AFRICAN AMBIANCE

The Kim Sacks Gallery link has been in my sidebar for a while now but it is easy to miss so I think its time I introduced you to one of the most well known galleries in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kim Sacks has a knack for finding extraordinary art and craft for her gallery from all over Africa, ranging from the old and valuable....



to the unusual and quirky .......

...... as well as the traditional to the contemporary.

Telephone Wire Bowls


She is also an accomplished ceramic artist herself and loves to share her appreciation for this artform. The Kim Sacks School of Ceramics is known nationally as one of the most important Clay Environments in South Africa. See website here.

Exquisite Bowls by Kim Sacks

"I am by inclination a Nomad, who is also a Ceramicist of 40+ years. A teacher, Gallery Owner, Photographer, Obsessive Collector, Social Anthrolpologist, Joyful Gardner and Cook." - Kim Sacks



One of Clementina van der Walt's bowls. Visit Clementina's website, here and blog, here.


"In the 21st century, we are aggressively being catapulted into this cyber age of information overload. Making contemplative and utilitarian objects by hand, may appear anachronistic and at odds with the spirit of the times. However, the ceramic discipline, with cultural and historical links to rituals of everyday life, encompasses society, religion and philosophy. Like music and poetry, it expresses a world of complexity and awe, with the capacity to touch the soul. The archetypal significance of the home, as a point where our spiritual and earthy lives interconnect is where I have attempted to explore these ideas." - Clementina van der Walt.

Clementina van der Walt at Kim Sacks Gallery. See blog post, here.

Tiles by Clementina van der Walt

Bus by Richard Sithole

Master Bus Maker, Richard Sithole

Detail of Widow and orphan by Samuel Musharu

There are many more photographs of Sam and Lindelani's amazing work on Kim's blog.

Kiss Eternal Kiss. Copper wire woven and constructed sculpture by Lindelani Ngwenya.

If you visit the link here, remember to view the slides in the sidebar too. Beautiful images to inspire!

POEM

Mixed media piece by Gabriel Lalonde, See blog here.

"In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, I learn how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art." - Jelaludin Rumi


Ode to Gray by Helena Gullstrom.See more here.

Botanical Notes by Tor Archer. See more at the Donna Seager Gallery, here.


Mixed media by Cathy Cullis. See more here and here.

Black Heart by Cathy Cullis. Etsy shop here.

You could not come (and yet go) by Brigid Collins. Mixed media inspired by a poem by Elizabeth Jennings. See more at the Kilmorack Gallery, here.

Our Two Souls by Brigid Collins. Mixed media inspired by a poem by John Donne.
See more at the Kilmorack Gallery, here.



Ancient Text series IV by Rosie Huart. Website here.



Additional Poem by Andrew Crane. See Andrew's work here.


"A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." - Robert Frost

Three Poems about Beauty by Graceann Warn. See website here.

FOREST

Spring Forest by Andrew Wyeth. Website here.

Walking through forests, especially in the Drakensberg of KwaZulu Natal, is always a rejuvenating experience for me. Just recently I read an article in Science Daily about studies indicating the good effects of natural environments on one's nervous system.

Dr Eeva Karjalainen, of the Finnish Forest Research Institute says "Many people feel relaxed and good when they are out in nature. But not many of us know that there is also scientific evidence about the healing effects of nature."

Forest Remembered by Wen Redmond. Website here.

The article continues....

"Forests -- and other natural, green settings -- can reduce stress, improve moods, reduce anger and aggressiveness and increase overall happiness. Forest visits may also strengthen our immune system by increasing the activity and number of natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells.

Many studies show that after stressful or concentration-demanding situations, people recover faster and better in natural environments than in urban settings. Blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the level of "stress hormones" all decrease faster in natural settings. Depression, anger and aggressiveness are reduced in green environments and ADHD symptoms in children reduce when they play in green settings."

This doesn't surprise me at all. Read the whole article here.

Nils-Udo 4. Photograph by Dylan Wolfe. See Flickr photostream, here.

Whilst googling work by Land artist Nils Udo, I was delighted to stumble upon Dylan Wolfe's Flickr photostream and 639 photos .... yes 639 photos! .... of the behind the scene creation of Udo's Clay Nest. I've not seen such an amazing record anywhere else on the internet. Do yourself a favour and have a look, here.

"The photos are an archive I've been collecting in association with the Nature-based Sculpture Program of the South Carolina Botanical Garden. Some of the images are the actual portfolio shots taken upon completion of the project, while others were added to the collection by program staff, the artists, community members, and other people working on the archival project. We've started a website, naturebasedart.org, and are working on a book about the sculptures produced by the program." - Dylan Wolfe.

