MAKING MUSIC AGAINST THE HARD EDGES

 Into the Hartz (oil on paper) by Caroline Rannersberger. See website here

We, in our immediate family,  seem to discuss the serious, deeper things in life early in the morning over our first cup of coffee. The discussion some times stretches to a second and a third cup. This week we had a three cuppa conversation about the way humans tend to fight against the natural flow of life ..... which brought to mind a poem I love .................

Caroline Rannersberger. See exhibition here

Passage by John Brehm

In all the woods that day I was
the only living thing
fretful, exhausted, or unsure.
Giant fir and spruce and cedar trees
that had stood their ground
three hundred years
stretched in sunlight calmly
unimpressed by whatever
it was that held me
hunched and tense above the stream,
biting my nails, calculating all
my impossibilities.
Nor did the water pause
to reflect or enter into
my considerations.
It found its way
over and around a crowd
of rocks in easy flourishes,
in laughing evasions and
shifts in direction.
Nothing could slow it down for long.
It even made a little song
out of all the things
that got in its way,
a music against the hard edges
of whatever might interrupt its going.

 Caroline Rannersberger. 

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." - Lao Tzu

The Treeness of Trees by Bridgette Guerzon Mills. Read blog post here

"If you watch nature,
how nature deals with adversity, 
continually renewing itself, 
you can't help but learn .... "  -  Bernie Siegel

 Deposit of Silence(3) by Xavier Verhoest. See website here

Stone Speaks to Water by Bill Gingles. See website here

 Talking Low in a Boat by Bill Gingles

Undercurrents by Judith White. See more of Judith's work here    and here

Julie Shackson. See more of Julie's work here    and blog here

"I look at a stream and I see myself; a South African, flowing irresistibly over hard obstacles until they become smooth, and one day, disappear."  -  Miriam Makeba 

Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award-winning South African singer and civil rights activist. You might recognize Pata Pata, the click song, here

Scanned Assemblage found at Morning Earth. I will definitely go back to browse! Click here.

JOURNALS AND INSPIRING QUOTATIONS

Artist Book by Margo Klass. Click here to see Margo's website

I've been collecting inspiring quotations since my school days, often scribbling them down on scraps of paper and later writing them out neatly into my quote journal. There's something very empowering about the words of others especially when they mirror one's own thoughts. So often I just can't put into words what I am feeling and when I find a quotation that expresses these thoughts clearly, it's very satisfying.

Leatherbound journals by Teo Studio. See Teo's Etsy shop here.

Journal by Teo Studio. See Etsy Shop here.

Emerson began writing a journal at about 15 and in it he wrote his thoughts, experiences and quotes from the books that impressed him.

"Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.”
__ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Another journal by Teo Studio. See Teo's blog here.

I have found beautiful handmade journals and artist books on the web, all of which would make wonderful quote "bibles".

Miniature Journal by Teo Studio

If you feel like sharing your favourite quotes I would love to read them.

Leather notebooks and journals by Scaramanga. See more here.

One of my many favourite quotes is by Nigerian writer, Ben Okri ......

"We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans. And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate. It's just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there. Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn't have expected."

Journal by Bridgette Guerzon Mills. See more at amonobooks here.

Journals by Bridgette Guerzon Mills at amanobooks.


Journal by Luthien Thye. See more at Luthien's blog, here.

Artist book by Kathleen Amt. See Kathleen's Flickr photo stream here.

Embroidered Notebooks by Heather Shaw. See Heather's Etsy Shop here.

Journals by Elizabeth Bunsen. See blog here and shop here.

NATURE LOVER

The Birdwoman's Nest by Fidelma Massey. Website here

The sun is out this morning after a few days of rain and everything looks scrubbed, clean and sparkling. The stream is rushing; the baby Robins we saw testing their wings a few days ago have survived the downpour and are out searching for food; the air is crisp and fragrant with earth and lavender.

Still life project by Jessica Still. See Jessica's Flickr photostream here.

I'm in a state of wonder when outdoors or even watching from the window. Whilst typing this post I'm aware of the Hadedas on the lawn delving long beaks into the softened earth, pulling out 12 inch earthworms. They have a way of pulling the earthworms from their holes without snapping them, very carefully, inch by inch.

Jos van Wunnik. See Flickr photostream here.

