EARLY MORNINGS

Amanda Boe. See more of Amanda's photography on her website, here.

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello you who made
the morning and spread
it over fields...
Watch now, how I
spread the day in
happiness, in kindness.

-Mary Oliver

St. Charles Sunrise by Dale Janzen. See more of Dales images here

I love early mornings
before the world awakes
Everything is quiet and fresh
and then slowly
creatures begin to stretch and sing
greetings to the new day

Early Morning Web by Mike Autry. See more of Mike's work on Flickr, here.

Morning Mist

"I get the invitation every morning to live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy. It's ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee .....  It's the invitation to live, to participate fully in this amazing life for one more day."  -  Bob Goff

Mornings by Billy Collins

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best --
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso--

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins--
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows--
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.

I'm watching you by Kim Kocinski (Please don't pin this image... All Rights Reserved). See more of Kim's photography on Flickr, here

for some reason I imagine Billy Collins tapping out poems on an old typewriter

"Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?"
"As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning."
"Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?"
"To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise."

- One minute wisdom

(Images without links are from pinterest. If anyone knows the name of the photographer please let me know)

LAYER UPON LAYER

Grid by Carol Lee Shanks (stitched cloth remains onto hemp). See more here

Carol Lee Shanks designs and constructs unique handcrafted clothing from fine natural textiles. The textile art pieces you see here are made from the scraps of cloth left over from Carol's 2011 Fall Fashion Collection. 

"She has a great reverence for cloth allowing it to be the foundation of her inspiration. An integral part of her work is manipulating the cloth to create different surface textures."  -  World Shobori Network

Horizon by Carol Lee Shanks. Website here

Hercacleum Sphondylium by Cas Holmes.  (Paper and textile layers, print, worked on top of old teacloths, dye, paint, print, machine and hand embroidery. Ink drawing and transfer). See website here.

"Cas Holmes is deeply moved by the stories of ordinary people's lives, the births, marriages and deaths; the diseases brought on by harsh working conditions and the way these hard facts are hidden from history, forgotten with the passing of time. Her work often contains snippets of text or discarded materials that have associations or conjure up memories. There is always a dialogue with the materials she uses. They bring their own history which is woven into the work" - Moira Vincentelli, Review for Reflections exhibition.

W.I.P by Christi Carter. See blog post here

I love Christi Carter's beaded piece so much I couldn't wait for it to be completed before posting it :-)

Mieke Renders-de Greef. See more at website here

Mieke Renders-de Greef. Website here.

David Quinn. Website here.

I enjoyed reading about David Quinn's process....

"The starting point can be anything, a colour, a found piece of paper, another painting etc. I work on a lot of pieces at the same time. I like being able to see as many of them as i can while I'm working. They feed into and off each other, some sit for ages before coming to fruition, others can come together quickly, the trick is knowing when to step back. I like to layer things up. I probably approach each piece more like a page in a notebook, that's why having lots is important, it means I don't get too precious and am not overly concerned about messing something up. I try to make the most of every mark and layer, look at it from a few different angles and think about how, if at all I could make something of it. This can mean sitting for ages just looking at the work. I want each piece to contain an element of the unexpected and for that to happen means not having too many plans beforehand. Working on a small scale and on lots of pieces at the same time means you can be a lot more spontaneous which I think is crucial if the work is to have life."  - David Quinn. (Read the rest of the interview here and see David's website here)

David Quinn. See website here

Indigo by Jennifer Davies (pigment and plaster on handmade paper). Website here

"In the collages, diverse papers are sewn and glued into surprising combinations. The papers used are often covered with prior visual information -- scraps of old monotypes or failed drawings. Their history animates the collage." - Jennifer Davies

Thyer Machado. See more here

Mary Lloyd Jones. Website here

"  I search for devices that will enable me to create multilayered works. This has led to my involvement with the beginnings of language, early man made marks and the Ogham and Bardic Alphabets."  -  Mary Lloyd Jones

Between the Layers post here

SACRED SPACE

Belinda Clements art journaling space 

"Where's your church?"
"We're standing in it."
"But this is a bookstore and it's Friday."
"Yes, but you might also choose to see it as a cathedral of the human spirit  -- a storehouse consecrated to the full spectrum of human experience. Just about every idea we've ever had is in here somewhere. A place containing great thinking is a sacred space."

- Forrest Church

Shakespeare & Company, Paris, France. Click to see the 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world

I'm re-posting a well known quote by Joseph Campbell as a reminder......

"You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don't know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don't know who your friends are, you don't know what you owe anybody, you don't know what anybody owe's to you. This is a place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen."

Kevin Titzer's studio. Click to see more studio spaces here.

"Our life has become so economic and practical in its orientation that, as you get older, the claims of the moment upon you are so great, you hardly know where the hell you are, or what it is you intended. You are always doing something that is required of you. Where is your  bliss station? You have to try to find it. Get a phonograph and put on the music that you really love, even if it's corny music that nobody else respects."  -  Joseph Campbell

Elizabeth Gilbert's Sky-brary. Click to read an inspiring interview here.

Elizabeth Gilbert created what she calls her "Sky-brary" in the attic of her home. This is where she wrote her latest novel The Signature of All Things . It's so important to find your own sacred space  ..... or think tank ...  sky-brary.... or bliss station.

"Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again." - Joseph Campbell

 Jill Nooney creates sacred space in the garden with her wonderful rock stacks.

