THE SPIRAL OF LIFE

Ashes by Jennifer Khoshbin who is a carver of books. (see more of Khoshbin's prints here)

Spirals have been used in art since primitive times. Most, if not all, cultures have used the spiral as a positive symbol. It has been associated with the cycles of life. Cycles of birth, death and rebirth. Cycles of time and growth, nature and her seasons.

Spirals found at Newgrange, Ireland. It has been suggested that they relate to the solar cycle. Read more here. Intriguing!

Container with spiral decoration, Bronze and Iron Age, Late period, 300B.C. - 200 A.D. Thailand. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Spiral Meditation by Kalyna Pidwerbesky. Felt and fibre.

Spot of Spiral Tea by Christie Reynolds at New York Art Exchange.

Sweet grass basket sculpture by Debora Muhl.

Cell Division by Patrick Dougherty

"Dougherty's works allude to nests, cocoons, hives, and their lairs built by animals, as well as the manmade forms of huts, haystacks, and baskets, created by interweaving branches and twigs together. Many of his works look 'found' rather than made, as if they were created by the natural force of a tornado sweeping across the landscape. He intentionally tries for this effortless effect, as if his creations just fell or grew up naturally in their settings." - Linda Johnson

Brick Things by Bennett Blackburn

Land Art by Jim Denevan

"Jim Denevan makes freehand drawings in sand. At low tide on wide beaches Jim searches the shore for a wave tossed stick. After finding a good stick and composing himself in the near and far environment Jim draws-- laboring up to 7 hours and walking as many as 30 miles. The resulting sand drawing is made entirely freehand with no measuring aids whatsoever. From the ground, these drawn environments are experienced as places. Places to explore and be, and to see relation and distance. For a time these tangible specific places exist in the indeterminate environment of ocean shore. From high above the marks are seen as isolated phenomena, much like clouds, rivers or buildings. Soon after Jim's motions and marks are completed water moves over and through, leaving nothing."

Hundertwasser regarded the spiral as a symbol of life and death.

"Our earth describes a spiral course. We move in circles, but we never come back to the same point. The circle is not closed. We only pass the same neighbourhood many times. It is characteristic of a spiral that it seems to be a circle but is not closed."

"The spiral shows life and death in both directions. Starting from the center, the infinite small the spiral means birth and growth, but by getting bigger and bigger the spiral dilutes into the infinite space and dies off like waves who disappear in the calm waters.
On the contrary if the spiral condenses from outer space, life starts from the infinite big, the spiral becomes more and more powerful and concentrates into the infinitely small which cannot be measured by man because it is beyond our conception and we call it death." - Hundertwasser

COWS FOR LOBOLA

Even with urbanization the ancient tradition of Lobola is still very much alive in Africa. Lobola is a dowry paid by a prospective husband to the family of the bride for the right to marry their daughter. Though payment in cows is the old way, new traditions are creeping in and many families are requesting cash payments rather than cattle.

The idea for carving this door came from the story about a young woman my mum met at the Hair Salon. Thembi was a shampooist there and much to the delight of customers she would regail them with hilarious stories about the waitressing job she did in the evenings. Though she had been engaged to marry for well over a year the couple didn't seem any closer to setting a wedding date because it was taking so long to raise the money to buy the cows for her Lobola. Thembi was proud of the fact that she was worth 20 cows but she was also exhausted since she was having to waitress in addition to her day job at the salon so as to help her fiance raise the cash.

In modern society one would think that Lobola would be less serious then it used to be but apparently the families of both bride and groom would be mortified if this custom was not adhered to. It is quite a formal affair with the two families getting together to negotiate the bride price, often with tensions running high. A bottle of brandy is usually place in the middle of the table to relax the two parties. It seems to set the mood for calmer discussions whether the bottle is opened or not. Negotiations take one or two days though I've heard of a case where 6 months later the price had still not been decided upon.

To get back to Thembi.... the last time I visited the salon to chat to my old hairdresser I enquired about her and was delighted to hear that she had reached her goal. Thembi is now happily married and expecting her first child.

Before ending off I just want to mention how touched I am at the warm, supportive response to my interview on Artnlight. Comments here and at Artnlight as well as many emails have kept me smiling all day. Thank you!