I'm drawn to artists who have an affinity with nature. Jos van Wunnik springs to mind. I discovered his art and photos on Flickr some time ago and have been a follower of his photostream ever since.

Earth Mother by Jos van Wunnik. See Flickr photostream here.

The work of Patti Roberts-Pizzuto touches me. These pieces encourage me to pause and take notice of the minute details of nature but nobody sums it up better than Patti herself.

Page from the Book of Broken Branches by Patti Roberts-Pizzuto. Blog here. Etsy shop here.

"Stillness. Somehow I need stillness to see clearly, to look, to process what I am seeing. In a culture totally obsessed by the moving image, I feel rather lost in time, as I struggle visually to keep up. Our times thrive on bigger, faster, louder and we move too quickly....it's no wonder we can't remember anything in such a blur of rapid movement."

"In viewing, the work demands a one-on-one experience. These are not works that can be even remotely seen across a room, in a space shared by others...a moment of privacy is necessary to view the work, to slow down, to look, to see and to be...all alone. Whole worlds can unfold inside us when we slow down. " - Patti Roberts-Pizzuto

Inner Compass. A journal by Bridgette Guerzon Mills. Blog here.

Another well known nature lover in the blog world is Bridgette Guerzon Mills, whose art effects me in the same way as a mindful walk through a forest.

From the Heavens to the Earth by Bridgette Guerzon Mills. Blog here.

St Davids Locals by Amanda Wright. Website here.

Queen of Beasts by Fidelma Massey. Website here.

Take a look at Donna Watson's lovely post, Bound by Nature . We often pip each other at the post with similar topics .... but very different content.

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. " - Lao Tzu

SPIRIT OF PLACE

Prayer, monotype with mixed media on paper by Sharmon Davidson

There are some places I feel such a deep connection to that on first arriving I become slightly breathless and have to take a few minutes to adjust to the power of the place..... if that makes sense. Some are places I've never been to before but from the first moment I am drawn to it.

Photo taken at Kosi Bay last October

I experienced this during my first trip to Kosi Bay last year. From the time my feet touched the sand and I began to walk along the broad expanse of beach for mile upon mile, I was overwhelmed by a sense of belonging... of connecting.

Bosley Cloud by Dean Entwistle

I felt similar emotions in some parts of Britain.

Yorkshire Dales, mixed media on canvas by Wendy Asprey

There are other places that I have known all my life that feel almost sacred and yet they also feel like home.

Guardians of Sacred Places by Bridgette Guerzon Mills

The Drakensberg is the place where I feel most at home, most happy and most alive. All my senses seem sharpened when I'm there and I am overawed by the beauty of mountains, forests and streams.

Photo taken on our last trip to Champagne Castle, Drakensberg. (KwaZulu Natal)

Sharmon Davidson's work creates in me the feeling of connection to a place.... sensing the history ..... of people gone before .... of stories ....of lives lived.

Waiting for the storm, mixed media/watercolour on paper by Sharmon Davidson

"The images are formed from the vocabulary of symbols that I've developed as I sought to express the theme that lies at the foundation of it all: a deep belief in the unity and connectedness of everything in the universe". - Sharmon Davidson

The Speed of Darkness, mixed media/watercolor on paper by Sharmon Davidson

"Ancient peoples believed that places had souls. The soul of a place could be found in the genius loci, the guardian spirit whose personality summed up the special characteristics of the location. A proper relationship to the genius loci was necessary in order for a person to dwell there responsibly. In return, the genius loci would nurture and protect the people of the place.

Even in the modern world the basic truth of this ancient relationship still holds: Places that are accorded the respect we have traditionally given to souls are better places as a result. And the people who live there have a better life, too, because places that long have been loved and taken care of can take care of those who dwell in them". - Elizabeth Vander Scaaf

Song of Solitude by Monique Janssen-Belitz

"Since I moved to New Mexico in the summer of 2007, I have been captivated by the enormous depth of the land and its vistas, the seemingly never-ending horizon, as well as by traces of ancient history still visible on the surface patina. The land of New Mexico speaks of enormous spiritual power, palpable in the steep rise of the bare mountains, the wide valley of the Rio Grande and the patterns scribbled over the desert by shrubs, grasses and human incursions. Ancient beliefs and rituals mingle in connection with the land and weather, affecting even the most transient of visitors." - Monique Janssen-Belitz

Lost Connections, mixed media on paper on stretched canvas by Monique Jansse-Belitz