"By bringing a soulful consciousness to gardening, sacred space can be created outdoors." - S.Kelley Harrell, Nature's Gifts Anthology

I search for quiet spaces in nature to sit and gather my thoughts.

Land art in the forest. Photographer: Sylvian Meyer on Flickr.

"Many of the tribal peoples of the world recognize that there are four places in nature where you can find deep peace and remember who you really are. One is in the deep woods; one is in the desert; one in the mountains and one near the ocean."  -  Angeles Arrien, The second half of life.

 If you have the time to delve further into sacred space follow these links...

Defining your sacred space by Tod Henry

5 Tips for Creating Sacred Space by Debbie Woodbury

Honouring Sacred Space by David Jones

Nature's Solace

Wide Open Spaces

Creating sacred space

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 Robyn Gordon 2013

"Every man should be born again 
on the first day of January.
Start a fresh page.
Take up one hole more 
in the buckle if necessary,
or let down one,
according to circumstances;
but on the first of January 
let every man
gird himself once more,
with his face to the front,
and take no interest in the things
that were and are past."

-  Henry Ward Beecher

Wishing you all everything of the best for 2014

SOCKS AND BOOKS TO YOU ALL

 South African ceramic artist, Margot Rudolph (Photo by Eugene Hon)

Season's Greetings and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Hope you are showered with socks and books.

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."  -  J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

NATURE SUSPENDED

Maple mobile by Paco Orti. Website here.

These simple maple curtains appeal to me.

Maple curtain by Paco Orti. Click to go to website

Ken Unsworth's stone circle series
River stones suspended on wires
They feel sacred and mysterious 

Stone Circle by Ken Unsworth.

Detail of Stone Circle by Ken Unsworth. See video here

Stephen H Kawai creates mobiles from natural elements.

"Many have the impression that creating them is an exact science involving precise weighing and calculation. Nothing could be further from the truth. They sometimes turn out more or less as planned or, in other instances, unforeseen realities necessitate constant reassessment. They can be products of pure improvisation or they may be carefully designed." - Stephen Kawai

 Natural mobile by Stephen H Kawai. See website here

"The objects, or what I term "elements", which make up a mobile are chosen with great care since they are not produced by the artist. Each is a sculpture in itself, having been created by the universe, and much of the joy in creating mobiles is a certain degree of control in arranging such elements in three dimensions. " - Stephen Hawai

 Mobile by Stephen Kawai. Website here.

 We've a man nest by Gareth Wynne Fitzpatrick. See more images here.

Gareth Wynne Fitzpatrick suspended himself from the gallery ceiling and proceeded to weave an enormous nest, entitled "We've a man nest".

 Man sized nest by Porky Hefer. See website here

Fellow South African, Porky Hefer, is making quite a name for himself designing magnificent nests big enough to house humans. They are woven from natural materials in much the same way as a weaver bird weaves his nest.

 Ruth Asawa. (Photo by Rachael Ashe on Flickr). See many beautiful images on Flickriver here.

Installation with suspended tree roots by Guiseppe Licari. See more here

RAIN

Rain by Nazar Bilyk. See website here

It has rained steadily for several days. A relief for farmers in KwaZulu Natal! We are on the verge of being declared a drought stricken region and farmers are pleading for the increase of emergency relief to save their crops and livestock. We're not out of the woods yet but the sound of rain on the roof is comforting.

Rain by Nazar Bilyk (Bronze and glass) Website here.

"The figure has a loose and porous structure and relates to dry land, which absorbs water. In this work I play with scale, making a raindrop large enough to compare a man with an insect, considering that man is a part of nature. Moreover, this work concerns the question of interaction and difficulties in coexistence of man with environment,"

"Almost each sculpture is autobiographical. Senses and questions which fascinate me become fundamental in the creation of 'Rain'. In almost all cases, the sculpture provokes the viewer to look up in anticipation of the same raindrop."  -  Nazar Bilyk

Ukranian sculptor, Nazar Bilyk with 6 foot tall  sculpture, 'Rain'. Website here

RAIN  by Raymond Carver

Woke up this morning with
a terrific urge to lie in bed all day
and read. Fought against it for a minute.

Then looked out the window at the rain.
And gave over. Put myself entirely
in the keep of this rainy morning.

Would I live my life over again?
Make the same mistakes?
Yes, given half a chance. Yes.

Sculptures by Nazar Bilyk and Anne Gillespie bring to mind our friends in Australia who, not so long ago, were praying for rain to douse the bush fires. I can only imagine the relief they feel when it rains during the dry season. 

Taste the Rain (detail) by Anna Gillespie. See Anna's website here

Taste the Rain (Mixed media; materials fallen from trees) by Anna Gillespie. Website here.

"Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain." - Matthew Bettelheim

David Tress. Website here

I love the way David Tress creates atmosphere in his paintings. He scrubs and scrapes, scores, patches and reworks until he is satisfied with the effect.

" .... there are several recent paintings that explicitly deal with flash storms by apparently tearing a fundamentally tranquil landscape apart with downward flashes or slashes of white or blue slanting dramatically across the composition. Sometimes, again, Tress loves to create a turbulent effect by folding or collaging the heavy handmade papers on which most of his works are painted to create an almost sculptural surface." - John Russell Taylor, The Times

David Tress (See website here)

Storm 1 by Karine Leger. See website here

"Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on earth!"
- Mary Oliver

Hard Rain  ( gouche, ink and iron on paper)  by Dale Lindman. Website here