Friday, February 8, 2013

STRIPES

Charlotte Park. Biography here

"I asked the Zebra,
are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on and on and on he went.
I'll never ask a zebra about stripes .... again."

- Shel Silverstein



I love this piece by Bringfried-John Poesger. It has a wonderful tribal feel to it. See more here

Bringfried-John Poesger. 


Variation Stripes by Terri Brooks. See more  here.


Eric Adama. See Eric's blog here.


Brenda Holzke. See Brenda's website here

Banded ceramics by Brenda Holzke. See more here


Poppy Benton. Click to see Youtube video showing Poppy's work here


Zebra Sand Stripes. Photograph by John Carpenter. See more of John's work at Red Bubble, here


Photograph by Elise Valdorcia. See Elise's Tumblr blog here

79 comments:

  1. the poem was wonderful! I think the John Carpenter photo would make some really fun fabric.
    Sandy in the UK

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    1. John Carpenter's photo is quite striking isn't it?! I would have called it Tiger stripes.

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  2. That thumbnail of the zebra stripes had me rushing over to see what delights you'd posted. Love the poem and all else. Enjoy!

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    1. Black and white stripes always get my attention too.

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  3. patterning, zebra style, and shel. what a fine way to stat my day, robyn. thank you.

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    1. The poem does tend to put a smile on one's face :-) Glad you enjoyed it.

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  4. Wonderful stripes over everything! The zebra poem is such fun.....what a fine way to finish my day!
    jenni

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    1. I love the fact that Australian bloggers are awake during my day :-)

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    1. They are magical aren't they?! I particularly love stripes in nature.

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  6. Isn't it funny that when you see black and white stripes, no matter how they are arranged one thinks of Zebras.

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    1. Lisa I very nearly mentioned that in the post. Black and white stripes will always mean zebra to me. Black and white stripes sing!

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  7. repetition of pattern and form ... my favorite passion/obsession + Brenda's pots always make me swoon with delight! Thanks for the link - she'd fallen off my radar ... glad to have her work back in my sights.

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  8. Kathy, good news.... Brenda is on Pinterest!
    http://pinterest.com/bholzke/

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  9. It seems the eye never tires of geometric patterns, at least my eye doesn't, I'm always drawn to circles and stripes and when they are put into random patterns all the better.

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    1. There were so many amazing striped images to choose from. Glad you enjoyed the post, Linda.

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  10. What a great post...Shel's poem is awesome...his writings remind me of when my boys were young.

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    1. The poem was fun wasn't it?! I enjoyed the last line.

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  11. Wonky and Cool, the whole works of them.

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  12. Robyn, I love stripes, they are right up there with the holy circle and I love Teri Brooks. Thank you for another wonderful post.
    xoxo

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    1. It would be great to see Terri's work in person. Lots of lovely stripes!

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  13. What a great post to enliven my eyes this morning.
    You have such a way of gathering and presenting the best of the best. What a gift you share.

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  14. This is a particularly fine collection of stripes. Thanks for the links to some great sites.

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    1. Hi Theresa, there are a few new links for me too. I discovered Bringfried-John on Tumblr!

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  15. Stripes! One of my favorite things, second only to circles, probably. Fun. Love the Silverstein quote.

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    1. One can't help smiling at Silverstein's poem .... and remembering it all day.

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  16. I love stripes, what a great post featuring so many talented interpretations. Great quote too . . . made me smile.

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    1. The talent amazes me! So many images to choose from.

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  17. And aren't we all a 'little bit of this' and a 'little bit of that'.?......the 'dark' and the 'light'.......I'm particularly drawn to the ceramics....and love Shel's humour! Thank you for inviting us to think about this subject.....

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    1. The ceramics are particularly delicious. They lift my spirits.

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  18. Hi Robyn, I love the way you have combined artworks with organic photographs of stripes in nature, all the best Terri.

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    1. Thank you Terri. I'm always so delighted to see new work on your blog.

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  19. Hi Robyn - I seem to have lost my last few comments - fingers crossed. Nothing essential to say except I loved that poem - so true for all of us, and the images so right. A delightful stop early int he morning (before you wake??)

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    1. Lovely to wake to see you all here this morning. It is very annoying to lose one's comments. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with this new reply set up.

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  20. I love stripes and as usual some here have given me food for thought.I especially loved the tattered look of the one by Eric Adamas.

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    1. Hi Penny, this is one of my favourite Eric Adama pieces. Probably the tattered look has a lot to do with it.... and the earthy colours.

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  21. Love the poem, love the art.
    As always a wonderfully composed post; thank you!

