STILLNESS FOR JUGGLERS

 Andrew Wyeth

POEM FOR SOMEONE WHO IS JUGGLING HER LIFE by Rose Cook

This is a poem for someone
who is juggling her life.
Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.

It needs repeating
over and over
to catch her attention
over and over
because someone juggling her life
finds it difficult to hear.

Be still sometimes.
Be still sometimes.
Let it all fall sometimes.

I found the poem at Shawna Lemay's blog, Calm Things. If you are needing a little quiet time, wander over and feel the calm enveloping you as you read each post.

 Her room by Andrew Wyeth

Solo by Natalie Urazmetova

Calm by Neva Gagliano

Afternoon, Tasman Sea, New Zealand by Chip Hooper

Early morning mist flowing down a valley on the South Downs near Brighton by Finn Hopson

Photo by wariatka at deviantart

Fall Leaves in a Row by Shawna Lemay. See blog here.

WATER THERAPY

Rain. Fiberglass sculpture by Nazar Bilyk. See more of Nazar's work here.

I love to be near water though I rarely swim. I would much rather walk in the shallows, soothed by the wavelets lapping at my ankles .....

Robert Rauschenberg. I found this image on Tumblr.

... or paddle knee deep in rock pools searching for pebbles and cowries that have been trapped there on the out going tide.

Jen Bradford. See more details of her work on Flickr, here.

I can't resist mountain streams whether I'm wading in them or sitting on a rock staring into the water.

Baleen by Andrew Wyeth. There are many more images here.

There is a stream on the other side of our garden wall and though I can't see it unless I'm at the wall peering over I can always hear it. It is the music I listen to while I carve or when I'm falling asleep at night.

Detail from The River Map Scrolls by Lorna Crane. I love this piece! Read blog post about The River Map Scrolls here.

Water from the River by Lorna Crane. See Lorna's website here.


WATER by Pablo Neruda
Everything on the earth bristled, the bramble

pricked and the green thread
nibbled away, the petal fell, falling
until the only flower was the falling itself.
Water is another matter,
has no direction but its own bright grace,
runs through all imaginable colors,
takes limpid lessons
from stone,
and in those functionings plays out
the unrealized ambitions of the foam.

Water Overflowing by Linda Nardelli. This piece takes me straight to the beach shallows. See Linda's website here.

Oh if only ! Water Swing (in Dalyan, Turkey) by Emma Holland. Flickr photo stream here.

Shallows by Hanna Kay. See more of Hanna's work here.

Tryptic by Stuart King.

Beach Walk by Cindy Tonkin. Acrylic and collage. See more of Cindy's work here.

Kathryn Frund at the Chase Gallery. See more of Kathryn's work here.

Corroboration by Anthony J. White. Oil on Linen. See website here.

SLATE, SEA AND SKY

Sea by Susan Barnes. See more of Susan's seascapes here.

I was browsing through Douglas Robertson's blog and found a poem by Norman Bissell from his book Slate, Sea and Sky. I love the poem and it fits well with the theme of this post.

Weather I by Susan Barnes. See more here.

Sounds

Sometimes here
it’s hard to tell
the sound of the wind
from the sound of the waves
or the sound of the waves
from the sound of the rain
or the sound of the wind
and the waves and the rain
from the sound of my breath.

- Norman Bissell

Drawing by Douglas Robertson. See website here.

Douglas Robertson writes, "The poem is a fabulous wealth of ideas for me, the lines evoking strong moods and images of the sea, and stirring many personal memories and experiences of the Atlantic coast of Scotland."

Caain' Whaals by Douglas Robertson. See website here.

Most of Doug's art is inspired by the sea and poetry. I love his drawings of whales and most of all I love his carved wooden whales. Browse through his blog , here and read about Sounds, the triptych he is working on, inspired by Norman's poem.

Douglas Robertson's beautifully carved wooden whales. See blog here.

Moon by Susan Barnes. See Susan's work at Green Hut Galleries, here.

The Space Between the Light by Kathryn Frund. See more here.

A Connected Solace by Kathryn Frund. See more here.

After the Storm by Amadea Bailey. See more of Amadea's work here.

Wind from the Sea by Andrew Wyeth

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.