Friday, July 1, 2016

THE SOFT UNFOLDING OF WAVES


We have returned from three glorious weeks at the Wild Coast, feeling replenished and at peace with the world. 



 Most days were soft and meditative, filled with winter sunshine and the hushed unfolding of waves on the sand.





I learned a new word from Mo yesterday.
Apricity: The word apricity represents a simple and familiar yet a very specific phenomenon - the sun's warmth on a cold winter's day. (Click on the word to read further)

It seems appropriate to introduce the word here since, the world and his wife..... dog.....goat and cow, within a kilometer's radius, seemed to wander down to the beach to stand in the sun, .....relishing apricity on a winter's day.


I walked around this bull several times, clicking my camera and he remained  unperturbed. Just a twitch of tail and ear.
I can't imagine our holidays without the resident dogs. They add much joy and tail wagging to our days. 



The sea poems of Pablo Neruda also seem appropriate here. Follow the link if you wish to read a few more.

The Sea by Pablo Neruda

I need the sea because it teaches me.
I don't know if I learn music or awareness,
if it's a single wave or it's existence,
or only it's harsh voice or it's shining
suggestion of fishes and ships.
The fact is that until I fall asleep,
in some magnetic way I move in
the university of the waves.

It's not simply the shells crunched
as if some shivering planet
were giving signs of it's gradual death;
no, I reconstruct the day out of a fragment,
the stalactite from the silver of salt,
and the great god out of a spoonful.

What it taught me before, I keep. It's air
ceaseless wind, water and sand.

It seems a small thing for a young man,
to have come here to live with his own fire,
nevertheless, the pulse that rose
and fell in it's abyss,
the crackling of the blue cold,
the gradual wearing away of the star,
the soft unfolding of the wave
squandering snow with it's foam,
the quiet power out there, sure
as a stone shrine in the depths,
replaced my world in which were growing
stubborn sorrow, gathering oblivion,
and my life changed suddenly:
as I became part of it's movement.

Need I say, this weathered plank and broken shell returned home with me

"Among the things the sea throws up,
let us hunt for the most petrified,
violet claws of crabs,
little skulls of dead fish,
smooth syllables of wood,
small countries of mother-of-pearl;
let us look for what the sea undid
insistently, carelessly,
what it broke up and abandoned,
and left behind us."

- Forget about Me by Pablo Neruda


More chiton shells to add to my collection

Limpets doing what limpets do.

 An ox drawn sled (made out of branches) carries fire wood home

Cows in the mist

 Fish for supper.


A misty end to the day

The  SILVER SUMMER show begins tomorrow at FILLINGDON FINE ART in PIDDINGTON, UK. Details here.  I have a few pieces on the show, including the tall story panel below.






"Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degrees of presence." - Alan Watts

29 comments:

  1. I can sense your renewed spirit in this post. The pictures are soothing and most interesting. The poem is apt and the end quote is inspiring. Best of luck with the show.

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  2. Thanks Lisa. It's such a pity the show is so far away. I would love to be there.

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  3. Robyn, So beautiful, everything here. I miss the sea so much and this was very inspiring. And oh the BULL! and the DOGS! Wonderful, thank you. xoxo

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    1. There are quite a few of my blog buddies who I know would love this place and who I thought of when walking ....and you are one of them.

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  4. love your Wild Coast, these photos with Neruda's poetry make good magic for the soul!

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  5. I was really excited to see that you have chitons too, why did I think that they were only on our coast. Love the photos, the poem was new to me, lovely. Did you get lots of fish? Looks like a salmon beach to me, well we all them salmon.

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  6. Penny, even South Africans don't realize we have chitons here since they usually find the segments and have no idea what they are. We didn't get as many fish as we thought we would because the sardine run was in full swing. Shoal after shoal and more birds then I've ever seen. A bottle nosed dolphin beached which was very sad. We found it dead on the beach one morning. so sad! Yes this is a salmon beach! Martin caught quite a few, ( we call them Cob) as well as Garrick which he released.

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  7. so happy to see you all a good trip! the photos are wonderful!

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    1. Thanks Lyle. We had the most amazing time. Kicking myself for forgetting my camera charger. I missed some good shots.

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  8. Must have been a special three weeks - those photos are the perfect balance of calm and wild. Best wishes with the show :-)

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    1. Thanks Seth and also for including me in your Sunday links.

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  9. Beautiful sea photographs. Exquisite art work from you - I love the pattern of those limpets. Only you, with your wonderful eye for such things, would notice how beautiful they were.

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    1. Pat, I so appreciate all your compliments. Thank you! I'm just happy that my old blog supporters are drifting back to Art Propelled. How lucky am I?!

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  10. Looks like you had a wonderfully relaxed holiday, Robyn. Thanks for "apricity" - lovely word to describe a lovely subject!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the "new" word, Avus. There were many occasions I could have used it while on holiday.

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  11. As usual, a feast for all the senses. The photograph of the cows reminds me of lines from a poem by Jane Hirshfield. The title of the poem is "Envoy" and comes from her collection, Given Sugar, Given Salt:

    There are opening in our lives
    of which we know nothing.

    Through them
    the belled herds travel at will,
    long-legged and thirsty, covered with foreign dust.

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    1. I've just googled the whole poem. Thanks for mentioning it again D. You shared it with me some time back I think but I had forgotten it. It is a beautiful poem.

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  12. AND - this piece of your work makes my heart sing just looking at it.

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    1. That makes me happy! This is one of those pieces I was not sure of but it has had such a good response I've looked it with new eyes.

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  13. Thankyou Robyn for taking me to the sea.
    love Susan HHB

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  14. Hi R - such beautiful images - only goes to demonstrate what a refreshing place it is. Love the cows in the mist - soft yet strong. Your carvings are inspiring and just so you. We love the piece in our entry hall - seen every day. Go well. B

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    1. It's lovely to know that my carving is in your beautiful home on the mountain. I've often thought of sitting on your deck one evening, sharing a glass of red with you both.....so having a carving right there is almost (at a stretch) like being there myself.

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  15. Hi Robyn, I always love catching you up on facebook but thought it high time I catch you on your blog. Done! Loving these images, particularly the fishing person walking along the shore.

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    1. Ah, that fishing person is my dearly beloved. He supplied many a delicious fish supper while we were there. Thanks for visiting my blog, Deb.

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  16. Robyn, as usual you've given me much to think about. Thank you for sharing your beautiful images here; they truly capture that sense of peace you (and Pablo Neruda) speak of. Apricity is a new word for me, too; Mo is always one for coming up with new words to learn! Congratulations on the show; the piece you shared here is exquisite.

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    1. Thank you Sharmon. Indeed Mo comes up with good info. Did you see my Duende post on FB? Mo added a lot to the post.

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