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

THE WOOD GATHERERS

 Tracey Deep is a floral sculptor inspired by nature. See more here

There is nothing quite like 
the feeling of calm that envelopes one 
when out gathering 
I love returning from a walk
laden with bouquets of drift wood
I'm drawn to driftwood colours
soft greys, warm woodiness, sun bleached naturals.
Wood, tossed about in the sea
the edges rubbed smooth by sand and water.

 North Carolina artist Patrick Dougherty create's freeform sculptures woven together out of branches. See website here.

As a boy, Patrick Dougherty gathered twigs. He began "drawing" with sticks and later he used saplings and tree cuttings found along hydro lines to create his magnificent sculptures.

Patrick Dougherty gathering branches. Website here.

"It seems like humans have to continuously struggle with ideas about nature and redefining our relationship with the natural world. Domesticated gardens versus the wilderness are part of a worldwide discussion and part of my (our) inner conflict. Certainly gardens are a kind of rendition of the unfettered wilds. Shrubs, trees, flowers and grass become commodities and are forced into human geometry. I try to free the surfaces of my work using sticks as a drawing material, work them in such a way they look like they are escaping those chains of being planted in a row. I imagine that the wilderness lurks inside my forms and that it is an irrepressible urge."  -  Patrick Dougherty

I enjoyed John Grande's interview with Patrick.

Large scale temporary sculptures from materials gathered in the nearby landscape by Patrick Dougherty

"It seems that people like gardens and grass, but they desperately desire a connection to wilderness" - Patrick Dougherty

"Tree Fall" by Andy Goldsworthy. The ceiling and suspended tree branch have been covered in clay. Goldsworthy has succeeded in creating a "Hobbit hole". Read about this new installation here. 

Andy Goldsworthy with his installation, Tree Fall

"I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools -- a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn."  -  Andy Goldsworthy

Islamic/Meso America by Loren Eiferman. Website here

"The wood, for me, is now a line in space created by hundreds of smaller pieces of wood jointed together to create one sculpture. To create my work, I usually begin with a drawing, an intention of what direction I want my sculpture to go in. I start out each day with a walk in the woods and gather sticks that have fallen to the ground."  -  Loren Eiferman

 Black Hole by Loren Eiferman. Website here.

Loren Eiferman. Website here

Roger Ackling "draws" on found wood with a ray of sunlight through a magnifying glass. 
I know! Amazing!

Found wood assemblage by Roger Ackling. See more here.

Assemblage by Roger Ackling

Flying machine by Wim Del Arte. Blog here.

Wim Del Arte spends many a day out walking along the banks of La Palma, gathering drift wood and found objects. He then creates the most amazing array of art with his lucky finds. The flying machine is assembled from driftwood, aluminium, copper, rusted metal, bits of twisted plastic and spark plugs found on the beach of Tazacourt.

"Collectors are happy people"  -  Goethe

A SHORT STORY

It seems that I've been busy
Not really...
A lot on my mind 
while I carve and tweak 
small carvings for a special order

I've been keeping a secret ....

but now I can share it with you....

It is a cold dark night 
The heavens open 
and much to my daughter's consternation
we follow the children onto the veranda 
Why are we outside in a blizzard?
J has found a bird nest with babies in it
Come and look
My daughter puts on her happy face 
and goes out into the rain
The nest is in a ticky creeper at eye level 
She peers into the nest
Her face registers shock
My future son in law
drops to his knee 
She says yes

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.

THE COMFORT OF TEA

Lise Carruthers. See more work by Lisa here  and here

 The Tray by Naomi Shihab Nye

Even on a sorrowing day
the little white cups without handles
would appear
filled with steaming hot tea
in a circle on the tray,
and whatever we were able
to say or not say,
the tray would be passed,
we would sip
in silence,
it was another way
lips could be speaking together,
opening on the hot rim,
swallowing in unison.

 Watanabe Takayuki. Click here

"Tea is an act complete in it's simplicity. 
When I drink tea, there is only me, and the tea. 
The rest of the world dissolves. 
There are no worries about the future. 
No dwelling on past mistakes. 
Tea is simple: Loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup. 
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup. 
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me."
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Belocq Tea Atelier

"When tea is made with water drawn from the depth of mind, We really have what is called a tea ceremony." - Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Tea Infusers found on Tumblr

Tea Pot by Petr Novak  on Pots and Tea blog, here

Ceramics by Petr Novak on Pots and Tea blog , here

 Raimund Matros on Flickr. Click

Image found on Tumblr

I love the thought of drinking tea from an exquisite tea bowl
I'm searching for just the right one

Black sandstone tea bowls by Kambe Chinatsu at Oli Oli. 

Robin Welch. 

The Frog,  eggshell porcelain tea bowl by Jane Reumert.

Colin Hopkins

Swedish style

Found on Tumblr