WORKING IN QUIET SOLITUDE

.... then silence in the morning. Mixed media collage by Michel Lefebvre


My husband left to go fishing at 4.00 am on Sunday morning so I had the whole day to finish carving a totem which had been giving me a few headaches. By the time the first hadeda called I'd already set up my work bench in the courtyard and by midday I was totally immersed in my carving. Working in quiet solitude, more often than not, helps me to find and fix any problem areas in my art.

Silent. by James Blackwell. See more of Jame's work on his website here.

James Blackwell's work centres on themes of silence, nature, structure and meditation.

"Solitude has always been a luxury I have embraced. It is the quiet friend who directs you to larger truths; it is the ghost of all those yesterdays, distilled into our unique perception and view of the world." - James Blackwell

Silent. Mixed media by James Blackwell

Judit Varga's clay vessels have that weather-worn look that I love, reminding me of gnarled coils of bark or sea corroded conch shells.

Blue Cocoon by Judit Varga. See more of Judit's work here.


"I work in a quiet solitude in my studio and find this peaceful loneliness a perfect stage for my play with clay. In the silence sometimes there is a moment of harmony when the clay and I understand each other perfectly, we know exactly what the other one wants to do. Those are the moments that I long for and this longing draws me back to the studio to open up a new bag of clay and start again. - Judit Varga


Twisted lines #3 by Judit Varga

I recently discovered the small collages of Michel Lefebvre and immediately fell head over heels in love with them. Wander over to Penumbra to see more of Michel's collages, here.


The heart of the matter . Mixed media collage by Michel Lefebvre


"I create these small mixed media/collage pieces every morning at 5h30, sitting at my desk with an espresso (which serves as a wash to delineate the image field!). They are, I suppose, a kind of meditation, a way to focus and begin the day. The format is small (9.5 x 14 centimetres) and I try to post a drawing every day". - Michel Lefebvre


A leap of faith. Mixed media collage by Michel Lefebvre



When did you get here? Mixed media collage by Michel Lefebvre

My life in Japan. Mixed media collage by Michel Lefebvre

“The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside. Only he who listens can speak.” - Dag Hammarskjold

Places I've been meaning to explore. Mixed media collage by Michel Lefebvre

THANK YOU!

Thanks to everyone for all the warm helpful comments and emails regarding my website. You've no idea how much you have helped me! I've made a start and am learning as I go along. I still have to find out how to create the thumbnail photos (click to enlarge) but otherwise I'm pretty chuffed that the end is in sight.

SEED POD INSPIRATION

Landcare II 2006 by James Blackwell. See Flickr photostream here. Website, here.



The streets where I live are lined with Oak trees, Sausagetrees and Lucky Bean Trees (Erythrina). These trees bear some of my favourite seeds and pods. As a child I was always thrilled to find lucky beans and acorns, and since we moved to this area I've been intrigued by the Sausagetree pods that hang from the trees by long stalks.



Earthwork. Mixed media, seeds and sand on board by James Blackwell. See enlarged here.



I've found many beautiful artworks on the internet, inspired by an intriguing variety of seed pods in all shapes and sizes. It's not only the shapes and texture of these pods that draw me but it's also the thought that within each seed lies the power to grow into something great whether its a delicate wild flower , a magnificent oak tree..... or the seed of an idea developing within the mind of the artist .


As Ralph Waldo Emerson quoted "The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."



Like sea shells and pebbles, seed pods also find their way into pockets to be brought home from walks. I should imagine Australian artist, James Blackwell, comes home with pockets overflowing with nature's treasures.



Pod Cluster, paper mache by James Blackwell. See Blog here.



"The artwork I create centres on the themes of nature, silence, structure and meditation. They are sourced from the investigation of the minutiae of nature of life and the surprising forms that can grow from it." - James Blackwell

The Peanutty Book by Megha Panater

One of the many things I admire about Megha Punater, besides her art, photographs and blog, is the whimsical way she teaches her children about the natural wonders of the world. Look at this delightful little book she has made out of peanut shells. See the Peanutty Book here.There is also the Walnutty Book here which Megha created to answer her children's many questions about the goodness of walnuts. It needs to be seen!

Australian native seeds from Western Australia by Sophie Munns


Another Australian artist, Sophie Munns pays homage to the Seed in a year long artist-in-residence program at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. Visit Sophie's Homage to the Seed blog, here and her other blog here where you can see photos of her exhibition opening. Definitely an exhibition I would have enjoyed! Sophie's blogs are filled with exquisite drawings, journal pages, paintings, botanical notes and ponderings, showing wondrous appreciation and total immersion in everything seedy ..... well you know what I mean! A big thank you to Sophie for the good work she does raising awareness of the importance of seed conservation.

Pod Forms. Acrylic and pigmented ink on linen by Sophie Munns.

Seedpods and Skull by Jo Chesterman. See more of Jo's work here.

Poppy Pods at the Gloustershire Museum. Photo taken by sandlings on Flickr. See sandlings photostream here.

Seed Pod by Tom Hare at Kew Gardens. Photos by Leo Reynolds. See Leo's Flickr photostream here. See more of Tom's fantastic willow sculptures here.

Regeneration by Jan Hopkins at the Jane Sauer Gallery, here.


Pod-like ceramic objects by by Ann Decker. See more of Ann's work here.

Burnished and bisque fired ceramic seed pod by Rafael Navarro. See more of Rafael's work here.

Brooch by Sarah Parker-Eaton. See more here.



Seedpods. Photograph by Roger Ballen. See more of Roger's sometimes (most times) disquiting photos here.

Omo Tribe, body paint and decorations. Photo by Hans Silvester. Blog post here.

"Despite its primitive smallness a seed is an energy centre charged to the highest degree .... each seed is the spin off of a certain species and a talisman for the regeneration of that species." - Paul Klee

Jala mentioned the book SEEDS by Rob Kessler. The photography is out of this world!