Tuesday, March 29, 2011

HIGHS AND LOWS OF A WILD COAST HOLIDAY



Just popping in to tell you about our holiday at the Wild Coast before  starting my carving commissions.








A young hunter with his hunting pack. He proudly showed us the cane rat and rock rabbit he was taking home for dinner.

Most Transkei trips are not without drama but the magic allure of the Wild Coast keeps calling us back and my husband who has been fishing there for well over 30 years is completely smitten.



The highs:

1. Perfect weather ( though sometimes it was a little hot in our tented cabins).

2.Amazing beaches populated by comical goats.... and cows .... and donkeys.

3.Long energizing walks gathering pebbles (you should see my pebble stash) and quiet moments sitting on driftwood logs contemplating the sea.

4. Paddling in the warm water while the men fished at sundown.

5. Savouring the view from the high boma where we spent most of our time when not on the beach.

6. Sipping wine in the evenings while watching the moon come up from behind the hill.

7. Laughter, good conversation and new friends from Australia.

8. Fresh crayfish braaied on the fire every day.

9. Dear sweet Pammy, my friend who was such an easy person to spend a holiday with.

10. An extremely well organized week thanks to our friend Dave.


We ate all our meals at this thatched boma. There was always a breeze and the view was spectacular!
Happy wood gatherers on the beach.

Tented cabins with thatched roofs.

View from the boma. You can see our vehicle parked behind our cabin.

The Lows 

1. Though the trip down was interesting and picturesque it was slow and a bit hairy in places with livestock, nose to tail for the last 40 kilometres. We stopped counting after 30 dead dogs and various other animals on the road.




2. Tarantulas under toilet seats ..... well only one but after that my imagination got away from me. It is also Black Mamba country so I have to admit to being a bit skittish about long snakey shadows.
.
3.A broken toilet and no hot water for the first 3 days.
.
4. A burglary in the cottage nextdoor when EVERYTHING was stolen from right under the noses of the sleeping occupants. A sleepless night followed ..... wondering if it was our turn next.
.
5. Several nerve racking hours when the outboard motor failed miles away from camp on a murky, deep, green river inhabited by God only knows what. A little further down coast there had been several fatal Zambezi shark attacks so I was feeling particularly vulnerable.  I hadn't been too enthusiastic about going on the "cruise" in the first place since I had a bad feeling ...... and the plug for the boat was a champagne cork!!?? .... but hubby had promised it would be an unforgetable experience .... which it was! When the boat came to a sputtering hault far up river we noticed petrol pumping out into the water. After many failed attempts to get going again and numerous "rests" in the mangroves one of the men managed to hold the broken fuel pipe together while another pulled the starter cord and finally the boat limped back to camp.
.
6. Near the end of our holiday a couple from KwaZulu Natal were hijacked just down the coast from us .... Gerald was killed and his wife Ingrith was shot in the stomach. My condolences go  to the Roberts clan who have lost a beloved member of their family.

*All photographs are mine except for the top one which I found here.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

TIME FOR A TEA OR COFFEE BREAK

Back to Reality, Coffee Time. Found on Tumblr, here.


It's time I took a break from blogging. I know .... I always say I'm going to take a break and never do because I just can't keep away but this time I have to be disciplined. A few great carving projects are coming up and I really need to put my nose to the grindstone so that I can meet deadlines. Keep the seat warm for me and I'll be back in a month or so to share a cuppa and chat.


Photograph by Allison Cecil. See Alison's Flickr photostream here.


Coffee Plats and Cups for "ART TELLING by Turkish Coffee" Found on Tumblr here.


I love this photograph by Elizabeth Bunsen. See Elizabeth's blog here.


Two of Cups by Elizabeth Bunsen. See more glorious art and photographs here.


This piece is by Michele Maule. See Michele's Flickr photostream here.


Pinched Cup by South African-born ceramist, Priscilla Mouritzen. Priscilla's pinch pots are so beautiful they make me feel quite weak at the knees. See more here.
Pinched Porcelain Tea Bowl by Priscilla Mouritzen.
Life Cycle of the Termite Cup by Priscilla Mouritzen. See Flickr photostream here.


Papier Mache Coffee Cup by Cecilia Levy. See Cecilia's Flickr photostream here.


Porcelain Tea Set for One by Sarah Walters, South Africa. See more here.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

......AND THE WINNER IS .............

Paper Quilts, Assemblage by Lynne Perrella. See series here.


The winner of Inside the Painter's Studio by Joe Fig is ...... Cerulean!
Congratulations Eric! Please email your postal details to me ASAP.

Eric Adama is a mixed media artist from the Netherlands whose work I have been admiring for some time. See Eric's blog, here.

Paper Quilts, Assemblage by Lynne Perrella

Thank you so much Lynne for being guest blogger on Art Propelled. Your review of the Joe Fig exhibition certainly got my heart racing as I'm sure it did for everyone reading it. Thanks too for the generous prize!


"Always and Ever" Collage from The Ancram series by Lynne Perrella

All the pieces you see in this post are from Lynne Perrella's two new series, Paper Quilts and The Ancram Collages. It was difficult choosing my favourites so please visit Lynne's website here to see them all together.

"Life Lessons" Collage by Lynne Perrella

Friday, March 4, 2011

Shhhhhh ......... ARTISTS AT WORK.

Coopérative Féminine de Djajibiné Gandega "Djida". Photograph by Anais Gordils


Oh to be a fly on the wall! I don't know about you, but I thrive on the energy surrounding artists at work and often wish I could just sit quietly observing without the artist being aware of my presence.

Durga Charan Das. Beautiful, contemplative photograph by Laurent G. See Laurent's Flickr photostream here and blog here.

.
WHATEVER MAN MAKES
Whatever man makes and makes live
lives because of the life put into it.
A yard of Indian muslin is alive with Hindu life.
And a Navajo woman, weaving her rug in the pattern of her dream
must run the pattern out in a little break at the end
so that her soul can come out, back to her.
But in the odd pattern, like snake-marks on the sand
it leaves a trail.

- D H Lawrence

Audrey Kawasaki. See Audrey's website here and interview here.


Annamaria Potamiti's Studio. See blog here.


Elaine Kerr at work. See Elaine's Flickr photostream here.

Elizabeth Schuppe. See Elizabeth's art at Flickr, here.

Elizabeth Frank's work table. See Elizabeth's blog here and Etsy shop, here.


Mosaic artist and sculptor, Julie Deery. See Julie's Flickr photostream here.

Akbar Simonse took a series of photographs of sculptor Mark Rietmeijer at work. See series here.


Andrew Walford who lives and works in the rolling hills of KwaZulu Natal. Website here.


Andrew Walford painting one of his enormous ceramic tiles.


Don't forget Lynne Perrella's lucky draw, here on the 8th. You could win a copy of Inside the Painter's Sudio by Joe Fig ....