Biblio and words

A friend recently gave me this book, and I took it along to our first Biblio session here to read. I thought it might be nice and enjoyable; I didn't think it would inspire me and get me excited!

It introduced me to the notion of ekphrasis - "a literary device consisting of a vivid, detailed description of a visual work of art". Being a pretty much self taught artistic type person I am often rather late to the party when it comes to well understood notions in this world (strangely my degree in physiotherapy and post grad in public sector management never mentioned it!).

And I got excited and wrote notes.

I read the poems and then spent the rest of the time investigating this new word and looking for exercises to take me through the process of doing it. I read lots of things and wrote lots of notes.

This week at Biblio I decided to try out the exercises on a painting we have in our bedroom here. I love the painting and thought there was so much in it.

We purchased it nearby, and it is called Night Swimming by Rhona Graham. Luckily I had forgotten the title as I was doing this work.

I began by letting my eyes rove over it for 5 minutes, looking at what caught my eye first; what I noticed; where my eye went next; the different things I saw.

Then I simply wrote for 10 minutes and was intrigued where my thinking began to go.

After those 10 minutes, which were pretty descriptive and literal; I turned to do 10 minutes of creative writing, trying to loosen myself up to find words and rhythms and meanings. Some of the prompts were to consider the point of view you might write from, take your observations out of the frame and so on.

After those 10 minutes I went away and thought about words a bit and rhythm. Then the next step was to cull these words and to simply write 10 lines.

It was such an enjoyable process and exercise. I melded steps from all sorts of sources and mixed and matched and changed the process half way through but ended up doing something I really enjoyed and that got me a lot further down the path towards a poem than I would have had I simply looked at the painting and written "an ode to a painting".

My ten lines at the end of it:

Safe harbour, amongst the many moons

All the moons

Expanding to an infinity of stars

Water settles into permanent night

Serene, secure, safe

Ways in and ways out

Steering clear of worries

Breathing in the dark sky

Drawing in the moon glow

Releasing the deep water.

There is more to do in refining and working on rhythms and culling and re-arranging, but I am so pleased that I have the kernel of poem sitting here, speaking with me.

I do love learning!

Thursday Thoughts...

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.” 

 Georgia O’Keeffe

The older I get, the more I enjoy trying to understand what making and creating is REALLY about. I sometimes think oh yeah it's all right for famous and successful artists to say that recognition or success is irrelevant, but of course no matter their status, they are right!

More and more I am on the side of the folk who think about art as a way of expression; as a means by which our personal slant on the world or thoughts about something can be shown. In particular I love this idea of our unknown becoming known.

So much of art making is a mystery and for sure, much of it is unknown even to ourselves. I imagine Ms O'Keefe is saying here that the important thing is that we bring forth previously unknown thoughts and ideas and imagery and allow them to be seen; and to be known.

And I think it is important that she refers to YOUR unknown, nobody else's.

The Library of Lost Words (2014) - I did not know I needed to do this all those years ago, but loved doing it!

Dabbling and viewing

 It felt good to sit down and get my hand moving again. 

Whenever I need to begin again and feel my way, it's good to sit down, touch things, tidy things, put some things away, pull some things out, and wait to see what happens. 

I sat at my wee desk-studio space and made some postcards out of some left over prints. I also found three strips I had left over, cut from something else last time, and put them together to make a book mark. Nothing earth-shattering or brilliant, but getting back in the groove of putting things together and making stuff.

We visited the gallery at the North Coast Visitor Centre last week and there was a vibrant showing by young people from the area. I was particularly taken with these glorious wings, with over 500 young people participating.

And we have hyacinths, and the first of the lambs...

Cottage arrival and welcome

We arrived at the cottage through the week and were welcomed by big blue skies and the mildest of weathers. Of course this changed to quite chilly weather as well; but no rain and not too much wind means it has been a mild re-entry...

Here are some of ht moments from the first week. I hope to get my hands into some arty things in the next few days, but for now I am adjusting to the beauty of this place and falling in love with it all over again.

The cove with lots of different colours happening.

Morning light on the crofts - so many lovely dividing lines of fences..

