TIM HAWKINSON

I discovered the fascinating work of Tim Hawkinson via http://foundobject.squarespace.com/ .

This piece is called Sweet Tweet. Isn't it charming? But not all of his works are as innocent and whimsical as this one. There is also a tiny "Bird" which looks fascinating until you realize it is made of finger nail pairings. Very clever though.

To see more go to http://www.acegallery.net/artistmenu.php?pageNum_ACE=2&totalRows_ACE=99&Artist=1

HAPPINESS IS !

"To fill the hour and leave no crevice....that is happiness." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Aaahhhh, to get the weight off my feet for five minutes! I have been working like a trojan for the past three days and though I'm not finished yet I am beginning to feel bone weary. Nothing like sipping a mug of coffee on the step at the end of the day while contemplating my days achievements.


My yen for said cup of coffee came only a few minutes before a scheduled power outage, so off I went skidding into the kitchen to switch the kettle on. I beat the clock by the skin of my teeth and it was the best cup of coffee I've had in days!


We are having daily load shedding here in South Africa and it will probably continue until 2015....or so they say. Because there has been no maintenance for the past ten years, each time the power is switched on or off something blows (...like a power station....) which means the power is off for much longer than scheduled. Some areas in Durban have been out for five days.....so I shouldn't complain. Though we all feel like pulling our hair out it's something we have to get used to or end up going round the twist. In the mean time I celebrate making my cuppa in the nick of time!

Tomorrow I hope to put the finishing touches to my panels but it usually takes a few weeks of tinkering before I'm completely satisfied. By then there should be verdigris appearing on the brass fittings and a lot more rust on the bolts and arrowheads. My husband made them and presented them to me with a flourish...."See I can be useful when I apply myself!"

"Of the craftsmen it may be said that in the handiwork of their craft is their prayer". - Found inscribed over a doorway at Westminster Abbey.

ALONE WITH MY THOUGHTS

At least once a month my husband goes away on a fishing trip with his club. He enjoys it immensely and always comes home in a very positive frame of mind regardless of whether he catches fish or not. No surprise when you see the beautiful area he goes to. The photograph below is taken from his bedroom window in a rustic cottage on the Wild Coast.

When I was a young mother with two tiny children I found these trips quite hard and I missed him terribly but over the years I have learned to take advantage of this time alone.

It is a very productive time. Not only do I straighten out my thoughts or make decisions about life in general but I also get to create art to my heart's content.

It's been a rushed week! What with packing and delivering a carload of totems to a client, buying supplies, doing the laundry as well as helping my husband prepare for his trip, I am now feeling the need to be still and if the muse takes me, sketch out a few ideas for my next carving.

"To trust yourself is to trust silence. To trust your own heart is to trust the wisdom that is radiating and shining. All the thoughts, feelings, desires and fears are just a superimposition that is called "myself". When all that disappears for at least a moment, your self shines forth. Radiantly clear and empty. Needing nothing, nourished and overflowing." - Eli Jaxon Bear

FOUND OBJECTS

Tribal Secrets. Carved wood and found objects.

I love finding stuff. Picking it up, putting it in my pocket. Wandering along a beach or through a forest or building site in magpie mode. The other day Hubby and I discovered a new scrap yard. I thought I had died and gone to heaven, the stuff was that good. Enough rusty bits to sink a ship...or two. My most exciting find was a sad old Singer sewing machine lying on its side in the dust. We have put it in the courtyard for the time being and I must say it looks very happy there amongst the plants.

Using found objects in my art is probably a way to justify my magpie habits. What possible excuse could I have for having yet another brass cauldron of metal oddities on my dining room table..... but at least most of them are brass and not just the rusty clumps of metal that I happen to find aesthetically pleasing. I keep those outside in a discarded braai and enjoy sorting through them for inspiration.

The doors below were designed around the beautiful brass fittings I found at a flea market.

AUTUMN IS MY MUSE

"On the motionless branches of some trees, Autumn berries hung like clusters of coral beads.." - Charles Dickens.
Aaahhhh, at last! The perfect balmy Autumn day. I have longed for this day all Summer. It's the type of day that I spend quietly carving in the courtyard, chipping away at the wood while my mind wanders from one happy, anticipatory thought to another.

A Bloukop Koggelman suns himself on the wall nearby, one eye focused on my Fox Terrier. Bella has a penchant for sunbaked lizard. I also notice several baby lizards have hatched over the last few days and am amazed at how eager they are to go hunting with eyes alert to every movement. They are perfect little replicas of the parents with extra long claws and mottly backs..

A huge pot of soup is simmering on the stove making me feel like a good provider. My mom used to make endless pots of soup to share with those who might need nurturing. Maybe that's why it makes me feel so good. It has many nurturing, caring connotations.

Cooking is not my favourite pastime but for some reason I'm enjoying it today. It must be the weather. Autumn is my muse!

"Delicious Autumn. My very soul is wedded to it and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot.