layers

Grace and a Show

2012-01-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

Up Coming Gallery show announcement: Lucia Douglas Gallery, Bellingham, WA. Feb. 3-25th. A three person show with Cass Nevada, 2-D artist, and Brian O'neill, potter.
Opening reception: Thursday, Feb. 2. gallery website here.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.--Emerson

This is how I try to begin each new year. A new start... with a look forward, not behind. I usually start with making lists for the year.. because I am a list maker. But this year I decided to give in to this word that has been at the edge of the shadows in my brain for awhile now-- GRACE... because I want more of it in my personal and art life. I found this quote some time ago: how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. and so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson.
in the end it all comes down to one word, grace. it's how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck, the darkness and light. You can not separate your life from your art.

self portrait, collage

"You can have other words-chance, luck coincidence, serendipity. I"ll take grace. I don't know what it is exactly, but I'll take it." --- Mary Oliver.

"My belief is that it is most important for an artist to develop an approach and philosophy about life---if he has developed this philosophy, he does not put paint on canvas, he puts himself on canvas." -- Jacob Lawrence

I asked several friends to send me their description of the word GRACE. Some of these friends I know in my personal life and art, and some of them have connected with me online in the blog world.

Janna Gougeon, encaustic and collage, blog here.
"Two meanings come to mind: a gift of spirit.. always there..not always recognized; the second: with gentleness, sensitivity, respect, understanding."

Robyn Gordon, detail, wood carving. Blog here.
"Grace is the thread of goodness that meanders through my life...from the wild calls of Loeries at dawn, or the answer to a prayer. I find that we need to slow down to appreciate those moments of grace or we tend to miss many of them.

Ruth Armitage, acrylic, yupo paper. Blog and website here.
"Grace is when one exhibits apparently effortless kindness and acceptance. It is the most beautiful of the personal qualities because it is motivated by love for the world and mankind."

Tangie Belmore, acrylic and collage, website here.
Tangie believes Grace to be this: "an elegant sensibility of focus and passion with authentic composure. Serene, warmth, beauty, refinement, sensitive, calm, wisdom."

Leslie Avon Miller, collage, blog here.
"Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who I am. That is grace."

India Flint, eco (natural) print dyes on fabric. blog here.
"It is a word that I associate with my (late) maternal grandmother--who I never saw responding to any situation, no matter how stressful, with anything other than grace (even to me when I was a vile teenager). It is something I aspire to, not only as a person but also in my work, to have it appear as such, seemingly effortlessly formed, despite the turmoil that lies behind.

Nancy Neva Gagliano, her 'rapt' rocks series, blog here.

Grace surrounds me, and you,
Meshing us together.
Its that vibration blanketing our souls,
Protecting and nuturing.
And, Grace comforts me as it eases into awareness
In a moment of contemplation, during a pause,
Or during a time of appreciation,
Washing away worries when a slow breath is exhaled.
Grace is always there.
I am the one that is occasionally absent.
--- Nancy Neva Gagliano, January 21, 2012.

Rabbit in the Moon

2012-01-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

Yes. It is rabbits again. A year ago I wrote a blog post to welcome in the Year of the Rabbit.
Now I am writing a blog post to say good bye to the Year of the Rabbit, and welcome in the Year of the Dragon. The Chinese New Year is January 23. I am sure dragons are nice and all that, but this post is really about rabbits.
(Note: the workshop in Austin TX is filled. A second workshop is being offered Feb. 20-22. If interested go to the gallery website here. )

The above netsuke is titled: Rabbit in the Moon. Netsuke are small ivory carvings. This netsuke is by Mitsuhiro Ohara (1810-1875) and in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Website here.

A RABBIT AS KING OF THE GHOSTS
To be, in the grass, in the peacefullest time,
Without the monument of cat,
The cat forgotten in the moon;
And to feel that the light is a rabbit-light,
In which everything is meant for you
You become a self that fills the four corners of light.
--- Wallace Stevens

White rabbit puppet by Mark James Porter. blog here.

Jack rabbit made of felted wool by Stephanie Metz. website here.
.

Wire rabbits by Julieann Worrell Hood. website here.

Large rabbit sculptures by Beth Cavener Stichter and her Follow the Black Rabbit website here.

Green eyed rabbit by Stan Peterson. Website here.

Rabbits and other animals by Geoffrey Gorman. Blog here and website here.

Rabbit clay sculptures by London based Tanya Brett. website here.

Above is one of my many rabbits in my collections and home decor. This one is on the desk in my library.

On my last day in Kyoto Japan, I discovered a small temple, Okazaki-jingu. It was filled with rabbit symbols and rabbit sculptures carved in stone. It was a delightful wonderful little temple and I felt as if my trip to Kyoto was complete.

"Imagination is the power that enables us to perceive the normal in the abnormal, the opposite of chaos in chaos." -- Wallace Stevens

Announcements and Workshop

2012-01-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

I will be teaching a 3 day workshop at the Dragonfly Gallery at Rosedale in Austin, Texas on February 17-19th, 2012. The name of the workshop is PERSONAL EXPRESSION: A Design Approach. This workshop is for all types of artists and painters (representational or abstract or non-objective) and all types of mediums. I will emphasize composition, design elements and principles, and personal content.

Participants are also welcome to explore collage, and hand painted rice papers. Go to their website here for more information or contact Nina Mihm at 512-420-9000.

I have also been invited to be a juror for THE ARTIST'S MAGAZINE 29th Annual Art Competition. The deadline for entries is April 2, 2012. I will be the juror for their Abstract/Experimental category. For more information and entry form go to their website here.

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who think's you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." --- Neil Gaiman

For Presence, For Peace and Joy

2011-12-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to
follow its path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the
heart of wonder. -- John O'Donohue, For Presence

Art from Necessity

2011-12-11T17:04:00.000-08:00

The above collage is the beginning of my Enso series. Enso represents the Japanese circle, and my search for completeness. There are also aspects of the placement of handmade papers (like setting stones in a Japanese garden) and Boro. My interpretation of Boro in my work involves hand-painted rice papers placed in a quilt-like fashion using my sense of balance, contrast and unity.

Recently, the Japanese Gardens in Portland Oregon hosted a show of Boro. They called the show MOTTAINAI which means 'waste nothing' in Japan. Many years ago, the very poorest people in Japan saved every scrap of cloth, thread, paper and patched or quilted 2nd hand cotton garments from city dwellers who traded for rice or vegetables. Two of the biggest collectors of Boro in the world sent samples of their Boro collection to the Portland exhibit.

One of the biggest collectors of Boro in the world has a gallery and showroom/shop in Kyoto on Teramachi Street. Her name is Kei Kawasaki and you can find her website here.

These very poor Japanese people in pre-industrial Japan would patch together bits of cloth out of necessity. Every small patch was like treasure to them.

the hands know,
the materials too,
quite apart from your imaginings,
less is more than your intentions -
following the pattern that emerges,
the story as it tells.
--- Jane Whitely

The other collector of Boro is Stephen Szczepanek, who also participated in the Portland exhibit.
This is his showroom in Brooklyn, NY. You can find his blog here. His website is called Sri and he is very well known in the Boro and Japanese Textile world.

In his showroom above, a workcoat called boro noragi, is patched with pieces of cloth as small as a postage stamp.

Here you can see an example of the intricate stitching used in Boro patching.

The Japanese people created these quilted clothing out of necessity. Of course they did not know that someday their old, patched and quilted items would become treasured and exhibited in galleries, showrooms and museum exhibits.

Above is some indigo dye... I read that the Japanese used indigo... especially firemen and their work jackets... because indigo fabric will not burn.

And finally, Sibella Court has a new book: NOMAD, A global approach to interior style. I have received my copy and it is wonderful with a beautiful chapter on Japan. The book is available at Amazon.com and Anthropologie.com.

There is nothing like returning
to a place that remains unchanged
to find ways in which
you yourself have altered.

--- Nelson Mandela

Flea Market Madness

2011-11-27T16:44:00.001-08:00

In Kyoto, the Kobo-san market fair is held on the 21st of each month on the grounds of the To-ji temple and pagoda. This temple was established in 794 by imperial decree to protect the city.
Many of the temple buildings were destroyed by fire during the 15th century but has been rebuilt in the 1600's.

The temple flea markets are gigantic... booth after booth of antiques, textiles, collectibles, scrolls, pottery and books.

The Tenjin-san Market is held on the 25th of each month on the grounds of the Kitano Tenman-Gu shrine. The shrine was established in 947 and rebuilt in 1607.

Above are a few flea market finds for my home.

Above are flea market finds for my greenhouse, waiting for spring.

Some finds for the garden and greenhouse. That piece of bamboo is called Turtleback bamboo.

I found some tea cups with dots, and a small basket with cloth top with tea cup and tea tools, used as a bag to travel with.

Above are some wooden stamps, old envelopes, some old brushes, and a wonderful hand carved wooden bowl.

Above are some of the old kimono fabrics I found, with some threads and yarn, an old pilgrimage belt with old seals, and some Otafuku faces for my collection. Otafuku dolls and faces are of a mythic figure in Japanese folklore. She turns up on textiles, pottery, dishes, folkart, painting and sculpture. She is every woman, generous, the essence of goodwill.

Here are some of the indigo Boro fabrics I found with string and yarn.

I found some old scrolls, old books, and brushes.

Here is a small sample of the old envelopes and papers I found.

I came home with some old Japanese maps, rice papers, and a wonderful packet of old stamps.

I found some wonderful scarves, necklaces and hand carved wooden buttons and cloth buttons.
Do you see the hand carved wooden rabbit pin?

And you wait. You wait for the one thing
that will change your life,
make it more than it is---
something wonderful, exceptional,
stone awakening, depths opening to you.
--- Rainer Maria Rilke, Remembering

Home from Japan

2011-11-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

I am home from my big trip to Japan. I want to thank everyone who left a comment on my last blog post... wishing me a good safe trip. I had a wonderful time. In Japan, we spent our first 2 nights in Osaka at a ryokan... a traditional Japanese Inn... this one is Carpe Diem. Our room below had tatami mats on the floors, where we slept on padded mats. The only furniture in the room was a low table. The wood/paper doors slid open and closed. We arrived late at night...

and in the morning this is the view we woke up to... our room was surrounded by the most beautiful Japanese gardens... the weather was sunny and warm...

there were stone bridges...

which I sat on...

the pine trees were large and twisty and bonsai-like

There were stone lanterns everywhere...

there were rocks and paths and water basins...

From Osaka, we took a train for a day trip to the town of Nara. Most of Nara's sights, including temples, shrines and their famous 1200 deer... are concentrated in Nara Park. According to legend, the god of Kasuga Taisha came riding a white deer in the old days, so the deer enjoy protected status as envoys of the god.

The deer are very tame and because people can buy deer "cookies" to feed them, the deer hang around the temples and the food venders.. hoping to be fed the special treats.

Nara Park is home to several large temples. Below is Nigatsu-do, which had very large lanterns hanging.
Kasuga Taisha is a shrine that is worth visiting because it has hundreds and hundreds of stone lanterns... lining the path toward the temple.

So we spent our first day in Nara Park... surrounded by deer, stone lanterns... shrines and temples. It was the perfect wonderful beginning of my returning pilgrimage to Japan.

"The deep parts of my life pour onward,
as if the river shores were opening out.
It seems that things are more like me now...
--- Rainer Maria Rilke

I think that one's art is a growth inside one.
I do not think one can explain growth.
It is silent and subtle.
One does not keep digging up a plant
to see how it grows.
--- Emily Carr

Connecting the Dots in Kyoto

2011-10-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

Boro, hand painted rice papers, acrylic, 2009

I am leaving for another visit to Kyoto very soon. My first visit was 2 years ago, in 2009. When I returned I began a new series of collages. The above collage was my first one completed after my visit. I know I have posted it before but I decided to include it here, because my first visit to Kyoto had a huge influence on my current body of work. I now approach my collage work like I work in my Zen gardens... like placing stones in the rock gardens.. with an eye towards balance and unity and rhythm and simplicity. Now I am going to Kyoto again.

I call my greenhouse my Zen house. It is part of me-- an extension of my art, my interests, my collections, my aesthetics.

In front of the Zen house is my collection of bonsai.

Inside the Zen House, is a corner with no plants, but some of my bird nests and rocks ...and containers that I love.

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. --- Steve Jobs

The above bird nests are new additions to my greenhouse this summer. The round rocks are from a beach near Port Angeles, Washington.

The above weather vane is a new addition. It is a metal rabbit that has moss for "feet".

There is a door. It opens. Then it is closed. But a slip of light stays, like a scrap of unreadable paper left on the floor, or the one red leaf the snow released in March. --Jane Hirshfield

I love to collect bird nests, and bird cages... but empty bird cages. And rocks....

"We work in the dark. We do what we can. We give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our doubt. All the rest is the madness of art. -- Henry James

I am going to Kyoto with an open mind. I have no idea what to look for, or what I am looking for but I know that important journeys begin that way.

And you wait, await the one thing
that will infinitely increase your life;
the gigantic, the stupendous,
the awakening of stones,
depths turned round toward you.
-- Rilke, The Book of Images

The World is a Book

2011-10-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

This past summer I acquired a number of books. Some of them I read from cover to cover.
Some of them are half way there.

The Gary Snyder Reader is a collection of prose, essays, letters, poetry, and translations by Gary Snyder between 1952 and 1998. Gary Snyder is a prize-winning poet, environmental activist, Zen Buddhist, and earth-householder.

No end to the sky---

but his poems,
like wild geese,
fly off the edge. - GS

LIVING ZEN by Michael Paul is a beautiful picture book. This book places the ancient wisdom of Zen Buddhism in a modern, everyday context, showing how Zen can influence every aspect of lifestyle from home interiors to garden design.

"Open yourself to the light, images and reality around you." The idea that life is here and now and not something we should postpone to a future date-- means IN THE MOMENT.

No matter what medium you choose--- photography, poetry, dance, music, painting, acting--
you will, by virtue of being in the moment, improve the quality of your art.

BUDDHA MIND IN CONTEMPORARY ART (edited by Jacquelynn Baas and Mary Jane Jacob) is a series of essays and interviews that explores the relationships between Buddhist practice and the contemporary arts. Finding the common ground between the creative mind, the perceiving mind, and the meditative mind, this book tackles the relationship between life and art.

Look deeply: I arrive in every second.... Thich Nhat Hanh

THE CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHER by Catherine Anderson is an instruction book with a focus on the creative, rather than the technical, side of photography. Using your camera, image-processing software (like Photoshop Elements), and art supplies-- this book will transform a favorite photo into something more personal and unique. Express yourself.

The above image is from a chapter on ALL THINGS OLD AND BEAUTIFUL. Wabi-sabi is introduced: "Wabi-sabi is akin to the inherent beauty within, something you can't put your finger on...to open your senses to every detail..." -- Daisuke Utagawe

Zen and the Magic of Photography: Learning to See and to Be through Photography by Wayne Rowe also helps one discover, create, and capture the points of intersection and merging between photography and Zen, between camera and "real moments".

Above is an image from the book. A summer mistral: Sun and shadows dance; A door slams; the cat hisses.

THOUGHTFUL GESTURES: The Calligraphic Art of Yves Leterme includes more than a 100 images that showcase his work as a commercial calligrapher and a lettering artist. He discusses his use of gestural writing in his experimental artwork. You can find out more information on how to order this wonderful book at Leterme's blog Animal Scribax here.

"In my latest work, I have often tried to capture that spirit of Wabi-sabi... a true Wabi-sabi piece derives its quiet authority from subtle details, small doses, a limited palette and simplicity." YL

TEA IN THE EAST by Carole Manchester was sent to me as a surprise gift from my BLOG friend
Che'usa Sienna Wend. Her wonderful blog/website Bricolage can be found here. This is a beautiful picture book that includes the history of tea in China, Japan, India and Sri Lanka.
There are wonderful images along with recipes and poetry and quotes.

Not a color to disturb the tone of the room, not a sound to mar the rhythm of things, not a gesture to obtrude the harmony, not a word to break the unity of the surroundings, all movements to be performed simply and naturally----such were the aims of the tea ceremony. ---Kakuzo Okakura The Book of Tea

Creating from a Dark Place

2011-09-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Childhood Memories. 12"x12" collage

Did I believe I had a clear mind?
It was like the water of a river
flowing shallow over the ice. And now
that the rising water has broken
the ice, I see that what I thought
was the light is part of the dark.
--- Wendell Berry

Ray Johnson, early collage, Untitled, 1957-58

RAY JOHNSON: The story of the life (and death) of Ray Johnson is cloaked in mystery. Throughout his career he was difficult to know and understand. Johnson is known as the founding father of MAIL ART...and as a collage artist. But he was overshadowed by artists like
Andy Warhol and he became more reclusive... mailing his art to his few friends. He had been called the most famous unknown artist in the world.

Ray Johnson was also a performance artist. To try and separate the man from his art is impossible. He lived his art and he thought he was the embodiment of art. Some say his
suicide was his last art performance. When he was 67, on Friday Jan. 13, 1995 he jumped off of the Sag Harbor bridge in NYC. Many aspects of his life - and death- involved the number 13.
His age (67, 6+7), the room number he checked into earlier that day (247, 2+4+7).

There is an award winning feature length documentary (2002) about his life and art directed by John Walter titled HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY. Follow this link to a one minute movie trailer.

Special Note: International Mail Art Exhibition and Swap, deadline October 1, 2011. See details at this link.

HANNELORE BARON: She was a young child in Germany when Hitler rose to power. Her family barely escaped the Holocaust.
Small. Intimate. Personal. Compelling. Moving. Mysterious.

