Thursday Thoughts...

“I like things that are labour intensive. You make a little thing and another little thing and eventually see a possibility” 

 Kiki Smith

I like the approach that is implied in here. That you can start small, and just keep adding a bit here or a bit there; or another one of those and something emerges.

Not everything starts out as a grand gesture or statement. Not everyone dreams big and makes bold. But oftentimes it's the small things that come together to make something rich and powerful.

I am less sure of the direct connection between labour intensity and making lots of small things; I think a large painting or mural is also labour intensive. Perhaps they are also made of lots of little elements and small parts that in the end come together to produce the large things. The difference in my head is that they start out with a big thought or plan, rather than incrementally creating something.

I enjoy coming across artists firstly by their quotes, which I resonate with or find intriguing, and then following up to find out who they are what they do. Her work is full of small moments...

Memorial to Birds Having Flown 2015.

Love this piece and it gives me great joy to visit the bathroom at a friend's home and come upon it!

Commissions underway and a couple of locals

 After our wee Pop Up Art Show I was asked to do a few jewellery commissions. Given I now have a small kit and set up here I was happy to go ahead and do them.  It is a bit trickier working my way through a few things, but mostly things go well. Or at least when I stumble and stutter I ask B for guidance and assistance!

One of the most important bits of gear I need is a pair of curved pliers. And look at these beauties! I couldn't buy plain or boring ones, these were all I could find, and wow they are beautiful and work brilliantly. And they make me smile whenever I pick them up.

I have completed one commission and it looks lovely - a combination of shiny, oxidised and textured.

I have another two large pendants and a pair of earrings to complete, and as of yesterday another pair of earrings if I can find the time! So today it was head down and bum up so to speak out in the workshop shed. B ably assisted by sawing all the wire I had cut with pliers to get the beautiful flat surface you need to solder.

Sorted into wire size and length.

And then the shaping and soldering began.

I then ground and shaped the solder joins to make them smooth and flat. And now there is flattening, oxidising and polishing to do, as well as making them up into the jewellery. Fingers are crossed for having them all done by the weekend.

And then to the locals...

This morning this solo sheep was sentinel on the hillside at the entrance to the village.

And yesterday, we came across these coos - all so relaxed and just hanging about.

Once again, a coo-let!

We drove by slowly and then turned around to drive back and this view made us both laugh as we came around the bend.

We feel so lucky to live nearby where the coos roam...

Good news and a trip to Orkney

A week or so ago I had the pleasure of asking my Dad to post off my book "Red Card" to Artspace Mackay as it has been selected as a finalist in The Libris Awards - Australia's premier artists' book prize.

It is an honour to have your books selected for this show, and when I look at the catalogue I am impressed by so many of the books that will be there.

The show opens, and the winners are announced, not long after we return o Australia so we won't be getting on a plane and heading north for it which is a bit of a shame, but we will watch with interest from afar!

Red offers the segue to the few days we had in Orkney through the week. We love visiting the islands and get a real fix of art when we are there and because we are here in Summer time, we also got to see places that have often been closed on previous visits.

But also, the flowers are out and how good is this red poppy? It was the size of a bread and butter plate and was bursting with its vibrant gloriousness.

Apart from art we had many a good coffee, cake and meal... and managed to do our Biblio twice!

And we wandered and wandered the streets and lanes and closes and wynds and piers of Stromness...

As ever, we really enjoyed our visit and are already planning for when we next return to the cottage, to pop over and do some new and different things.

Thursday Thoughts...

“Books can not be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory... In this war, we know, books are weapons. And it is a part of your dedication always to make them weapons for man's freedom.” 

 Franklin D. Roosevelt

Well, there is a lot to say about this, who said it, why they said it and how different things are in some places today. Perhaps not burning books per se, but banning them.

But back to the sentiments I think the then President was reflecting upon. He clearly knew the power of books and of the written word. Of how impactful they can be; and how they can become embedded in memory and in oral traditions and oral histories even if they are destroyed.

Books are powerful, and yes they can be weapons because they can ignite imagination and courage. And yes, they should be used in pursuit of man's (people's) freedom, not as weapons of division and hatred.

Simply put, I agree with pretty much everything he is saying here.

 

Timbers burning, not books.

A rainbow in a garden

 Last week we wandered over to Tongue and to Cereal Bakery once more, and on the way home we stopped off at Eddie's Garden. Somebody had mentioned to us there was a walled garden nearby; and we had driven past it a few times and I had spied signs; but this time we stopped and double checked that yes you're just allowed to wander in by yourself, and so we did!

It was a beautiful and welcoming garden full of colour and scent and the buzzing of many bees.

There was so much to look at and enjoy, but after a while I decided I would focus my meanderings a bit and look to see if I could find a rainbow. And I did.