Waiting at the old school gate...

One of my favourites - our neighbour's sheep along the top of our stone dyke and some of our sculptures and daffodils.

Speaking of which, I brought a real variety inside to enjoy.

But there were plenty of lovely ones outside to be enjoyed as well.

And the cottage looking gorgeous in the sunlight with the blue sky and daffs in front.

One of Barry's peace doves still flying, in the plum tree, which very happily is flowering!

And then a different bird on a sunrise wire...

A truly lovely return and much beauty around us.

Thursday Thoughts...

"A story can always break into pieces while it sits inside a book on a shelf; and, decades after we have read it even twenty times, it can open us up, by cut or caress, to a new truth." 

Andre Dubus

I oftentimes wonder about which books to keep on my shelf. Which books might I re-read? Which books should I say I have read you once and that is all I need? These words suggest that perhaps I should keep them all and regularly re-read them! I doubt that I could, but I do agree with the sentiments that suggest that even after a very long time, book can be re-read and utterly shatter us.

So much of the joy and wonder of reading is the equation that a book = author's words plus reader's perceptions. And each and every one of us brings our experiences and thoughts and beliefs to the reading of a book; and of course, these change over time. 

I love the phrasing here of how, after re-reading, a book can open us up by cut or caress - it can wound us or enfold us. So true, depending on where we are and where we have been in the intervening years.

Also the notion that what we had thought of as "the story" can itself, break into pieces and be re-formed or re-shaped into a new story based on who we are now.

Sigh, so many big ideas, and so much to think about and consider about the process of reading and re-reading.

A week of words

 Every morning for a long time, Barry and I have chosen a word for the day. We stopped the other day and realised that in fact, I had written out these cards in 2004 when we were living in Hobart. So for 21 years, we have paused, first thing in the morning, with a glass of juice, selected our words, and pondered on how the words might move with us through the day.

In my mind's eye I can see us doing it in Hobart, then in an apartment in Canberra, then again in the shed in Maleny, then the house, and now in our unit. 

We used to have them in a different bowl, but a while ago now Barry hammered a bowl so that we could combine the two us and our work in our daily words practice. I daresay this colour blue ink would not appear in any set I made today!

It is a lovely practice - even when the words are challenging and I wonder what on Earth the Universe has in mind for me when I select them. We always do the selection without looking.

The other week, just before we headed off, this was our selection. It was so beautiful and so perfect that I photographed it. I then thought I should photograph a week's worth of words, just to see the variety of words to ponder, so here we are.

Sunday.

You could just tell it was going to be a beautiful day.

This was Monday. It always interests me when I get a word like truth. How will I work with that word? Will it be a day for truth-telling? Or truth-seeking? Always interesting to me!

You can see the wear and tear on some of the cards, and certainly the foxing that has occurred in our moist climate and with lots of handling. The originally sharp corners are all now curved as well

And on to Tuesday.

Humility always gets me - reminds me to think of others, not assume I am right and so on. I am often humbled just to get the word - it feels like the Universe reckons I might need reminding...

As often happens, one of us selected the same word two days in a row! We even try to work out what we are supposed to learn from this? Another chance for happiness? Bring more happiness to the world - it needs it?

Wednesday. We got another repeat this week - truth; and it was nice to get creativity, even tho the day ahead had not many moments one could foresee where creativity may take place! Still, it felt to me like a reminder that creativity is a part of my life, and that I get to live a creative life (even if not every day).

Thursday... Trust is a good one to get when I am worried about stuff - it helps remind me to let go of anxiety and fretting and trust that things will be as they shall be. And of course, release is an equally good reminder to let go of things, like worry! Occasionally one does wonder if the Universe isn't being a bit solid with its reminders...

And so to Friday where there was a real change of pace and the sensation of a delightful day to get into and enjoy. I must say that delight is one of my all time favourite words. I adore the sensation of the word as well as the way it feels as I say it. To join it with inspiration set these scene for a good day. I love to think about where one finds inspiration; what word or image or conversation might spark a little something...