"It is her work's fragility, both physical and spiritual-- the sense of quiet, private anguish expressed through forlorn materials and cryptic, edgy scrawls-- that have often been cited as the defining characteristics of Baron's art." Michael Kimmelman, NY Times, 1993

ANSELM KIEFER: The history of Germany, the Holocaust and the horrors of war also inform Kiefer's life and art. Although unlike Hannelore Baron, his works are often large and monumental, though they are just as personal, and compelling and emotional.

His works are characterized by a dull, musty, nearly depressive, destructive style... deeply textured. "The truth is always gray." --- Anselm Kiefer

Sometimes it takes darkness... while it is painful to experience or endure...
the light that is hard won offers the greatest illumination...and can lead to the greatest
beauty.

In the early 1990's Kiefer moved from Germany to the south of France where he created a landscape extending over acres--- miles of corridors, huge studio spaces with large paintings and monumental constructions, always growing and changing. OVER YOUR CITIES GRASS WILL GROW is an almost wordless documentary by Sophie Fiennes about this monumental project.

How to Paint a Bird

2011-09-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

Oneness, acrylic and collage (including old Japanese map)

Poem by Jacques Prevert, french poet
To Make the Portrait of a Bird

First, paint a cage
with an open door
next paint
something pretty
something simple
something useful
for the bird
then place the canvas against a tree

Elsa's Images at Flickr here

in a garden
in the woods
or in a forest
hide behind the tree
without saying anything
without moving....

Jill Burgess, Bailiwick Designs, more at Flickr here

Sometimes the bird arrives quickly
but he may as well take years
before deciding to show up
Don't be discouraged
Wait
Wait if you must for years
the speed or the slowness of the arrival
of the bird having nothing to do
with the eventual success of the painting

Aino, more images at her Flickr site here

When the bird arrives
if he arrives
observe the deepest silence
wait until the bird has entered the cage
and when he has
gently close the door with the paintbrush

Solarixx, more images at Flickr site here

then
erase one by one all the bars
being careful not to touch any of the feathers of the bird
Paint next the portrait of the tree
choosing the best of its branches
for the bird
paint also the green foliage and the cool of the wind
the dust of the sun
and the sound of insects in the grass in the heat of summer
and then wait until the bird decides to sing

Kate Castelli, more images at Flickr site here

If the bird does not sing
that's a bad sign
a sign that the picture is bad
but if he sings that's a good sign
a sign that you may sign
So, you gently pull
one of the feathers of the bird
and you write your name in the corner of the picture.
-- translated from the French by Yvone Lenard

Elia Mauceri, blog here and more images at Flickr site here

Zen Up Close and Personal

2011-08-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

detail of handmade scrolls

Zen has one aim: to encourage us to take a longer and closer look at all that is around us in the hope that once we have developed a more intense insight we will grow to cherish and nurture this earth and all its inhabitants. Every day events take on new meaning.

water basin with koi near my real koi pond

When we practice Zen we embark on a journey of self discovery... a journey that leads to a deeper understanding not only of our minds but also of our concept of reality.

dry water basin with bamboo charcoal (for purity)

Zen and the empty mind: a mind that is awake but fixed nowhere... empty your thinking of the past and the future and be IN THE MOMENT.

Old Japanese books, the covers are worn and torn.

No matter what medium you choose -- photography, haiku, poetry, dance, music, painting, collage, assemblage, acting -- you will, by virtue of being in the moment, improve the quality of your art. You will be able to see more, to feel more, and to be more.

Container with sumi brushes and bamboo charcoal

Zen wants us to pay full attention to the smallest details in life-- to be mindful of everything we do. Zen is about enjoying the simple things.

Large flat round pottery with a LOT of small round beach rocks

With its strong belief in self expression, Zen is by its very nature a catalyst for creative thought. Its spiritual freedom allows us to discover our creative powers and hidden potential.

hand made scrolls, part of a larger assemblage

"I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me. That I am part of the earth my feet know perfectly, and my blood is part of the sea. There is not any part of me that is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surfaces of the water." --- D. H. Lawrence

Large round beach rocks in stone basin

Be alive,
be here--- and know
the beat of your heart.

small stone doll's head on rock

What really matters is that Zen deals with the present. It teaches us that life is too precious to waste. Zen is about the joy of living right now-- to live for each moment.

round hand carved stone

A Mind Poet
Stays in the house.
The house is empty
And it has no walls...

The poem
Is seen from all sides,
Everywhere,
At once.
--Gary Snyder

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if the axis
on which the earth revolves --
slowly, evenly, without
rushing toward the future.
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.
--Thich Nhat Hanh

Art by Accident or by Design

2011-08-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

Boro is a Japanese word meaning "tattered rags" - used to describe patched clothes and bedding.
Because the clothing has been patched over and over, they look like wearable quilts. For a long time they were an embarrassment, due to the extreme poverty of the country people who created them. Now they are considered National treasures.

The book BORO: Rags and Tatters from the Far North of Japan by Yukiko Koida and Kyoichi Tsuzuki is based on the tireless search by Chuzaburo Tanaka for these cultural folk craft. He trekked over mountains and seacoast for 40 years collecting these Boro pieces. You can find this book for a reasonable price at the Trocadero website here.

Without Tanaka's efforts we would never have known of the art and beauty of Boro. For the people who created them, each small scrap of cloth and thread was precious. You can find actual Boro items at Kimono Boy, srithreads, and Shibui Home.

Below is one of my paintings in which I used hand-painted rice papers as collage. My hope in creating these hand painted papers was to make them resemble pieces of fabric in the style of Boro. The title is Asian Quilt.

Between 1741 and 1760, more than 4000 babies were left at the Foundling Hospital in London, England. When these impoverished mothers left their babies, they also left a small token, which was usually a piece of fabric. The fabric was either provided by the mother or cut from the child's clothing by nurses.

This piece of fabric was attached to registration forms and bound up in ledgers, in order to 'identify' the baby and keep identifying records. The hope by both the mothers and the nurses was that they would be able to reclaim their baby when their lives improved.

These pieces of fabric represent the sad moments of parting. Below, the piece of fabric has been cut into the shape of a heart. These pieces of fabric also form the largest collection of every day textiles serving Britain from the 18th century. Earlier this year, the Foundling Museum in London showcased an exhibit called Threads of Feeling. You can find out more about this exhibit at the Foundling Museum website here.

Between his age of 80 to 95, for 15 years until his death, Kouzaki Hiromu spent his days creating small simple 'works of paper'. When asked, he would say that he was making envelopes. He cut up, folded and pasted pieces of found papers.

His granddaughter, Fujii Sakuko, put over 100 of these envelopes into a book simply titled
GRANDFATHER'S ENVELOPES.

In his work, Hiromu created simple edge, line and surface texture.

Isn't it interesting how art imitates life, and life imitates art. Over time, these objects today take on qualities of collage, objects of history, and objects with life and soul.

Envelopes I found at a temple flea market in Kyoto in 2009.

Hiroshima Remembered

2011-08-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Beginnings: Small collage 8"x8"

Every year, on August 6th, tears fall at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima where the victims of the world's first atomic-bomb attack, unleashed upon the Japanese city during World War II, are remembered. The United States dropped the bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. An estimated 70,000 people died instantly. It is estimated that 140,000 died on that day and in the months that followed.

Shuudoushi monk at the Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto, Japan.

On each anniversary thousands of people, of dozens of nationalities, gather to remember the dead and pray for peace. Called the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony and held each August 6, choirs sing, bells toll and a minute of silence is observed at 8:15am, the time the bomb fell.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Cenotaph stands across from the Atomic Bomb Dome. The epitath reads: Rest in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated.

Doves for Peace are released at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

"The light that is hard won offers the greatest illumination. A gift wrestled from bleakness will often confer a sense of sureness and grounding in the self, a strengthening proportionate to the travail of its birth." -- John O"Donohue, from Beauty: The Invisible Embrace "The Lost Voice"

Hiroshima Bomb Dome: This is one of the few buildings that remained standing after the atomic bombing. It stands as a tribute to the courage and resilience of the Japanese people.

Monks praying for peace.

Candles and paper lanterns float on the Motoyasu River in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome, in memory of the victims.

--- Now looking through the slanting light

of the early 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?

--- David Whyte

Zen Gardens, Zen Mind

2011-07-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Zen has one aim: to encourage us to take a closer look at all that is around us in the hope that once we develop a more intense insight, we will cherish and nurture this earth and its inhabitants. We learn to acquire a heightened awareness. Zen sharpens our senses, intensifies our perceptions and enriches our experiences. Every day events take on a new meaning. The ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary.
The following are some pictures of parts of my Zen gardens. Now you will see how I spend some my spring and summer days.

Tsukubai: Water basin -- for purification, so one can enter pure of mind and body

When we practice Zen we embark on a journey of self-discovery.

Stone lantern: for illumination

Be alive,
be here -- and know
the beat of your heart.

Small pond in front with goldfish.