We had such a lovely wander, the sun was shining and there was just so much to delight the senses. Clearly it was also a really good time of year to visit when everything was opening and buzzing and being beautiful.

On the way home we also stopped at a friend's place and I loved these dark grey/black 'cones' on her tree.

I know there's no black and no white in a rainbow, but I feel like these two sort of book-end a rainbow!

Of markets and making

 We spent yesterday at the Watten Craft Market and enjoyed ourselves as well as having a successful day.

After the Pop Up we thought we could take along some things that hadn't sold, but also make some more things - like cards!

So my making this week has been mostly cards, but also some jewellery commissions.

I decided to make more of the flowers they have always been popular; and some sort of abstracted photographic ones that might suit blokes a bit better?

I am the world's worst at retail, and understanding what might sell, so who knows!?!? I made 4 of these and none of them sold, but I still think they are OK.

I sold a few of the flowers too, with a bit of interest in the hand stitched ones made using scraps, so I think the stitched detail made a difference for folk.

And then to the jewellery making. I sold a few pairs of earrings at the Market and a pendant so that was good. I don't have many pieces left which is also nice! I received a couple of commissions out of the Pop Up, so have to get down and get making, which I have done.

I need to make 6 small pebble forms, so here I made 7 just in case...

In high contrast, I also need to make a large pendant and a pair of large earrings. This means another 7 pebble forms, and here they are after soldering. I like the dappled light in the shed!

This is where I got to by Friday - pickled, polished and shiny!

And because art is life and life is art...

As I left a coffee shop the other day I noticed this wee scrap in the gravel. I picked it up and brought it home.

And then it became a wee bit of temporary art on a timber block in our window sill...

Thursday Thoughts...

“I love ritual and repetition. Without them I would be a balloon with a slow leak”. 

 Anne Lamott

I am back to Anne Lamott - her mind is just so interesting. Her life too, and the many ways in which she has learned things is great. I listened to a conversation with her by Monica Lewinsky on Monica's new podcast this week and there was much to mull over.

But here I find that yet again we are simpatico. I love ritual and repetition and I would add routine.

From the way she describes what happens when she doesn't have them in her life, it seems to me that she finds they keep her upright; they keep her buoyant; they keep her moving.  That without them she literally runs out of puff and doesn't know which direction to head in, or how to move along.

Aimless perhaps? 

I think ritual and reparations are also very comforting and calming; the patterns and the rhythms offer days and lives on repeat keep like  heartbeat in the background. A steady and reliable pulsing. Without them I reckon I would go from sinus rhythm to an arrhythmia of sorts.

A slow leaking balloon made me pause and think about all of the things that implied and suggested; and I love how she made me do that with her simple words.

Me with ritual and routine!

Photographic play

It's interesting to me how often I look at things and think about beautiful photographic imagery. Oftentimes, especially when I can't be making by hand myself, my eye enjoys creating beauty with my camera.

Here are a few shots from the last week.

This small arrangement sits atop the microwave in our kitchen here. Some dried honesty in a tactile ceramic vase; a matching but different spot vase bought in Bergen; a silver plate hammered by B; and a paper wasp's nest sitting upon it.

I love the tones, I love the forms, I love the simplicity.

I thought to see how it might appear if I played with the camera a bit.

I like how this one went all out of focus - the softness hints at something, tho I am not sure. A memory? A forgottenenss? Something just out of reach?

And this one I like for its clarity at the front - the detail on the new spotty vase are delightful.

Another arrangement I quite like is these wee hoosies that B made, set upon our fireplace mantle.  All well and good I thought, but really, twinkle lights would make it better! In my view, twinkle lights make pretty much everything better.

I think it might be the way the copper wire refuses to be controlled or trained to a particular shape. I love the random wriggles it draws.

This one reminds me of street lights on a misty foggy night.

A bit similar but simply noir.

And with this one I like the dark undercarriage and the contrasting brightness above.

Making this post really made me wonder a bit about how to bring beautiful imagery into our lives; not just something to be shared on our screens.

I pondered whether we could buy two lovely frames and have them somewhere we would see them; and on a weekly basis or fortnightly basis, simply print a new photo that made use smile, and pop it in the frame to enjoy for a while.

Moving art around, replacing and refreshing art is the way we do things now. In two small homes we have boxes or cupboards with beautiful arty bits, and I regularly move things around, bring these out for show, pop things away for a rest and create new arrangements throughout the house. It makes me smile to see beautiful art in sometimes unexpected places; and to be reminded of old friends when they re-appear.

So I am now wondering if I could use some photos in a similar way??? 

Any which way, seeing art and beauty all around me, spending a few moments capturing it and enjoying it are also ways of feeding my soul and nurturing me.