P.S. See if you can find the cow with the crumpled horn.

INTERVIEW AT ARTNLIGHT

What a treat! Vineeta at Artnlight interviewed me and has posted a very generous article with photos galore, here. Pop on over and see what you think. If you aren't familiar with this gorgeous blog ( I know many of you are) be prepared for a long browse. Pour yourself a cuppa, put up your feet and enjoy!

JUST ONE COW

Today I carved 6 cows. This is quite a feat considering the procrastinating I've been doing all week. Just one cow...I said to myself. Once I had my workbench and carving set up in the courtyard ready to begin I had this bright idea that I should first get all my phone calls out of the way. Then I noticed the courtyard was looking rather messy so perhaps I should get that cleaned up too. This has been happening day after day but today I caught myself in the act. I will nail your foot to the floor if I have to, but you will carve one cow! And I did. The next thing I knew, six carved cows were looking at me. I'm not usually a procrastinator when it comes to my work especially if I have an idea sketched out and ready to proceed but since christmas I have allowed myself to be swept along in any direction except the most important one.

I now keep a notebook next to me while I work so that I can write down all the things "I must do right now", then I threaten myself with the nailed foot treatment and make sure I put in at least an hour's work before rushing off to do chores. Invariably I end up doing more than a few hours carving.

I've finally prepared my bundle for the Disintegration Project. It has been buried in a shallow grave under the Bottle Brush tree for 3 days now. I decided to bury mine after reading about artist Christina Oiticica ( who also happens to be Paul Coehlo's wife) who buries her art works for about a year and a half....as part of the art process.




Kalahari deposited this bundle of joy on my doorstep today. I love book parcels on a Friday just in time for weekend reading.

1. Natural Fashion by Hans Sylvester
2. Rivers and Tides (DVD) by Andy Goldsworthy
3. Tissue Salts for Healthy Living by Margaret Roberts
4. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh



This evening I was fortunate enough to have a long chat to Leslie who phoned from the States as part of the informal discussion she mentioned in this post.........What is it that I want from my creativity? And what does my creativity want from me? Leslie, a gentle, soft spoken angel disguised as a Life Coach, patiently discussed ways to overcome the frustrations that get in the way of creation. I was grinning inside when I put the phone down.

And as if that wasn't enough Priya's exquisite drawing made me sit with mouth agape.

What a great day!

BASKETRY TO SCULPTURE

Look at these images! Aren't they stunning? The first time I saw these beautiful artpieces by Lissa Hunter my heart began to race because I knew I was looking at something extraodinary. Thanks so much Leslie for sending me the link.




Nancy's Choice

Lissa Hunter's trademark is the small hand coiled baskets mounted in wall boxes. The baskets are covered with paper and these become the "canvas" upon which she paints, draws and adorns.

The Gathering by Lissa Hunter

"Saying that Lissa Hunter makes baskets is a bit like saying that Picasso doodled. She does. He did. But in both cases the work transcends those simple categories.Hunter's baskets are about life, loss, love and death. " - Christine Temin, New England Home, May/June 2007




Fade to black

"First she's a basket maker. First and foremost, and still. First she makes coiled baskets, precise, neat, colorful. Then she covers the exteriors, skins them in paper, paint and texture.

And her point is that when you approach them, they are--what? Ceramic? You can't tell . Adorned with leather, leaves and beads. But when you look inside, there are fiber coils. Discovery, magic. To perform this magic you have to pick them up, handle them. That's what the paper and paint were there to protect and to allow in the first place.

Now the baskets are set in little niches, precisely their size, made for them. The niches are cut into slabs made for walls. To be seen. Hands off, the discovery inside no longer possible, no longer permitted.

So the secret of the baskets has been buried? Is this a cenotaph? Are these baskets votive offerings? Do they hold invisable remains? Are they empty?" -- John Edwards , from the catologue for Histories.

These are the same thoughts going through my mind whilst looking at them.

If the pieces appeal to you, you're in for a treat at Lissa's website here. There are stories behind some of the works which provide fascinating reading.

Late bloomer




Forgetting

More than you know

Quatro

Journeys

LACE FENCE

Whilst paging through an old magazine I came across the photograph above.