All Zen asks is that we live our lives with compassion, creativity and a deep respect for all living things. There is a close connection with nature. Nature and human creativity are synonymous.
For Zen, art that depicts nature is considered an affirmation of life.

This bird bath is a new addition to my gardens.

This large rusty ball is a new addition to my garden

Zen is an experience for a way of life-- not a belief. Zen is passive-- it relies on us to teach ourselves.

The sound of silence: the stone garden

Zen wants us to pay full attention to the smallest details in life-- to be mindful of everything we do. Zen deals with the present. Life is too precious to waste.

Zen is about enjoying the simple things. At the heart of Zen there is the need for harmony and balance in life. To free the mind is to free the spirit... the resulting clarity of perception is just one of Zen's rewards.

Large pond in back with very large koi.

No thought
no form
only emptiness...
the joy of silence.

Water in the garden helps offset the weight of stone and provides melody, movement, and open, reflective zones.

Zen gardens are an attempt to control nature -- a balance between life forces in the natural world and the harmony and order in Zen. Gardens also want to provide a physical setting for quiet contemplation and mediation.

Stone, sand and rock
reveal the mysteries
of time.

The art of the inner work, which unlike the outer does not forsake the artist, which he does not "do and can only "be", springs from the depths of which the day knows nothing.
----- Eugene Herrigei, Zen in the Art of Archery

A Sense of Place

2011-06-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

A sense of place is our internal compass, our personal map -- made up of memories, sensory attributes of sight, sound, smell and touch, and being in the moment. It affects our responses and how we approach our work, family, friends and life. Whether I am walking on the beach below my home on the cliff, or working outside in my Zen gardens (which I have been doing a LOT lately), I am becoming more aware of my surroundings and the joy and peace it brings me.

"I do not understand how anyone can live without one small place of enchantment to turn to."
--- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

Floods, 30"x45", acrylic

Erin McSavaney lives and works in Vancouver BC, Canada. His landscape paintings and architecture/buildings paintings are often quite large and always striking. His wonderful website can be found here.

"Human patterns of building, occupying, using, abandoning, and then often reclaiming. All have a marked affect on how structures-- and ultimately ourselves-- are perceived." Erin McSavaney

Sun Lights the Coastal Plains, pastel, 12"x18"

Kathleen Galligan is a Maine artist who works in a number of mediums. You can find her beautiful website here.

Emergence, oil, 10"x10"

"The sound of the sea, the curve of a horizon, wind in leaves, the cry of a bird leave manifold impressions in us. And suddenly, without our wishing it at all, one of these memories spills
from us and finds expression in musical language... I want to sing my interior landscape with the simple artlessness of a child." -- Claude Debussy

Index No. 955, encaustic and charcoal on panel, 60"x50"

Peter Roux is a mixed media artist who often uses encaustic with oil and/or charcoal and works quite large. He often incorporates text into his works and you can find his wonderful website here.

"The development of space in a painting sets up distances: between viewer and subject, and between formal elements and points of information within a subject." -- Peter Roux

(The above is titled: Notes on Italy: Venice text No. 6, 50"x108", oil and encaustic)

Susan Loeb is an artist from New Orleans. These two works are black and white watercolors.
You can find her beautiful website here.
"Every one seeks a sense of place, whether it is his or her own back yard or country. Place reinforces one's sense of self, one's true identity." Susan Loeb

"I combine observation, memory, and the presence of the subject in strongly stated images that embody my emotional response to New Orleans, the place I call home." -- Susan Loeb

Tim O'Kane is an artist who works in both fine art paintings and in fine art photography. You can find his wonderful work and the complete poem (below) at his website here.
(The above painting is titled 2 Whales and is watercolor on paper.)

PEBBLE BEACH, watercolor on paper

...The painter loved the world
with its conflicts of light and shadow,
desolation and beauty.
His was just one intention in a troubled world
the intimacy growing like ivy
around the obstacles of doubt,
as he watched
the carving continue on the monument of faces
birds filling and emptying the promontory of sky,
the tenuous construction on networks of bridges
from soul to soul, dream to dream, day to day.
---Tim O'Kane, Signature, 2008, excerpt

Renewal

2011-06-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Renewed, 24" x 24"

For a number of years now, the main theme of my paintings has been "the passage of time, and what remains". A large part of this theme has included the cycle of life. One symbol or metaphor in my paintings for the cycle of time has been bird nests. I am drawn to the lines in the nests of course, and the textures, and the usual round shapes which fits my love of textures, lines and circles. And the fact that birds, with such small brains, are hard wired to create such beautiful 'homes' for their offspring is a miracle of nature. But the main fascination for me, is the cycle of life... the renewal.

Nature's Gestures, 30" x 30"

"The spiritual journey is a creative journey. It's about birth. It calls us past the boundaries of convention. It tests our willingness to see life in a new way and our courage to express it: for new ways of viewing life in the face of what is commonly accepted. We become new, and in this ongoing birthing, we bring new forms to life as well. Life itself has become a creative act, full of vitality and richness and passion. --- Anne Hillman, from Dancing Animal Woman

Histories 24" x 24"

For those who have been touched by the loss of a loved one... a partner, a family member, a friend... they know how hard it is to wake up to a new day, to find new meaning in life. I want to dedicate this posting to all those close to me who are facing their new life filled with change, with so much strength and hope.

--- Healing in words, healing beyond words.
Like gestures.
Warm gestures.
Like friendship, which will always
Be like a mystery.
Like a smile, which someone described
As the shortest distance between two people.
--- Ben Okri, from the poem Healing The Wounded
Learner or the Pygmalian Complex

Rolling in the Deep

2011-05-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

STRATA, hand painted collage papers, scroll

There is a popular song out now by Adele titled ROLLING IN THE DEEP. I like those words.

My last blog post was about searching for meaning in our art by becoming more aware of our likes and interests, and making lists. Rolling in the Deep is about delving further into our depths. I believe that as artists go deeper into their inner self, these self discoveries will lead to more personal expression as their create their art works.

INNER EXCAVATION: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media by Liz Lamereux. This wonderful book is filled with exercises, activities, and inspirational writing to help the artist discover more about themselves. You can find this book and others here at Amazon.com.
"You have to find where you are, in order to figure out where you want to go." - Liz Lamereux

In the book, there are a number of artist contributors. Judy Wise is one of them. She reveals what inspires her, what nurtures her, how she finds her creative voice. The above piece is limestone clay on braced panel with stones. You can find her creative website here and her wonderful blog here.

SPILLING OPEN: The Art of Becoming Yourself by Sabrina Ward Harrison. This is a visual journal of the artist when she was young, as she embarked on her journey of self-discovery.

One task we can do is ask our self the question: Who or What inspires us? This can be artists, authors, poets, music, songs, books or movies. I remember years ago, exactly when I discovered poetry and my favorite poet. I saw the foreign film IL POSTINO (The Postman), about a postman in Italy who wanted to write poetry and show his poems to Pablo Neruda. At the end of the movie is the poem POETRY. A strong feeling of emotion, appreciation, and connection washed over me.

POETRY

And it was at that age__Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no, they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from the street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.
---- Pablo Neruda

There are 2 artists who I connect to in a powerful way. Their work affects me in ways that I can't express in words. When I see their work, I feel their emotional personal expression reaching out to me, enveloping me and drawing me in.

Anselm Kiefer's art is influenced by his German heritage of World War II and the history of war and the Holocaust and is rich with references to writers and poets. I am also attracted to his use of raw textures.

For Hannelore Baron (1926-1987), making art was a meditative form of experience and communication. She escaped Hitler's Germany and the Holocaust as a young child. Her life was framed by tragedy. She sought to create 'the message' in her art: an imagery of suffering and human hope.

Sweet Darkness
--- Give up all other worlds
except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
---- David White

And on a lighter note, my favorite movie character is from the movie THE BIG LEBOWSKI --
the Dude. I love whacky movies and quirky characters and the Dude is certainly an odd ball...

"Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not 'Mr. Lebowski'. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing." ---The Dude

The Search for Meaning: Self Awareness

2011-04-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

To be an artist is to embark on a journey of self-discovery toward a destination that always remains just slightly out of reach. This journey continues long after we have conquered most techniques and mediums. For many artists, the real struggle begins at this point. For many years, I tried to improve my techniques and skills. I eventually realized that there is more to a work of art. I wanted to find meaning in my work. I now know that this is a lifelong pursuit, and self-awareness is the first step. I started making lists as I went deeper and identified my likes, my interests, and my strengths. Here is my list. Have you figured out your list?

Subdued Colors: The artist should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him. If, however, he sees nothing within him, he should also refrain from painting what he sees before him. Caspar David Friedrich, painter

Texture: Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do. Benjamin Spock

Lines: calligraphy, marks, patterns... the stars began to burn . through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice . which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company . as you strode deeper and deeper into the world... -- Mary Oliver, poet

Circles: And even better.... circles on rocks!