Nest in Red Clay by Nils Udo. Read about it here.

Tower by Nils Udo

Forest Spirits by Sedona artist, Deanne McKeown. Website here.

Palmsonntag. Mixed media by Anselm Kiefer. See more enlarged photos here.

Leaf Loot by Carolyn Saxby. See Carolyn's Flickr photo stream here and blog here.


Detail from The Book of Forests by Kathyanne White. See large photos of the Book of Forests, here.

Forest Walk by Nerine Tassie. See more of Nerine's work here.

Handmade artist's book by Catherine Nash. See more at the Conrad Wilde Gallery, here.

I found this Rene Menard quote in Catherine's artist statement.

".....I live in great density....Shelter lures me. I slump down into the thick foliage.... In the forest, I am my entire self. Everything is possible in my heart just as it is in the hiding places in ravines." - Rene Menard, Le Livre des Arb

The Forest by Ton Dubbeldam. See more of Ton's work here.

FEATHERS

Three Feathers by Wen Redmond. Sewn watercolor and masa papers, acrylics, collaged digital images, monoprinting, inks. See Wen's website here.

Whenever I find a feather I'm taken back in time to my first year of school. We had a large, low, square table in the front of the classroom which was the designated Nature Table. I loved the nature table! It made Monday mornings very exciting because there were always new gatherings after the weekend. Sea shells, porcupine quills, snake skins, birds nests, wasps nests and an abundance of feathers from many different birds ..... most of which were provided by me. The large quill feathers were arranged in an open calabash (gourd). Even now, umpteen years later this calabash flashes through my mind whenever I find a feather.

.

Silence Spoken by Lewis Knauss

This piece is by Novie Trump. See Novie's Flickr photo stream here and blog here.

Paper Cuts by Lucy Player. See Lucy's Flickr photo stream here.

the lightness

sweeps through the feathers

lifting my spirits

-Neva Gagliano

Turkey Feathers by Amber Alexander. See Blog here and Etsy shop here.

Jude Hill's beautiful Feathers. See blog post here.

Far by Feather by Louise Richardson. See more here.

Nest IV. Mixed Media: distressed twine, wire mesh, twigs and feathers by Natasha Duwin. Website here.

Library of Babel by Brody Neuenschwander. Website here.

Feather. Metal wall sculpture by Mark Goodier

Starlings in Winter

by Mary Oliver

Chunky and noisy,
but with stars in their black feathers,
they spring from the telephone wire
and instantly

they are acrobats
in the freezing wind.
And now, in the theater of air,
they swing over buildings,

dipping and rising;
they float like one stippled star
that opens,
becomes for a moment fragmented,

then closes again;
and you watch
and you try
but you simply can’t imagine

how they do it
with no articulated instruction, no pause,
only the silent confirmation
that they are this notable thing,

this wheel of many parts, that can rise and spin
over and over again,
full of gorgeous life.
Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us,

even in the leafless winter,
even in the ashy city.
I am thinking now
of grief, and of getting past it;

I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground,
I feel my heart
pumping hard, I want

to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.

Wing and stone for Morgan. Watercolor by Tim O'Kane. Website here.

Uccelli by Tim O'Kane. Website here.

PEBBLE COLOURS

Confluence by Alan Magee at Green Hut Galleries, here.

"Thousands of years of grinding on seashores turns pebbles to sand; in the meantime their softened, rounded edges and many-colored hues make us yearn to pick them up and put them in our pockets as a keepsake and to rub their smooth, cool surfaces." - Quote from Paint by Elizabeth Hilliard and Stafford Cliff

Diving Bell by Jen Bradford. Website here.

Shades of pebble beach, mountain stream and stormy sky. These are the colours that make me feel pensive, introspective and calm.

Another beautiful piece by India Flint! Website here.

I'm intrigued by the physiological effects of colours and the way they can calm or stimulate one. I keep returning to these shades of grey because of the peaceful effect they have on me. See previous post .

Water Koan by Bill Gingles. Website here.

"Art should be something like a good armchair in which to rest from physical fatigue." - Henri Matisse

Mi Casa by Luca Bray. Website here.

Perhaps by Yves Leterme. Website here. I'm so glad Leslie introduced me to Yves' work!

Old Stained Wall by Yves Leterme. Website here.



She Opened the Box by Jeane Myers. Website here.

h75 by Sam Lock. Website here.

"My aim is to create an emotional sense of space and place, where time ravages, wind blows, seas swell, places are found, days dwindle, moments are present then past." - Sam Lock

Lava Roots. Etching by Anna McKee at the Francine Seders Gallery here.

Wool Clip by Rosalie Gascoigne. See more here.

I was delighted to find this little box of memories by Joel Henriques. Blog here.