Intrigued, I googled the name Demarkersvan and discovered a young design team based in Rotterdam who produce security fencing with a difference.

Joep Verhoeven, one of the young Demakersvan designers came up with this idea as part of his graduation project whilst still a student. He is utilizing traditional Dutch lace making techniques to change ordinary chain link security fencing into works of art.

Industrial fencing meets traditional lace.

Ingenius!

A PEEK INTO FAVOURITE BOXES

This beautiful old leather box belonged to a British officer during the Boer War era.

The last post lead me to peek into my own favourite boxes around the house. Whilst wandering around with the camera photographing boxes I've become so used to having around, I realized just how chronic our hoarding problem has become. There are so many boxes and containers of all shapes and sizes filled to overflowing with all manner of paraphernalia in every room of the house.

An old brass cosmetics box which was attached to a camel saddle during trips across the desert.....containing my vintage key collection.

I've been thinking seriously about simplifying my life, getting rid of all the "things" we've carted from house to house with every move. When my mom passed away and later my aunt I ended up with so many of their treasures. Both my husband and I are collectors and love to come home with books and vintage finds from flea markets or 2nd hand stores, resulting in a house that is overflowing with "things".

Oak writing box which belonged to my husband's grandfather.

Flea market finds. I found the brass bell at my favourite of all flea markets..... the Rastro in Spain.

Scrapyard finds and the beginning of a new collection....old metal irons...which make great containers for found objects. These "boxes" live outside on my verander.

A Mankala game box from the Ivory Coast

Vintage box for my favourite lemon grass soap in the bathroom.

Found Object Stash to use in my carvings.

Somehow I don't think I'm going to be making any progress with clearing out the excess paraphanalia....but I will make a concerted effort not to add more to my hoards .....or at least to get rid of something before bringing anything else home. Hey havn't I had this conversation before?

Deatail from one of my totems, Nature's Child

BOXED

Open at risk by Marianne Lettieri

I don't know what it is about art that is boxed or contained but it definitely floats my boat. Whether it be an assemblage contained within a wooden box or sculpture confined within a clay framework, cast paper niches containing reliqueries or vintage boxes and cases housing collections of curiosities, I gravitate towards them and have to study them closely relishing every element within.

Ringer's Luck by Lynne Perrella

"I like to collect neglected easily-overlooked objects; dumpster finds and broken widgets. To me these objects have a quality of authenticity and workmanlike charm that is missing from priceless cargo. I've always felt that visits to museums are for observing the precious and rare - but my own artwork is for celebrating the humble and neglected. So I enjoy both." - Lynne Perrella

Soulitude by Barbara Scavotto-Earley

Dispositions by Barbara Scavotto-Earley

By Leah Hardy

Assemblage by Joseph Cornell

Shadow Box by Crystal Neubauer

Remnant Reliqueries by Kate Strickland

Royal Tide 1 by Louise Nevelson

Archive Box by Ron Pippin

THE MAGIC OF A FACE

Face by Face ( I found this on the blog Painting Fotos and have no idea who the artist is)

"I have never been aware before how many faces there are. There are quantities of human beings, but there are many more faces, for each person has several." - Rainer Maria Rilke




Assemblage 1 by John Whipple

"It is the common wonder of all men, how among so many millions of faces there should be none alike." - Thomas Browne



Example of Stitching by Audrey Walker. Cathy of One Pink Goose has posted several pieces of Audrey's intricate stitched artworks. Scroll to the end of this post......and while you are there have a look at Cathy's delightful blog filled to the brim with eye candy.


"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face" - Victor Hugo

Woman at the Mirror by Priya. Priya is a talented artist and I especially love the expressive eyes in all her illustrations.

"Our masks, always in peril of smearing or cracking, in need of continuous check in the mirror or silverware, keep us in thrall to ourselves, concerned with our surfaces." - Carolyn Kizer

This wonderful piece by Trina Hesson is created like a mosaic. "She sliced the ends of the lumbar like you would slice salami to reveal the grain and then glued the "salami" on to a backing board. She further intensified the patterning by rubbing thin paint into some of the slices." At Trina Hesson's website you can see closer details.

