work on FaceBook

Jesus Curia Perez. Website here.Current exhibition here

Jesus Curia Perez

".... may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life."

- John O'Donohue

Stephen De Staebler

Beautiful photography by Stephen Strom. Website here

There is something enchanting about walking near water and I've realized that I'm happiest near the sea or a mountain stream.... or at any waters edge, for that matter. My husband loves to tell the story (and it's becoming a bit tiresome) about how whenever I'm walking in the mountains and hear a stream burbling nearby I disappear into the bracken in search of it and he knows he will find me kneeling at the waters edge to taste the water.

Marsh (Reduction woodcut) by Jean Gumpper. See more of Jean's work here

AT BLACKWATER POND by Mary Oliver

At Blackwater Pond the tossed waters have
settled
after a night of rain.
I dip my cupped hands. I drink
a long time. It tastes
like stone, leaves, fire. It falls cold
into my body, waking the bones. I hear them
deep inside me, whispering
oh what is that beautiful thing
that just happened?

Maureen Shaughnessy

While searching for the right images to go with Mary Oliver's poem I stumbled across Maureen Shaughnessy's blog. Maureen is an artist/photographer/poet who illustrated Mary's poem, In Blackwater Woods with the artwork (above). I think Maureens's images are perfect for Mary Oliver's poetry. Read her blog post here.

Moon Rising in Grasses by Maureen Shaughnessy.

"In our spiritual tradition, we give away whatever is holding us back -- whatever is troubling us -- by sitting beside running water and letting the negative feelings, thoughts, or obstacles go. We imagine the obstacles flowing away with the current, like a leaf or a twig". Maureen Shaughnessy

I love this idea. Go here to read more.

Ripples by Paul Mitchell. See more of Paul's photos on Flickr, here.

Olli Kekalainen. See Olli's blog here

"Here is the fringey edge where elements meet and realms mingle, where time and eternity spatter each other with foam. The salt sea and the islands, molding and molding, row upon rolling row, don't quit, nor do winds end nor skies cease from spreading in curves". - Annie Dillard from Holy The Firm

Stephen Strom. See more here

Stephen Strom

Suburban sand castles by Chad Wright. Photography by Lynn Kloythanomsup. See more photos of Chad's installation, Masterplan, here and Lynn's photo stream at Flickr here.

Masterplan by Chad Wright. Photography by Lynn Kloythanomsup. See Chad's website here

Arc by Sam Lock. See website here

Meltwater by Sam Lock

Biro Portraits on Antique envelopes by Mark Powell. See interview here

MY GRANDMOTHER'S LOVE LETTERS by Hart Crane

There are no stars tonight
But those of memory.
Yet how much room for memory there is
In the loose girdle of soft rain.

There is even room enough
For the letters of my mother's mother,
Elizabeth,
That have been pressed so long
Into a corner of the roof
That they are brown and soft,
And liable to melt as snow.

Over the greatness of such space
Steps must be gentle.
It is all hung by an invisible white hair.
It trembles as birch limbs webbing the air.

And I ask myself:

"Are your fingers long enough to play
Old keys that are but echoes:
Is the silence strong enough
To carry back the music to its source
And back to you again
As though to her?"

Yet I would lead my grandmother by the hand
Through much of what she would not understand;
And so I stumble. And the rain continues on the roof
With such a sound of gently pitying laughter.

See more portraits on Mark Powell's Flickr photo stream here.

"I was given an envelope that was sent from the front line in World War 1. It captivated me that this may have been the last thing ever written by this soldier. I find the envelopes with stamp collectors and the cost depends on the stamp which of course doesn't interest me. I like the history and scars of travel with the envelope." - Mark Powell

Michael Douglas Jones

Variation on a theme of letters from Poland by Beata Wehr

Rachel Phillips

"In her series Field Notes, photographs blend the domesticity of home with the joy of wilderness, the natural world. The paper houses are built from letters, postcards and envelopes saved through the decades in old shoeboxes by her grandparents and discovered in their attic a few years ago. The images are printed on old envelopes collected from around the world; artifacts from the last centuries." - Penopticon Gallery

Rachel Phillips unique wet transfer pigment prints on vintage envelopes.

