20 CHICKENS .... AND THE KITCHEN SINK

Photograph by Laurent Rappa. See more of Laurent's beautiful photographs, here.

In Africa it is not uncommon to see people, especially women, carrying heavy loads on their heads and they seem to do it with relative ease. I have seen a slim woman eating fruit and talking on the cell phone, whilst carrying a baby on her back at the same time as balancing a huge basket of groceries on her head. She walked serenely with the most beautiful posture.
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As children we tried to carry boxes filled with groceries on our heads but we were ungainly and most times unsuccessful at keeping the load steady for longer than a few seconds.There's deffinitely a nack to it and I think one develops muscles to do this succesfully.


"I wish I could carry bananas on my head" by Blaseur. Flickr photostream here.

Over the years we have seen people carrying everything from one small object such as a tub of margarine to large household objects such as cupboards, beds, refridgerators .... and the kitchen sink.

Photo from blog here.

Sewing machines and bolts of fabric....

Photograph by Laurent Rappa. Flickr photostream here.

Firewood....

Wood Carrier. Photograph by Martin Harvey. Link here.

Containers of water and laundry.....

See article by Andrew Harding, here.

20 Chickens .....


Photograph by Kassi Cowles. Blog here.

Groceries.....


Photo by Laurent Rappa. See more here.

"This is a typical street scene. Men and women carry loads on their head all the time because it's way easier to do than carry it with your hands... the weight is spread out more evenly. I like this picture because while it looks like she is a '"traditional african woman" carrying things on her head wearing her traditional fabric, she is walking around Dakar which is a very modern city with paved roads and a Sharp Electronics billboard in the background." Ashleigh's Gallery , here.


A woman carries a whole cows head away from the market in Lagos. Story here.


"Based on studies of women of the Luo and Kikuyu tribes of East Africa, researchers have found that people can carry loads of up to 20 percent of their own body weight without expending any extra energy beyond what they'd use by walking around unencumbered" - Jessica Dweck

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

GOOD SALES AND GOOD BOOKS

Detail of Niche Door by Robyn Gordon. Wood Carving 63cm x 70cm x 6.5cm (24" x 27")

It's been a lucky week! Three good sales and a parcel of new books arriving on my doorstep.....



A little breathing space to page through my new books before starting my next carving.

Lee Bontecou: A Retrospective, is the most beautiful book! Lee's work is strikingly different to anything I've seen before. At first glance these pieces look like metal sheets patched together but they actually consist of canvas and scavenged fabrics stretched over welded steel frameworks, stitched with wire. They are extremely powerful and one wonders where these ideas came from. What inspires an artist to create something like this?

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An article by Diane Calder gives a little insight .....

"As Bontecou worked in her studio, her short wave radio broadcasted threats of attack by (cold war) terrorists or news of horrific events in Africa. Fear and anger that she had felt as a child, about the Holocaust, began to surface. “I’d get so depressed that I’d have to stop and turn to more open work. Work that I felt was more optimistic--where for example, there might be just one single opening, and the space beyond it was like opening up into the heavens, going up into space, feeling space. The other kind of work was like war equipment. With teeth. Not many people realize that. But the funny thing is that those canvases ended in German museums or Israeli ones. Just where they belonged, without my saying a thing. One of those pieces went to the Jewish Museum in New York. It was a sort of memorial of my feelings. I never titled any of these. Once I started to and it seemed to limit people to a certain response, so I didn’t continue.”

Read Nancy Natale's excellent post about Lee Bontecou, here.

Amazon link, here.

"The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable." - Robert Henri

AFRICAN AMBIANCE

The Kim Sacks Gallery link has been in my sidebar for a while now but it is easy to miss so I think its time I introduced you to one of the most well known galleries in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kim Sacks has a knack for finding extraordinary art and craft for her gallery from all over Africa, ranging from the old and valuable....



to the unusual and quirky .......

...... as well as the traditional to the contemporary.

Telephone Wire Bowls


She is also an accomplished ceramic artist herself and loves to share her appreciation for this artform. The Kim Sacks School of Ceramics is known nationally as one of the most important Clay Environments in South Africa. See website here.

Exquisite Bowls by Kim Sacks

"I am by inclination a Nomad, who is also a Ceramicist of 40+ years. A teacher, Gallery Owner, Photographer, Obsessive Collector, Social Anthrolpologist, Joyful Gardner and Cook." - Kim Sacks



One of Clementina van der Walt's bowls. Visit Clementina's website, here and blog, here.