Dots: You have to be available to the invisible voices that are swirling around you. George C. Wolfe

Bird Nests: Think of the great musicians who practice and practice their instrument. Great musicians do more than hit the right notes; they bring their music alive with a creativity and invention that springs from an inner motivation that surpasses correctness.

Collecting rocks, fossils, driftwood, shells. Working from this inner place is the more elusive challenge, but the most essential.

TEXT AND NUMBERS: Collecting old letters, post cards, stamps, books

Collections: wooden boxes, gears, letters, antique and old and weathered stuff.

Collecting Asian tools, brushes, stamps and chops, books, papers, maps.

Books: Fear is what prevents the flowering of the mind. Krishnamurti

Surviving on Hope

2011-03-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Title: Edge of Light, older painting chosen here for its title.

For several days now, the news and images coming out of Japan have been devastating and heartbreaking. I would like to dedicate my blog post to the people of Japan, and to all peoples all over the world, as they struggle to recover their home, family and community. I recently read a review of a book written by David Brooks titled THE SOCIAL ANIMAL: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement. In essence, it is a book about the human need for connection, friendship, and love. We yearn for "community"; we have the urge too "merge". What drives us, ultimately, is the need to be understood by others. I think this is especially true for artists. Though we work by ourselves in our studios, we still need 'community' and for others to understand what we are trying to communicate with our art works.

Novie Trump, ceramic artist, is participating in THE NEST PROJECT: WHAT DOES HOME MEAN TO YOU? at the Torpedo Factory in Virginia. NEST is a juried exhibition which examines the nest as a symbol for home and refuge, both literally and conceptually. Besides the juried exhibition there are installations, and a community built nest. You can find out much more information about The Nest Project and the Torpedo Factory here. Novie's website is found here.

Sharon Beals is a photographer who has a new book (above) coming out soon titled NESTS: Fifty Nests and the Birds that built them. The book is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and here is her wonderful website with more images and more information. The next two images are from her book.

Entering it
you enter yourself,
the world connects
and closes like a ring.
-- Octavio Paz, poet

Sharing the signs
of early spring,
singing the songs
of the artists' works
and poets' words here.
Soar with inner wings.
-- Neva Gagliano, artist and poet, blog here.

Bird eggs are a beautiful metaphor for the cycle of life, renewal and hope. Mary Ann Burk, a ceramic artist and potter, makes eggs that look like they came out of the earth. She places her eggs on driftwood and branches or ceramic pedestals. Her work is at the Barnswallow gallery and you can find her wonderful blog here. Her art pieces are above and the 2 images below.

I said to my soul, be still, and wait.. the faith and the hope and the love and all the waiting... the darkness shall be the light and the stillness the dancing.
--- t.s. eliot

Lesley Bricknell is a fine arts textile artist and photographer. Lesley is attracted to fragile and transient surfaces that she intentionally ages, stains, and spoils. She loves worn or discarded garments, with histories which she "reclaims". She looks for the purity in the impermanence and fragility of objects and life. She has her beautiful images at her website here and at her blog here. The next 3 images belong to Lesley.

"...When they ask to see your gods
your book of prayers
show them lines
drawn delicately with veins
on the underside of a bird's wing..."
-- J. L. Stanley

Outside the sun shines
birds sing
and I am not having to make
snap decisions about what
to stuff into a suitcase
or how I might get
6 cats (and the rest) to safety.
-- India Flint, textile artist, blog here.

Those of us who are safe and warm, we are the fortunate ones.

Signs of Renewal

2011-03-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

CYCLE OF LIFE, 2011, acrylic and collage

It is that time of year when I start thinking about spring. It is still cold outside, and we can still end up with a few more snow storms before spring arrives. But there are signs of spring, like green buds on bare branches and small fern fronds peeking up from the ground. And the birds, with their nest building built into their DNA, is another sign of spring. And after the winter months, we look for signs of hope and renewal.

This nest is in my Zen House (greenhouse), in a glass box along with round beach stones and driftwood. "My aim is to create an emotional sense of space and place, where time ravages, wind blows, seas swell, places are found, days dwindle, moments are present, then past." -- Sam Lock

I have this nest on my front porch-- I often find it disturbed by creatures like squirrels and birds who seem to help themselves to the twigs and straw and odds and ends to make new nests.

Chris Giffin is a terrific artist who collects and assembles recycled and found objects into beautiful assemblages. You can find her work at these two gallery websites here and here.

Novie Trump: "Eggs have been a symbol of rebirth and renewal for thousands of years....
In this work a nest of weathered bones cradles a single luminous egg, a symbol of hope and possibility amidst death and destruction." You can find more of her beautiful works at her website here.

Lelarnie O'Sullivan is from New South Wales, Australia. You can find out more about this artist and her work at the Visual Arts Network here.

WHEN A TREE DREAMS
it is of eggs--
robin's, dove's --
the gentle cradling,
the perfect fit
of bluestem straw,
alder, sprig, mud,
down, hair, in its wind--
strong cup of sky--
reaching branches.
-- excerpt, D. J. Gaskin, poet
You can find his website here

Susan Seubert, fine art photographer. Find more of her beautiful photography at her website here and her work at this gallery in Portland, OR here.

Take refuge in rivers, in oceans,
in whales, in elephants, in manatees,
in birds, in words, in images, in
dreams, in dance, in song, in
silence. Take refuge in the bird
path. -- ashes and snow. org

Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-13T15:09:00.000-08:00

This is the year of the rabbit. I love rabbits. I don't know why, really. Perhaps it is because they are so quiet and gentle. Above are 2 handmade scrolls.

I have stone and metal rabbits throughout my home.

I have stone and metal rabbits in my Zen gardens.

This is the Chinese Year - of - the - Rabbit horoscope. If you were born in 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987 you would be a 'rabbit'. When Buddha lay dying, he summoned the animals to bid them farewell. The cow was the first to hasten to the scene but the rat, riding on the cow's back, jumped off and arrived first. Thus the rat became the first animal in the Asian zodiac, a cycle of twelve years that assigns a different animal to each year. A person is thought to take on characteristics of the animal representing the year in which she or he was born. Since nature is the source of all art and design in Japan, you can find animals depicted in many of their art forms.

Wood carving.
Those that are born in the year of the rabbit are considered articulate, talented and ambitious. They are often lucky.

Macau postage stamp 1999

Netsuke are miniature sculptures invented in 17th century Japan. They were first used as 'toggles' to help close bags that Japanese men wore to carry around their belongings.
Eventually, netsuke became a highly honored art form.

A ceramic cup

Rabbit's frozen pose--
breaking loose he springs away,
melting through the fence.

You can find more of Kris Hargis' drawings at this gallery in Portland, OR here.

Geoffrey Gorman creates his animal sculptures from all sorts of materials.
Find more of his wonderful sculptures at his website here.

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way." --- Winnie the Pooh

A New Day

2011-02-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

This is a collage I made last year. I titled it NEW DAY.

I have been working on a new series and struggling a bit. I work in my studio during the day and often end the day frustrated and even feeling lost. The next day, in the early morning, I lie in bed thinking about the new day and what promise or hope I have for the new day in my studio.
Every morning is like a haiku filled with new artists' impressions. I get up and get ready to tackle another day in my studio.

Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk is a fiber artist. Her work is about vessel making and containment. She explores relationships, embodiment and containment which are important aspects of the personal. You can find much more of her wonderful fiber creations here.

The following is a poem by David Whyte titled What to Remember When Waking. It is about what an artist (or poet in his case) thinks about when first awakening in the morning.

In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other
more secret, moveable and frighteningly honest world
where everything began,
there is a small opening into the new day
which closes the moment you begin your plans.

Carole Kunstadt is a collage artist who combines objects like stones, shells and twigs with hand made papers. Layers of memory and a sense of intimacy pervade her work. You can find more of her wonderful work at her website here.

What you can plan is too small for you to live.
What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough
for the vitality hidden in your sleep.

To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.

A detail from the above piece

You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident amidst other accidents
you were invited from another and greater night
than the one from which you have just emerged.

Tracy Spadafora is an encaustic artist who investigates the connection between our man-made and natural environments, illustrating the endurance of nature. These two are her works on paper and you can find more of her wonderful work at her website here.

Now look 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?

Is it waiting in the fertile sea?
In the trees beyond the house?
In the life you can imagine for yourself?
In the open and lovely white pages on the writing desk?
---David Whyte

When I saw this collage by artist Leslie Avon Miller (you can find her wonderful blog here), I thought of early dawn when the sky is still dark but hints of color - orange, red, or yellow begin to burst through at the edge of the darkness - hinting at the new day.. a new day in the studio.

awakening light
promises of a new day
streaks across the sky
---Russ Baleson

Histories Past and Present

2011-01-24T22:35:00.000-08:00

A scroll is a roll of parchment or paper which has been written, drawn or painted upon for the purpose of transmitting information or using as a decoration. Scrolls were the first form of record keeping. They were also used in recording history and literature before the bound book.

Come said the muse,
Sing me a song no poet has yet chanted;
Sing me the universal. Walt Whitman

Photo by Werner Bischof, from JAPAN photography by Werner Bischof 1951-52.