And on Saturday we got one of the ones we are never really sure about. We often look at each other when one of us selects the blank. Does it mean that anything could happen? Is it a reminder that we have no control over anything? Is it simply suggesting that unexpected and unanticipated joy and wonder await? We always talk about it when we get it. And another repeat of release, which feels about right given we were under the pump a bit!

So there you go, a wander through a week of our words as we we select them, and ponder them, and continue to be intrigued by them, as much now as when we began 21 years ago...

We don't have a set with us at the cottage, but perhaps I should remedy that some day.

Thursday Thoughts...

“People too often think hope is smiles and sunshine, when it’s fury in the face of danger and oppression, and pressing on in the storm”. 

 Rebecca Solnit

Rebecca Solnit remains one of the people I can read at the moment. There is so much, too much, that is awful and frightening, but Solnit always has a practical and hopeful way of looking at things and galvanising action.

I love that hope can be fury!

Fury that drives us to take a stand, to take action and to show up and let people know that this is not right, is exactly hope. We are trying to say we believe in a better future, we believe that together we should take a stand because who knows where that may lead, and that it may just cause a slight deviation in the projected path that buys us time or improves an outcome or shifts some thinking.

Promotion Plus!!!

 It has been a time of so many things!

A little while ago I was advised that a piece of my work had been selected for the Annual Juried issue of Letter Arts Review.(LAR). LAR is the pinnacle of lettering arts journals across the world and I have been rejected three times; and then I gave up.  For whatever reason I had a notion to enter one last time and was as surprised as all get out to be told that one of my Grief is A Stone pieces had been selected as an example of some of the best lettering arts going around in the past year!

I know that these things cannot really be representative of the best of anything - in fact they can only show the best of what is submitted; and then the definition of best is so subjective and if your work speaks to a judge, then it might be selected, if not it might be rejected; and yet the quality of the work is there in both. So I know all that, but it doesn't take away from the feeling of being super chuffed to have been selected!

Here are some links to the process of the making of this piece.

A neighbour recently mentioned that my jewellery had pride of place in the window at Maleny Additions, and I thought I should have a quick peek. Sure enough two pendants and two pairs of earrings were on show - looking lovely and twinkly.

And the last little bit of something was that the seminar I am teaching in NZ in September is out and about and being advertised.

Here is the link to the video if you'd like to watch it.

P.S. it's a video about me, not the workshop!

Simply Being

My book "Simple Being" is finished.

This book and its words has been swirling around in my head for years, and has had many, many, imagined manifestations. Now here we are with one of them finally completed.

It is a simple accordion or concertina book, with the individual pages stitched together using a figure eight stitch and crochet cotton.

It can be read by simply turning the pages; or by having it stand in its pleated form. With light shining through the tiny pierced perforations.

The covers are a light grey book cloth over card; and the title page has a piece of tracing paper held by three French knots, overlayed over some pebbles with the title written with pencil. The piercing outlines only appear above and below the tracing paper overlay; they do not follow the full pebble or stone. Nor is there any swirling over the top of the pebble forms.

The first 'opening' or page. The first of the words are the words I began with and which have been somewhat talismanic in my way of remembering our times in Scotland. Forever, I am grateful that in our times there, I walk and look slowly. I look in a different way to how I walk and look in Maleny.

I have tried to sequence the words such that you feel like you could be doing these things alongside me.

Some lovely thoughts are expressed throughout - the notion of being able to 'be' lightly...

To pause, and act warmly. I like the feeling that conveys of kindness and warmth as we act towards and for others. Listening softly has me sitting and ever so gently and softly trying to listen to the quiet.

Holding kindly feels like you might be holding space, or holding others in your heart...kindly. Ahh how wonderful to shine quietly as we rest - that small glow that is ours to share and give, emerges and makes its way outwards and towards folk.

And then we breathe deeply, and go gently into the future...

I am really happy with this version of this book. I have plans and thoughts and dreams of more books using these words - I can see different ways of writing the words; different ways of illustrating the pages; different colours and layouts and bindings. I think they will be words I return to and return to and return to; but I am ever so grateful I have made it to here.