"In the 21st century, we are aggressively being catapulted into this cyber age of information overload. Making contemplative and utilitarian objects by hand, may appear anachronistic and at odds with the spirit of the times. However, the ceramic discipline, with cultural and historical links to rituals of everyday life, encompasses society, religion and philosophy. Like music and poetry, it expresses a world of complexity and awe, with the capacity to touch the soul. The archetypal significance of the home, as a point where our spiritual and earthy lives interconnect is where I have attempted to explore these ideas." - Clementina van der Walt.

Clementina van der Walt at Kim Sacks Gallery. See blog post, here.

Tiles by Clementina van der Walt

Bus by Richard Sithole

Master Bus Maker, Richard Sithole

Detail of Widow and orphan by Samuel Musharu

There are many more photographs of Sam and Lindelani's amazing work on Kim's blog.

Kiss Eternal Kiss. Copper wire woven and constructed sculpture by Lindelani Ngwenya.

If you visit the link here, remember to view the slides in the sidebar too. Beautiful images to inspire!

POEM

Mixed media piece by Gabriel Lalonde, See blog here.

"In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, I learn how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art." - Jelaludin Rumi


Ode to Gray by Helena Gullstrom.See more here.

Botanical Notes by Tor Archer. See more at the Donna Seager Gallery, here.


Mixed media by Cathy Cullis. See more here and here.

Black Heart by Cathy Cullis. Etsy shop here.

You could not come (and yet go) by Brigid Collins. Mixed media inspired by a poem by Elizabeth Jennings. See more at the Kilmorack Gallery, here.

Our Two Souls by Brigid Collins. Mixed media inspired by a poem by John Donne.
See more at the Kilmorack Gallery, here.



Ancient Text series IV by Rosie Huart. Website here.



Additional Poem by Andrew Crane. See Andrew's work here.


"A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." - Robert Frost

Three Poems about Beauty by Graceann Warn. See website here.

FOREST

Spring Forest by Andrew Wyeth. Website here.

Walking through forests, especially in the Drakensberg of KwaZulu Natal, is always a rejuvenating experience for me. Just recently I read an article in Science Daily about studies indicating the good effects of natural environments on one's nervous system.

Dr Eeva Karjalainen, of the Finnish Forest Research Institute says "Many people feel relaxed and good when they are out in nature. But not many of us know that there is also scientific evidence about the healing effects of nature."

Forest Remembered by Wen Redmond. Website here.

The article continues....

"Forests -- and other natural, green settings -- can reduce stress, improve moods, reduce anger and aggressiveness and increase overall happiness. Forest visits may also strengthen our immune system by increasing the activity and number of natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells.

Many studies show that after stressful or concentration-demanding situations, people recover faster and better in natural environments than in urban settings. Blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the level of "stress hormones" all decrease faster in natural settings. Depression, anger and aggressiveness are reduced in green environments and ADHD symptoms in children reduce when they play in green settings."

This doesn't surprise me at all. Read the whole article here.

Nils-Udo 4. Photograph by Dylan Wolfe. See Flickr photostream, here.

Whilst googling work by Land artist Nils Udo, I was delighted to stumble upon Dylan Wolfe's Flickr photostream and 639 photos .... yes 639 photos! .... of the behind the scene creation of Udo's Clay Nest. I've not seen such an amazing record anywhere else on the internet. Do yourself a favour and have a look, here.

"The photos are an archive I've been collecting in association with the Nature-based Sculpture Program of the South Carolina Botanical Garden. Some of the images are the actual portfolio shots taken upon completion of the project, while others were added to the collection by program staff, the artists, community members, and other people working on the archival project. We've started a website, naturebasedart.org, and are working on a book about the sculptures produced by the program." - Dylan Wolfe.

Nest in Red Clay by Nils Udo. Read about it here.

Tower by Nils Udo

Forest Spirits by Sedona artist, Deanne McKeown. Website here.

Palmsonntag. Mixed media by Anselm Kiefer. See more enlarged photos here.

Leaf Loot by Carolyn Saxby. See Carolyn's Flickr photo stream here and blog here.


Detail from The Book of Forests by Kathyanne White. See large photos of the Book of Forests, here.

Forest Walk by Nerine Tassie. See more of Nerine's work here.

Handmade artist's book by Catherine Nash. See more at the Conrad Wilde Gallery, here.

I found this Rene Menard quote in Catherine's artist statement.

".....I live in great density....Shelter lures me. I slump down into the thick foliage.... In the forest, I am my entire self. Everything is possible in my heart just as it is in the hiding places in ravines." - Rene Menard, Le Livre des Arb

The Forest by Ton Dubbeldam. See more of Ton's work here.