Without memories, there is nothing to account for our lives. With memories, we develop a language, drawing from universal concepts.

"Leaning against the wall were rows of ancient, tattered Chinese screens. I peeked between torn corners to see layers of paper, some yellowed with age but covered with exquisite calligraphy. A new body of work had begun." Roberta Marks, A Place Between

I found the above image at Seth Apter's tumblr page which you can find here. It is titled Four Play. He has beautiful images there as well as at his wonderful blog, which you can find here.

I draw these letters
as the day draws its images
and blows over them
and does not return. -- Octavio Paz

Four ancient scrolls from China.

A detail of the seals and chops used in the above scrolls.

A scroll made of bamboo
Man is but a part of the fabric of life -- dependent on the whole fabric for his very existence.
--- Gary Snyder

The above is titled LETTER FROM THE OLD WORLD by Lissa Hunter. Her book is LISSA HUNTER: Histories Real and Imagined. She also has a wonderful website which you can find here.

"Any process , whether it is washing dishes or making art, is begun to fulfill a function, is formed by appropriate techniques and materials, and if affected by cultural and historical influences." --Lissa Hunter

The Way of Tea

2011-01-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

I may have posted the above collage already but I had several inquiries after my last blog post for more information about my tea lattes. I am a tea drinker. I collect teas where ever I travel.
I look for exotic teas and lately I have been looking for chocolate teas. The title of the above collage is THE WAY OF TEA. The Japanese strive for harmony with natural beauty. The monk Shuko (1422-1502) is credited with making the tea ceremony into an exemplification of wabi sabi design and refined, graceful living. The tea ceremony is an important part of the Japanese aesthetic.

THE BOOK OF TEA by Kakuzo Okakura is a brief but classic essay on tea drinkers, its history, restorative powers, and rich connection to Japanese culture. Okakura felt that 'teaism' was the very center of Japanese life and helped shape everything from art, aesthetics, and an appreciation for architecture, design, gardens, and paintings.

The black and white photograph is by famous photographer Werner Bischof. He took photographs in Japan over a 2 year span 1951-52. You can find more of his photos in the book JAPAN.. photographs by Werner Bischof and text by Robert Guillain.

The title of the above mixed media work is TEA. It was created by the artist Lissa Hunter.
You can find more of her work in her book LISSA HUNTER: Histories Real and Imagined by Abby Johnston.

Above, is a watercolor painting by Daniel Kelly titled ANCIENT BLUE. He is an American artist living in Japan. You can find more of his paintings and prints at his website here.

Mel Robson is a potter in Australia. She makes functional and non-functional cups and bowls and dishes in porcelain. You can find out more about Mel, and where and how you can get your hands on some of her fabulous porcelain pottery at her blog here.

As you can see in the above image, Mel is obsessed with old maps and text and handwriting.

There is a wonderful blog I want to tell you about. It is Tea for Joy and you can go to the blog here. This blog has things British and vintage, but also features a tea of the week. There are beautiful images and links to other blogs.

There are some wonderful new teas available now that become delicious tea lattes. Go to the Republic of Tea website here and check out their Cuppa Chocolate Tea Collection- a new tea there is Red Velvet Chocolate. Another tea I have is Chocolate Mint Rooibos by TEASE and you can find their website here. I make a cup of tea, add either non-fat milk, or non-fat half and half cream, and a dash of Splenda sugar. Then I use my Milk Frother to 'froth' up the milk and then I add India Tree dark chocolate bits. You can find all sizes, types and prices of milk frothers at Amazon.com. You can find the chocolate sprinkles along with sugars and spices at the India Tree website here.

FLOW with whatever may happen

and let your mind be free:
Stay centered by accepting
whatever you are doing.
This is the ultimate. -- Chuang Tzu

The time has arrived

2011-01-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

During the holidays, this past November and December, my mantra was "I will do that in January". I will update my website, I will get caught up in the blog world, I will send out information about my upcoming workshop in April, I will start a new body of work.. so many goals, desires, wishes, hopes... all were put off until January. I have always viewed January as my new beginning-- blank canvas, blank calendar -- the beginning of my new goals. Well, it is now January. The first thing I did was take a look around at some of my favorite things and favorite quotes, looking for inspiration.

Old Japanese books, with worn torn covers

some more old worn Japanese books

DO OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO 'TRY'. - Master Yoda

old typeset wooden letters

Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall. -- Ray Bradbury

My collection of beach stones

Alas! must it ever be so? Do we stand in our own light, wherever we go, And fight our own shadows forever? -- Lord Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton

Collection of bird eggs, bird skulls, bones

Be patient towards all that is unresolved in you and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Live the questions now. --
Rainer Maria Rilke

Old Japanese wooden boxes

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that our aim is too low and we reach it. -- Michelangelo

Old gears, watch faces, rusty metal

You have to be available to the invisible voices that are swirling around you.-- George C. Wolf

Old maps, old scrolls, old papers waiting for inspiration.

I may not know who I am, but I know where I'm from. -- Wallace Stegner

After my favorite tea latte with chocolate sprinkles, and leftover sugar cookies on my favorite plate, I will get to work. I wish all my blog friends a successful, creative new year.

Tis the Season...

2010-12-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

This is my Christmas card this year and below are some of my holiday decor and tree ornaments, mostly hand made. What a busy time of the year for all of us. I rush around, trying to do too much. I have to make myself stop, look around, take a few breaths, and quietly savor the beauty around me.

Be helpless, dumbfounded,
Unable to say yes or no.

Then a stretcher will come from grace
to gather us up.

We are too dull-eyed to see that beauty.
If we say we can, we're lying.

If we say No, we don't see it,

That No will behead us
And shut tight our window onto spirit.

So let us rather not be sure of anything,
Beside ourselves, and only that, so

Miraculous beings come running to help.
Crazed, lying in a zero circle, mute,

We shall be saying finally,
With tremendous eloquence, Lead us.

When we have totally surrendered to that beauty,
We shall be a mighty kindness.
--- Zero Circle by RUMI

Happy holidays, prosperous new year and as always... peace please.

A Blanket of Peace

2010-12-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Since my last post I have been to Hawaii to visit my family. When I returned, winter had come to my zen gardens. We actually had a white Thanksgiving. Yes, snow and ice is beautiful to look at, and very cold and icy if you have to go out and especially drive on snowy, icy roads. But when it is snowing, there does seem to be a quiet silence all around, like the snow is muffling the sounds and a purity is covering everything.

The following art works are by artists who work mostly in wood cut and print making. You can find more of their works at the Ren Brown Collection here. You can also find more of these artists and their works at The Tolman Collection, Tokyo here.

Rei Morimura, relief print/woodblock

Solitude is a way of waiting for the inaudible and the invisible to make itself felt.
-- Peggy Pond Church

Kawase Hasui, woodblock

Werner Bischof, photograph

I await the birth hour of a new clarity.
--- Rilke

Joshua Rome, woodcut

"And remember that the light is within
if it is anywhere
and you must paint from the inside
Start with purity
and pure white"
--Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Saito Kiyoshi, woodblock

Miyamoto Shufu, wood block

"The pure white of gesso
the pure white of cadmium white
the pure white of flake white
the pure virgin canvas
the pure life we all begin with..."
---Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Joel Stewart, aqua tint

Lucy Arai, mixed media/collage/sumi ink

Come away from the din.
Come away to the quiet fields
Over which the great sky stretches
and where, between us and the stars
there, in the stillness
let us listen to the voice
that is spreading within us.
--- Jerome K. Jerome

Peace for everyone everywhere.

Bound by Nature

2010-11-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Autumn has come to my zen gardens.

The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.
--- Henry Miller

Each of us literally chooses,
by his way of attending to things,
what sort of universe
he shall appear to himself to inhabit.
William James

I found this egret standing in the quiet, still water on the beach below my studio.

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child-- our own two eyes. All is a miracle. --- Thich Nhat Hahn

James Blackwell, from Australia, uses mixed media (natural materials) to create nature-based pods and vessels like the one above. Bushwalking in the Blue Mountains has become part of this artist's lifestyle. "I like to think of the valley floor as my art supply store!" You find more of his pods, vessels and baskets at his website here. He also has a wonderful blog here.

A broken bird's egg inspired these fragile paper bowls. Ann Symes lives by "woodland" which inspires her art works. "It wraps itself around me inviting close observation of textures, patterns, shapes, shadows... the opening and closing sequences of the seasons, decay and renewal."

Ann uses rusted papers to create collages for her Autumn series. You can find more of her wonderful art works at her website here.

full moon at dusk (view from my window)

When you start on a long journey, trees are trees, water is water, and mountains are mountains. After you have gone some distance, trees are no longer trees, water is no longer water, mountains are no longer mountains. But after you have traveled a great distance, trees are once again trees, water is once again water, mountains are once again mountains. ---
Zen Teaching

Gathering Histories

2010-10-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Lynne Perrella has been very generous and sent me this wonderful packet of old papers, forms, documents and music sheets, seen below. It is obvious these papers are filled with past personal histories and journeys.

