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