Grief cards and beauty

 I had made a note to myself to try three new grief card designs out, and so I kept on keeping on. This is a new one, which simply says, healing happens slowly.

I reminds me that it can take very long time to 'recover' to be settled and feeling right again. That the cloak of grief can cover us for a very long time.

I wondered again if I could simply leave the words, with no illustration, but felt that I probably couldn't. Especially as I seem to print the words at the bottom of the page leaving a great big space begging for something!

I tried to think my way through images of time passing slowly. For a non drawer and pretend illustrator I need to keep things really simple. I was a bit taken by the idea of an hour glass and set about working out if I could do an illustration that could work.

My answer to myself was - well not really.

So it was back to dreaming about or thinking about something that might feel right. I wondered about a series of stems with tiny green shoots or leaves gradually getting taller until they became tall and filled with flowers. That kind of represented the slow process of growing and healing but I wasn't sure I could work out how to do it well.

And then I started to get the sense of a bunch of flowers, but also a horizontal flow of green leading to it. I have no better way of explaining it, but in the end, that is what I went with.

Works in progress... I promise I did the stems for the other flowers in the one on the bottom left!

I have one more grief card design to ponder but think I have done enough for now.

In other news, I was taken by the bright beauty of these flowers as I tried out a new setting on my phone's camera.

As I was making my black ink plate into grey by adding white to it and rolling and rolling, I stopped just in time to capture this fabulous abstract art.

And in another moment of serendipity, I managed to capture these magical shadows on the work bench through the week. The sun going this and way and that through and against one of my grief is a stone sculptures - just stunning. I think it is a shadow and a reflection of the shiny metal.

Shadow

 I have been laid low by a violent episode of food poisoning for a few days and have barely thought about art, let alone had the strength to undertake any.

As gentle and slow days were the go, I noticed shadows. 

Shadows of flowers, of grasses, of plants and of me.

These grasses on the kitchen bench with morning sun...

A quiet walk into town this morning and this marvellous, citrus-green against steel grey blue, and its shadows.

Me walking to the studio pre-food poisoning.

I am on the mend and feeling a bit brighter, but goodness me it packed a punch!

Shadow Play

 We had so much rain, and so many overcast days that when the sun came out again I was dazzled by the beauty of the light; and of course along came the shadows as well.

Here are a few images of shadow play of late.

The late afternoon sun on one of our baskets was so strikingly beautiful.  The shadow on the wall; and the detail of the basket highlighted in all of its intricate beauty.

This piece from several years with my calligraphy cut/etched into a composite panel which hangs outside our grocer.  It describes the walkway that B designed and the thinking behind it all.  The cut outs of the lomandra which feature in the roof of the walkway were dappling shadow over the work as I walked by the other day - a true delight!

Whilst waiting in the car for Barry...my drink bottle!

Glorious morning sun at the front of our house has brought some lovely moments too.

Through a sculpture onto a planter box.

The jagged edges of Ken's chair.

Our gorgeous little kite...

It is so, so good to have shadows again! The warmth of autumn days bring many gifts and these are some of them.

Light

And because you travel for work and don't always get to make, sometimes you just have to find the lovely beautiful art-filled moments some other way.

We turned the lights off the other night; and this wee woven basket with twinkle lights was still on. I was captivated by its beauty - its shadows and its simple woven magic.

I am grateful for moments like these...

Little bits of this and that

As we re-settle into our lives and days, there are smatterings of art; and moments of smiles and loveliness.

I was overjoyed last Thursday to receive my copy of Bound and Lettered, a fabulous paper arts journal from the US.  I always enjoy reading it and was taken aback when I opened the envelope to find my work featured on the cover.

The article inside is one I wrote about this book - Lost for Words - and how it came about.

The story travels through my grief after my gorgeous mum died and how I lost my words, and found my way back to them. Theses cut outs were the beginning...

And then there were serendipitous moments of shadow magic  - as I went to lock the front door for the night - a gift.

And the beginnings of a commission. So many ways to try and write the words, to convert the meaning and let them shine...

So many drafts...

Living an art life

You know you live with an artist when...

You are sitting down together writing list at the kitchen bench and you go "Quick, can you take photo of the pen shadows???"

As it was last week.  Barry and I sitting together writing a list, in the kitchen, under the 5-light kitchen bench light.

The photos are a bit blurry as we tried to get closer and closer, but you can see what stopped us and made us smile.

And the best bit - Barry saw that the gap in my palm had become a shining heart...

I love that we can be busily focused on stuff, and then completely distracted by moments of shadows and light and art!