Lynne Perrella is an author of books, including ART MAKING: Collections and Obsessions. Her collages and assemblages, like the one below, illustrates her ability to gather old histories and re-create them in a new and exciting way. Find more of her collages and assemblages at her website here.

Barry Smith, from Australia, is a sculptural artist and metal worker. He sent me this wonderful bowl below, which he created from 'beaten' metal. Thank you so much.

Barry recycles materials like rusty metal and weathered wood. Below is a teapot he made with a brass cylinder, echidna quills and a copper pipe. You can find more of his metal works at his blog RustnStuff here.

Maureen Brouillette lives in Texas and is a friend of mine. She uses travel photos, post cards, old maps in her collage paintings. You can often see nostalgic imagery of old buildings that depict old histories that we still see around us today.

You can find much more of Maureen's mixed media/collage paintings at her wonderful website here.

Glenn Skien, from Australia, is a printmaker, book binder, collage and assemblage artist. He collects and reuses old objects, old papers and books with the idea that he is discovering old histories. He then creates new meanings with "an awareness of a connection to the transient nature of all things." -- Glenn Skien

You can find more of Glenn's intriguing and intelligent works at his website and blog, Silent Parrot Press, here and here. He layers his imagery with old papers and objects, evoking real life and personal histories past and present.

Pour yourself like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge
that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start,
and with ending, begins.
-- Rainer Maria Rilke

In the Moment

2010-09-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

To wake up to.....
To wake up to

Who we are
What we are here for.

To make life
More poetical, more sane

more livin, lovin.
To experience the true of all things

In the moment....

In the moment.....

In the moment.....
by William Segal, painter and spiritual teacher

While drinking a cup of tea, will we be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands? If so, we will be tucked away into the future--or the past-- and not living one minute of life.

Altered Imagery

2010-09-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

I recently completed an online workshop on altered digital imagery. The workshop class I took was from Susan Tuttle. I learned how to use the tools, layers and filters in Photo Shop Elements.
The above image is one of my early (beginning) images. I know I have a long way to go now, and it will take much more experimenting, playing and trying all these new tools over and over again.
I highly recommend Susan's online workshops because I am a complete computer novice and I learned a great deal in her 4 week course.

Susan Tuttle offers a number of online workshops dealing with altered digital imagery. Her workshops include tutorial videos, print outs with step by step instructions, images to download for projects, and feedback to questions if needed. You can find more information about her upcoming workshops this fall here and she will be adding a brand new class to her list of workshops she offers.

You can find more of Susan's digital imagery at her website here and at her blog here.

Dorothy Simpson Krause is a painter, collage artist, book and print maker. She incorporates digital mixed media into her art. She is the author of many books, including the above book BOOK+ART: Handcrafting Artists' Books. She is also the co-author of DIGITAL ART STUDIO: Techniques for Combining Inkjet Printing with Traditional Art Materials. You can find more of her digital imagery (like the 2 below images) as well as links and information on how to purchase her books at her website here.

Smith Eliot had an unorthodox upbringing, raised by hippie parents in an old school bus, living a gypsy life as a young child. She received her MFA and currently teaches art at her local college. I first saw her digital imagery at a large art fair several years ago. Her imagery is haunting, mystical, and very memorable. You can find more of her beautiful imagery at her website here. Be sure to read some of her artist statements. Below is a sampling.

Those who will not slip beneath
the still surface on the well of grief
Turning down through its black water
to the place we cannot breath
Will never know the source from
which we drink--
The secret water cold and clear.
----- David Whyte

Visual Writing

2010-08-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

collage, pressed flowers, book spine, book pages, old map, 10"x10"

I have been reading the book, WILD COMFORT: The Solace of Nature, by Kathleen Dean Moore. The book is filled with descriptive passages that are lyrical, poetic and beautiful- breathtaking. The words conjure up visual and sensual imagery in my mind. There is also a profound meditation on the healing power of nature, and how nature impacts writings such as poetry as well as visual artists, no matter what their medium is. Here is a sample:
"At first, the morning is flat as a sketch--sleeping bag laid out on a stone slab, narrow creek flowing from right to left, hillside filling most of the page. What texture there is seems to be drawn in lead pencil. Sound is flat and monochrome, too, the creek seeping steadily, rock to rock. People call it white noise, but today it is pale gray."

Lisa Sarsfield is a collage artist who often has bird nests as her theme.
You can find more of her work at her blog here.

Neva Gagliano is a poet and artist who has a wonderful blog here. Here is one of her poems:
If there's to be anything incessant,
let it be birds' calling
breezes on bare arms
chirping in the ears
and rain sparking
it all to life.

Novie Trump. Nest. You can find more of her ceramic sculptures here.

I was looking for images and writings on and by William Segal, painter and spiritual teacher.
This search led me to the blog of Luke Storms. You can find his thought provoking writings here. This is what I found:
Come to the edge.
We can't, we're afraid.
Come to the edge.
We can't, we'll fall.
Come to the edge.
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew. --Guillaume Apollinaire

I live on a cliff overlooking the Puget Sound in the Pacific NW. This is a view of the beach below me.

Ben Judson, San Antonio Texas, is a freelance writer, web designer and artist. You can find more of his writings and poetry here. Here is one of his wonderful poems:
BACK TO ITS EXPOSED ROOTS
The arc of the visible river is long
but it bends toward moments
in which a song reaches out
with its silent hands
to grasp the darkness to lead it
back to its exposed root
its first whisper
its fading darkness.

Eva Francova. You can find more of her work here.
"We need stones around us to echo the substance of our own lives---hard, heavy, timeless, and subtly hued." Thomas Moore

acrylic, collage 8"x10"

Annie, from the United Kingdom, posts her beautiful prose and poetry at her blog Inkhaven which you can find here. Here is one of her poems:

BLACKBIRD
All these springs
we didn't know
what the tree-lined street
was missing.
Silver thread,
liquid song,
calligraphy on the run
outside the window.

The Poetics of Subtle

2010-08-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

There are artists who love color. By color I mean bright, strong, vibrant, luscious color.
They will put a color next to a color to create dynamic, active, energizing art works. I am not in that category. I am not into bright, vibrant, juicy colors. All I have to do is take a look in my closet, my home and my zen gardens to see that I like things around me that are more subdued and subtle and minimal in color. I prefer textures and nature-based objects. I love weathered, rusty, worn, wabi- sabi stuff. I have found other artists who are also into subdued, subtle colors.
Under all these quiet, subdued, subtle surfaces there is a pulsing beat of old blood, old memories, with waves of human feeling that are universal and call to me every time.

Thomas Meyers uses a combination of collage and drawing. He is exploring visual communication, from ancient writings to modern times. You can find more of his subtle, layered collages at his website here.

subtle: adj. a distinction so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe. Subtle can create mystery.

Eric Adama works with mixed media on paper. He has a blog called CERULEAN which you can find here, where you will find more of his beautifully textured, subdued color paintings.

subdued: adj. (color) that is soft and restrained.
Subdued, subtle colors can be intimate.

Novie Trump works with ceramic sculpture and draws her inspiration from relics and ancient stories. Her work has a certain understated elegance as she uses subdued colors and subtle textures. You can find more of her beautiful work at her website here and her blog here.

Brent Harvey uses a variety of mixed media for his paintings. His limited palette gives his work a heightened perception of whatever he is trying to convey. You can find more of his fabulous paintings at his blog here and his website here.

Eva Francova works in a variety of mediums, from altered digital imagery to printmaking to ink drawings. But the overall connection in all her work is her subdued color, and limited palette.
Above is one of her digital images.

Above is one of Eva's ink drawings. You can find more of her delicate, poetic works at her blog I LOVE BLACK AND WHITE here, and also at her website here.

Roberta Marks works with collage, painting and assemblage. She explores the traces and vestiges of her journey from the past to the present. Her work appears simple with limited palettes, but they are actually delicately complex revealing subtle explorations of her/our world. Her website has more work here.

Come to my quietness
I shall cover you with it, like
a white sheet that has blown all day in
the sun, like a mountain lake
filled with spring, it shall slip over you.
--- Diane de Prima

Outside In

2010-07-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

I created this painting several years ago. An image of bird eggs is embedded in textured pastes.
Above the image is a rusty hinge and above that is a weathered piece of wood.

I love to bring nature's gifts inside my home. This is a new addition to my dining room table.
I have arranged rocks, driftwood, balls woven with tree bark, and small Japanese boxes that I have collected over the years.

Nature has innate beauty that makes an artist of the viewer.

These are sacred lingam rocks from a river in India. I have arranged them in a bowl on a table.

"One of the most important aspects of design is integration: not only the relationship of design to the process of manufacture, but to life itself and the creation of an environment." --- George Nakashima

The above is two collections of rocks. The first collection includes agates and crystals and quartz. The larger collection includes round beach rocks and grape vines.

