The hands of fiber artist, Maria Hwang Levy by photographer Eric Swansen. See more of Eric's beautiful photographs here.
seeds
encased
until the time is ripe
for new life
new thoughts
new ideas
Maria Hwang Levy. See Maria's amazing work at her website here
"These vessels are receptacles for my thoughts, memories and feelings." - Maria Hwang Levy
Bronwyn Berman. See website here.
"The pod form is deeply 'known', an encapsulation of life to come, a concentration or distillation of all that is complex in nature, containing seeds of new life, of the promise of transformation to new form." - Bronwyn Berman
Geopods by Bronwyn Berman. See website here
"I love the look and texture of the woven form, weaving is women's work, and the forms are female in their nature, seed pods are givers of life, and the pods have a torso kind of quality . " - Bronwyn Berman
Ceramic pod forms by Debra Fleury. See more at Debra's blog here.
Debra Fleury. See more here
Seed Pod Rattles by Demetria Chappo. See blog here
Marisa Molin (cocoon of twigs, screws, zipper ties and copper wire) See website here and Face Book page here
Donna Anderson. See website here
Pat Hickman. See website here
Susanne Klemm coats natural objects in a fine layer of polyolefin or epoxy. See more here
Susanne Klemme. See more here
Scott Cardamatis & Joseph Saad. See more here
Magdalena Abakanowicz. Website here
I couldn't resist this image doing the rounds on Pinterest. I 've not managed to find the artist.
Erik Gonzales. See more of Eric's work at the Costello Childs Gallery website here
I suppose we all have a place in our hearts, perhaps from childhood or another life time that makes the heart ache when you think about it. A place that has a strong pull but is sometimes too painful to think about because you know you can't go back. I learned to love nature in such a place. When I feel a connection to all the things that live and grow in the countryside I also feel a connection to the farm I grew up on.
Erik Gonzales. See more here
I find this poem by Pablo Neruda particularly moving.
Lost in the forest, I broke off a dark twig
and lifted its whisper to my thirsty lips:
maybe it was the voice of the rain crying,
a cracked bell, or a torn heart.
Something from far off: it seemed
deep and secret to me, hidden by the earth,
a shout muffled by huge autumns,
by the moist half-opened darkness of leaves.
Wakening from the dreaming forest there, the hazel-sprig
sang under my tongue, its drifting fragrance
climbed up through my conscious mind
as if suddenly the roots I had left behind
cried out to me, the land I had lost with my childhood --
and I stopped, wounded by the wandering scent.
- Pablo Neruda
An Unwritten Book by Fiona Watson. See Fiona's Flickr photo stream here
Fiona Watson. See more of Fiona's work here
Fiona Watson. See more here
One-of-a-kind artist book by Jill Hubley. Click here
Everything/Something, a unique book with wooden pages, screenprint, gouache by Karen Kunc. See website here.
Bee Mapping by Cas Holmes. This piece is currently on tour in the 5th European Quilt Art Tour. See website here and blog here
Rosie Turnbull textile print. Click here.
Exquisite Leaf by Francis Ooi. See more here
Mayumi Sarai draws inspiration from organic structures and other natural processes to create her carved wooden sculptures. See more here
Bronze sculpture by Mark Hall. See more here
Stephen Croeser
From the poem WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN WAKING by David Whyte
Now, looking through
the slanting light
of the morning
window
toward
the mountain
presence
of everything
that can be,
what urgency
calls you to your
one love? What shape
waits in the seed
of you to grow
and spread
its branches
against a future sky?
Read the whole poem here.
Stephen Croeser. See Stephen's Face Book albums here.
When describing his work, South African artist, Stephen Croeser said "Architecture as metaphor might be a good starting place .... the threshold or portal .... here and there .... doorways, dimensions etc ..... yet also mark, music, time death, loss, longing, the spritual, memory, energy, and attempts to keep art and life integrated ..... "
Stephen Croeser. Ink, acrylic and pencil on paper. See more here and here
"When space and time are in short supply I tend to work on paper with ink and other water based mediums. It is a way of staying connected and also serves as a means to explore ideas, compositions or territories rapidly. One could say there exists some form of symbiosis between the drawings and the paintings, the mediums being very different with regards to viscosity and the speed at which one can work. However, these distinctions often blur or break down completely.
The creative process remains a mysterious one, one that, I admit, I do not fully understand. it is experiment, discovery and exploration that are the compelling agents at work here. Thankfully there is much that remains mysterious and hidden to us all." - Stephen Croeser
Stephen Croeser. See Stephens Face Book albums here
Photo by Elena Burj. Found here.
Photo by Avril on Flickr. See more here
Photo by racons on Flickr. See photo stream here.
Window Lighting by Beverly Slone. See Flickr photo stream here
Daniella Witte. See more here.
Passage Way 1 by Eric on Flickr. Click here.
View by Anne Valeur Erichsen. See Anne's Flickr photo stream here
Jennifer Smith. Click here to see Jennifer's Flickr photo stream
Joy Harjo's poem,
Perhaps the World Ends Here,
brings home the sense of family we feel
when sitting around the kitchen table
.....or any table for that matter.
A Table where family and good friends
gather to eat and catch up
with whatever is happening
in their day to day lives ....
Kenne Gregoire. See website here
PERHAPS THE WORLD ENDS HERE by Joy Harjo
The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what,
we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table.
So it has been since creation, and it will go on.
We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe
at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.
It is here that children are given instructions on what
it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.
At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts
of lovers.
Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms
around our children. They laugh with us at our poor
falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back
together once again at the table.
The table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella
in the sun.
Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place
to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate
the terrible victory.
We have given birth on this table, and have prepared
our parents for burial here.
At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow.
We pray of suffering and remorse.
We give thanks.
Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table,
while we are laughing and crying,
eating of the last bite.
Kenne Gregoire. See Kenne's website here.
Anna Williams. See website here and interview here
Katie Quinn Davies. See website here
Hannah Queen. See more at Hannah's Flickr photo stream, here
Anna Gawlak. See more here.
Philippa Stanton. Click here to see more of this Table series
Philippa Stanton. See more here
Philippa Stanton (This one's for Leslie and Donna :-)
I've written about the kitchen table of my childhood here and posted On The Table here . Perhaps there's a message for me in these posts.