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  22. hi robyn! it´s a wonderful blog here!
    i´m curious to see more of your work,-
    with best regards from winterly germany

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    1. Hi Kjoto, thanks so much. If you click on the wood quilt in the sidebar it will take you to my website.

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  23. in Australia those white reflective lines painted on the roads to indicate where pedestrians might cross and still retain their lives on the other side are called zebra crossings.
    as a child i looked in vain for zebras at these places...

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    1. Too funny. Of course you would be disappointed by the lack of zebras!

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    2. They call them zebra crossings here too...... and I know the feeling.... Where are the zebras? :-)

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  24. what a wonderful set of images & poetry to inspire the weekend, thank you Robyn!

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  25. The organic lines you have shown us are so well done...I haven't seen that work of Eric's which is wonderful, and Terri's too. And Brenda's - well all of them! Thanks Robyn!

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    1. I wonder if you saw this post at Minimal Exposition, showing Eric's work. Beautiful big images!
      http://minimalexposition.blogspot.com/2011/01/eric-adama-cerulean-2.html

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  26. Clever Zebra! Maybe only we humans get trapped in thinking in polar systems..:)
    Oh I love ceramic works by Brenda and Poppy here...!! All images here are really inspiring.

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    1. The poem had me smiling all day. Brenda's and Poppy's ceramics are just wonderful.... well, you can see why I just had to include them in this post.

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  27. Hi R - the shadow and water reflection stripes really do it for me - a subtle reminder that we artists are still catching up. Thanks for sharing. B

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    1. Elise's photo makes me want to dive right in .... or at least twiddle my toes under water and into the sand.

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  28. I love Shel Silverstein! I remember tapes of his poems when my daughter was little. What a wonderful collection of such a basic design theme, just shows the breadth of the human imagination and creativity. Some great new finds for me and I love Terri Brooks work.

    Happy weekend!

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    1. I would love to have read Shel's poems to my girls when they were little.... if only I had known.

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  29. With this post I have fundamental options to consider when choosing between the kind of stripes to wear : 100% handcrafted stripes from prison or vertical zebra stripes.
    Just kidding ;-)
    I always like your posts you they are perfectly lined up.

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    1. I always thought the striped prison outfits were very becoming ..... well I just love black and white stripes!

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  30. beautiful post and blog, thank you for sharing my photo.

    happy week end!!!

    Elise

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    1. Elise, thank YOU. Your beautiful photo has quite an effect on me. Besides making me thirsty, I really need to get to the beach or a mountain stream soon.

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  31. The Silverstein poem is perfect here, and the art stripes inspirational!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post, Marie. I've enjoyed seeing all the stripes together in a post.

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  32. I absolutely love the poem by Shel Silverstein. It says so much about life. And thank you for the long list of links that are new to me!

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    1. LOL.... Now where would you find the time to follow the links, Seth? Though you do need to take a coffee break every now and then.

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  33. That picket fence and sand image is just brilliant! It is like seeing something for the first time that has always been there.

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    1. Exactly! I think taking your camera with you, makes you see those things that were always there.

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  34. Hello! I like the wisdom of this poem so much, that I will learn it by heart and will go back to it often, often. often...!
    Brenda Holzke's art impressed me most. Such lovely baskets and banded ceramics!!
    I should look around me for more stripes...:-)

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    1. Hello Rossichka! You will be surprised at just how many stripes you will find. Don't forget the shadows ! Glad you enjoyed the poem.

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    2. I'll take photos of them, whenever I can! Oh, the shadows...!:-)

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  35. These stripes are mesmerizing. Love the pottery esp
    and the top image has such Power. But i loved the tiger
    on your tumblr, so much.

    I didn't learn of Shel Silverstei until college when some students teased me for not knowing this author and then nabbed me after class to sit outside in spring and read to me some of his poems. They thought it vital that I know these things. :)

    Hope your summer is cooling and it feels good!

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    1. The tiger needs to be here doesn't it?! After doing this post I've been alert to all things striped. We've had some very hot days but the cool days in between make it bearable. Autumn is in sight so I'm happy.

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  36. the poem works so well with the images Robyn, and the work is just so yummy, love Brenda's work and seeing it here...

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  37. Love Shel Silverstein - and your art discoveries!! Always something new to check out here!!!

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    1. I've been reading up on Shel Silverstein's poetry. This is probably my favourite.

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  38. After dots and circles, my next favorite pattern is STRIPES... my socks and scarves either have stripes or dots. You have some wonderful examples of stripes in art here.

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  39. Shel Silverstein and stripes....it just doesn't get better! Thank you for always setting the smile on this face!

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  40. these are wonderful striped offerings Robin!!!

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