Joanne Teasdale (images fused on glass, steel wire, steel plate). See website here

Joanne Teasdale

Letter from Eugene Delacroix to his paint dealer.

....and the piece de resistance
the illustrated love letters of Henry Moore to his mistress

Love letters from Henry Moore to his mistress.

"I also delight in the way a shy restrained
letter can reveal the writer's feelings thanks
to one word he or she couldn't hold back,
flying off like a reckless butterfly, landing --
it knows the exact spot -- in the corner of
the reader's mouth, as a quivering smile,
trembling at the premonition of a secret
love that has in fact been avowed."

-- Agnes Desarthe, from Chez Moi

The Gorgeous Nothings is an art book as much as a poetry book, featuring full-color facsimiles of 52 of Emily Dickinson's envelope poems.

In this short life
that only lasts an hour
merely
How much -- How
little -- is
within our
power.

- Emily Dickinson

Every Friday for the last eleven weeks Crystal Neubauer has hosted Found Object Friday on her blog. Today it is my turn. Go check it out here.

"We artists love our collections don't we? Even as a child I remember foraging through flea markets and looking for special trinkets that caught my eye. Going for walks, to this day I find myself scanning the ground looking for interesting bits of metal or unique rocks for my collections. Long before I knew what I would be doing with them, I collected objects that pulled on something inside of me. As an artist I was thrilled to find there are others who love and collect little oddities and curiosities too." - Crystal Neubauer

Thanks for inviting me to take part, Crystal!

Leatherback Turtle, Photo found here.

After doing a little research we think the fragments come from the lower shell of a Leatherback Turtle.

An idyllic week at the wild coast

We had Long Beach to our selves every day
Not another soul to be seen

Hours of walking, fishing and foraging

I'm drawn to the broken shells
especially the black turbans
which peel back to reveal spirals of rust

BREAKAGE by Mary Oliver

I go down to the edge of the sea.
How everything shines in the morning light!
The cusp of the whelk,
the broken cupboard of clam,
the opened, blue mussels,
moon snails, pale pink and scarred --
and nothing at all whole or shut, but battered, split,
dropped by the gulls onto the gray rocks and all the moisture
gone.
It's like a schoolhouse
of little words,
thousands of words.
First you figure out what each one means by itself,
the jingle, the periwinkle, the scallop
full of moonlight.

Then you begin, slowly, to read the whole story.

Our room had a little garret above it
which we named the eagle's aerie
We did a lot of holiday reading there

I savoured Donna Watson's exquisite book
The Beauty of Nothingness

lost myself in several novels

admired nature close up

lulled by the tranquility of our surroundings.

"Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too." - Iris Murdoch, The sea, the sea

I'm pleased to announce that my work can now be found at a beautiful gallery in the Uk.

The present exhibition @
FILLINGDON FINE ART
Fillingdon Farm, Piddington, High Wicombe

SUMMER SELECTION 2014
opened on 31st May
and continues through to
28th June

The 300 year old beamed barn provides a modern yet historical setting for paintings and ceramics, whilst the sculptures look striking against the backdrop of the rolling Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire.

Meet Debs Digby, charming owner of Fillingdon Fine Art. I was lucky enough to meet Debs this year during her annual visit to Africa. She breezed in to our home like a breath of fresh air and by the time she breezed out again I was totally under her spell. Debs takes great pride in personally meeting all the artists to discuss their art and what inspires them.
Click for website here

THE COMFORT OF TEA

STILLNESS FOR JUGGLERS

A SHORT STORY

THE WOOD GATHERERS

RAIN

NATURE SUSPENDED

SOCKS AND BOOKS TO YOU ALL

HAPPY NEW YEAR

SACRED SPACE

LAYER UPON LAYER

EARLY MORNINGS

CATCHING UP

BOOK OF SECRETS

MERAKI

BE STILL, THEY SAY

WATERS EDGE

OLD LETTERS IN THE ATTIC

FOUND OBJECT FRIDAY

EVERYTHING SHINES IN THE MORNING LIGHT

FILLINGDON FINE ART