"The face of everyone that passes by me is a mystery". - William Wordsworth


3 Faces by Trina Hesson

"What is a face, really? It's own photo? It's make-up? Or is it a face as painted by such or such painter? That which is in front? Inside? Behind? And the rest? Doesn't everyone look at himself in his own particular way? Deformations simply do not exist." -Pablo Picasso

Rastamama 2, found object sculpture by Trina Hesson

"Faces are books in which not a line is written, save perhaps a date." - H W Longfellow

Tranquil by Lisa Clague

"The face is often only a smooth imposter". - Pierre Corneille

Etching by S. Udowitschenk

"His face was of the doubtful kind, that wins the eye, but not the mind." - Walter Scott.

Etching by O. Kulhanek

"The magic of a face." - Thomas Carew

EXPRESSION OF A JOYFUL SPIRIT

Over a period of 6 years, renowned photographer Hans Silvester photographed peoples of the Omo Valley. It is a very remote area in Ethiopia. Wild and unspoiled. The Surma and Mursi Tribes take great pleasure in decorating themselves with the glorious pigments available in this volcanic region.

White kaolin, ochre-red, copper green, luminous yellow and ash grey.

In addition to the pigments all manner of materials from the surroundings are added to the "fancy dress".

Flowers, leaves, grasses, berries and seed pods;

.....shells, butterfly wings, animal horns and tails;

....... sometimes the odd modern accoutrements such as glass beads, bottle caps and bullet casings.

These joyful people are walking masterpieces of abstract art. Marked with spots and stripes, stars and circles. The first time I saw the photographs, I thought they were contrived but apparently not. We are looking at the expression of a joyful spirit. The ancestral art of body painting together with headdress are part fashion, part protection from the sun and also part trophy display.

See more here.

Books available:

Ethiopia: Peoples of the Omo Valley (Set of 2 volumes) by Hans Silvester

Natural Fashion by Hans Silvester

Thanks to Karin for introducing me to something in my own continent that I was totally unaware of. I'm familiar with tribal body painting but never embellished with the prettier trappings of nature. Cicely Mary Barker's flower fairy series comes to mind.......with an African tribal twist.

THE COLLECTOR II

There is the slightest nip in the air early in the mornings and after sundown. As the day progresses and the heat starts steaming off the earth I actually wonder if I imagined it ......but at least Autumn is trying to make an appearance and I can anticipate beautiful mellow days , carving in the courtyard again.

The last few days have been about gastric flu and major plumbing excavations in our back yard. How the two happened upon us at the same time is a cruel trick of fate.....but we've survived it..... just. Amazing how this virus operates. We all gathered at one house to welcome family visiting from Australia. A day later the virus hit everyone who attended the gathering at exactly the same time.....leaving us all flapping like beached fish on various bathroom floors, completely devoid of the will to live.



Today I started plotting and planning my next carving so I must be feeling a lot better! I promised Heather that I would post photos of my latest totem. The first Collector totem sold within days of completion so I have created The Collector II.



What with the heat waves interspersed with downpours, it has taken me longer than usual to carve this piece but when the weather was kind I relished an hour or two carving outside under a tree.



Sorting through my found object stash was fun too....but then it always is!

Memories of beaches scrubbed by Summer storms, long walks and discoveries of perfect cowries....and the not so perfect.

HOME-GROWN TALENT

The latest Visi magazine is out and what a treat it is! The work of Cape Town illustrator, Alex Latimer is featured on the cover as well as three double spreads plus more....which is quite an accomplishment in my book. His illustrations include famous south african personalities as well as typically south african imagery.


In the illustration above (lower left corner), see Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team, who was involved in the match fixing scandal in India (Year 2000). At the top right, is Hugh Masikela, world famous musician. There's my raucus friend the Hadeda on the right as well and a typical Kombi taxi above it. Chappies bubble gum, the good old Sprinkbok, the Johannesburg skyline (with revolving restaurant) and so many other wonderful images.



A big thank you to Visi for featuring the hottest home-grown talent. This edition is a keeper!

You can see more of Alex's work here and blog here. His wrapping paper of small dorp (town) South Africa is awesome.