The above fossils (ammonites and sand dollars) are arranged on top of a desk in my library. You can also see my favorite weathered balls and my love of rabbits.

The above are the former nests of gila woodpeckers in Arizona. They form their nests in the cavities of saguaro cacti. The sap from the cactus hardens the nest so these birds can use them more than once.

The saguaro boot nests have been added to my collection of bird nest, eggs, rocks, and drift wood in a container placed in my greenhouse.

A bird's nest and beach rocks and drift wood in a container

A fellow artist and master gardener, Betty Dorotik, has renamed my green house ZEN House which I like very much. The above arrangement is in a container in my zen house. To see pictures of my zen house (green house) go to my previous blog post here.

"The quality that we call beauty must always grow from the realities of life..."

--- Jun'Ichiro Tanizuki, In Praise of Shadows

Bonsai are Japanese dwarf trees. These miniature landscapes help convey simplicity, naturalism and harmony. These are a few of my bonsai that I have on my back decks and around my zen (green) house.

"One thing that was new to me in creating a Japanese-inspired garden was using many colors and textures of leaves, from light gray green to dark red, rather than using flowers for colors. The contrast adds depth and interest to the landscape, and the use of evergreens adds a timeless quality that is calming." Sakina von Briesen, Chado New Mexico

Japanese Elements of Design

2010-07-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

new painting: acrylic and collage title: Rhythms

NAGARE: Flowing. Flowing water is a symbol of movements, dynamism and change. Its only constant quality is its mutability. The ebb and flow of water is a manifestation of the transforming power of nature.

Waterfall and pond near my deck of my home.

Wooden gate entrance to a shrine.

In Japanese gardens, sand is raked to look like water currents.

MARU: Circle. Extending a point into a line begins a journey that ends only when the line comes 'full circle' to return to its starting point. The circle thus symbolizes completion. A circle is harmonious and tranquil, yet it represents the cycle that is life. The circle is an opening, a window on the whole of being that it also represents, the eye that sees itself.

A banner outside a small restaurant, Kyoto.

A paper fan.

KATADORI: Sign. Calligraphy is a combination of kanji (a picture of a thing, or a diagram, or the essential form or spirit), and native syllables. There is a close link between reality and representation.

Shop curtain featuring kanji for 'day', Kyoto.

Store front in Kyoto.

SEI: Nature. Nature is the source of all art and design in Japan. The materials of art and architecture are rendered in forms that evoke their natural origins, and artifacts are decorated with images from the natural world.

Dragon flies and flower patterns on fabric.

Dragon pattern on door outside a temple, Kyoto.

KATA: Pattern. Repetition of line and form create serenity and harmony inside and outside the home.

Circle patterns on a door outside a temple, Kyoto.

Lattice window of a house.

Store fronts on small cobbled street, Kyoto

SEI: Sanctity. Rocks and trees, waterfalls and streams, animals and plants can possess sanctity. The sacred is announced with braided rope and twisted paper, with torii gateways and guardian statues.

Buddhist saints in a mountain cave at Rakanji Temple, Kyushu.

The Inari Fox at the entrance to the Fushimi Inari temple in Kyoto.

Fushimi Inari torii gates

ATSUMARU: Collections. Collections can excite and charm, but they can also comfort and calm.

Some of my sumi and Japanese brushes.

Some game pieces and carved jade pieces.

A few Japanese dolls from my collection.

Some of the images in this post came from the above book: A Collection: JAPANESE DESIGN by Kenneth Straiton.

Enso Revisited

2010-07-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

For many years, I have been including circles and dots in my paintings and collages. I don't try to analyze where my attraction to circles comes from. I wear polka dot socks and scarves. There are circles and dots all over my home decor. Even my dish towels have polka dots or circles. I think I like the feeling of infinity and continuity. As I walk around my zen gardens, I see the circle everywhere.

This is one of my water basins. Inside the basin, I have placed bamboo charcoal, a symbol of purity.

This is a large carved rock that we have placed in front of our greenhouse, as the step into the greenhouse.

I collect beach rocks and pebbles that have circle veins in them.

I found these large round rocks at a Washington beach. Some of them are the size of a melon.

And then there is the Zen enso. The enso (circle) is the most common symbol of Zen calligraphy. It symbolizes enlightenment, power and the universe itself. It is a direct expression of "this-moment-as-it-is". The above book by Audrey Yoshiko Seo brings together a collection of the best enso art to show the variety of form, from the seventeenth century to present.

My blog friend, Coffee Messiah, sent me this book (above). The title is INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COOK by Bernard Glassman and Rick Fields. No, it is not a cookbook. The subtitle is A Zen Master's Lessons in Living a Life That Matters. I love the rocks on the book cover. Coffee Messiah's collages are clever, topical and sometimes tongue in cheek humorous, and they can be found at his blog here.
I am also attracted to art work that includes circles. Check out the following 2 artists:

Dick Allowatt combines collage with found objects, discovering relationships for incongruous materials and images. You can find his creative website here.

Wen Redmond combines digital prints collaged with textiles, stitching and paint to create one of a kind, unique art pieces. You can find her website here. And you can find her wonderful blog here.

"Round and perfect like vast space, nothing lacking, nothing in excess." -- Chien-chih Seng Ts'an

Outdoor Decor

2010-06-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

Outside, among all my zen gardens and ponds and water basins and bamboo and ferns and wabi sabi pines, my husband has built me something wonderful.

Follow the path to the entrance to my outdoor haven of peaceful, quiet tranquility.

Part of the greenhouse was constructed with old, recycled materials. The red door is half of a french door with leaded glass panes. Some of the windows come from an older building. The sink inside cost $5.00. My husband has put in electricity to hook up a fan for warm weather and a heater for cooler weather. He built this greenhouse from scratch and even put a weather vane on the roof.

I found this sign in a second hand store. I think it belongs above the door to my greenhouse.
The greenhouse, like all my zen gardens surrounding my home, has become an extension of my
art... surrounding myself with what I like and is pleasing to my eye.

Step inside. Perfectly tranquil, far removed from the world's turmoil....

To experience that elusive feeling of harmony and balance, we embrace our true nature and recognize the cycles of the natural world and our place within it.

Bird cages, small bonsai plants, gourd, seed pods, bird nests, all favorites and all pleasing to my eye.

Collections: driftwood from my beach below the cliff, rocks, bird nests, simply arranged.

Rain bamboos, wind pines: All Preach ZEN.

I have often been asked what I thought was the secret of Buddha's smile. It is--it can only be--that he smiles at himself for searching all those years for what he already possessed. Paul Brunton.

If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come. Chinese proverb

Ring the bell on the way out. Thank you for visiting.
"The only journey is the journey within." ---Rainer Maria Rilke

The song of the zen gardens

2010-06-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

And what is art where to we press
Through paint and prose and rhyme---
When nature in her nakedness
Defeats us every time? -- Rudyard Kipling

Welcome to my zen gardens. The above image is is what you first see as you approach my home near my front porch. The below image is the smaller pond next to my front porch. My husband and I built these ponds and gardens from scratch. I am the one with the ideas, the planner, the collector of rocks and statues...my husband is the muscle man, the mover, the hole digger and over all handy man.

Butterfly! These words
From my brush are
not flowers...
Only their shadows. -- Soseki

I think of gardening as an extension of one's being, something as deeply personal and intimate as writing a poem. --- Stanley Kunitz, poet

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. --Crowfoot

This garden is no metaphor... more a task that swallows you into yourself, earth using, as always, everything it can. --- Jan Hirshfield.
(You are now in the back of the house which faces the cliff. There is a larger pond with very large koi which we have had for 10 years now.)

The home gardener is part scientist, part artist, part philosopher, part plowman. He modifies the climate around his home. --- John R. Whiting

A garden isn't meant to be useful. It's for joy. -- Rumer Godden

A garden should be in a constant state of fluid change, expansion, experiment, adventure; above all it should be an inquisitive, loving, but self-critical journey on the part of its owner. --- N.E. Bates
My next post will feature my new greenhouse which I love and am very excited about.

Masters Collage book

2010-05-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

My collage paintings, including the one above, are included in this book (below). The book offers a broad scope and array of the many collage artists out there working today. I have chosen just a few of the artists featured in the book along with one of their quotes. There were so many wonderful artists to choose from, that I highly recommend the book.

MASTERS COLLAGE: Major Works by Leading Artists by Lark Publishing will be available soon at Amazon.com and bookstores. 40 collage artists are featured in the book, with their collages and quotes about their process and philosophy. There is a wide range of styles, and viewpoints.

Randel Plowman: "Without a doubt, collagists do more than just glue items onto paper. The best collage artists have strong composition skills, a definite sensibility regarding the use of materials, and an innovative approach to the organization of visual components...I chose forty collagists, each of whom has a unique perspective and brings something different to the craft." Randel is the curator and chose the collage artists for this book. You can find his collage a day at his blog here.
You can find more of his collages at his website here.

Dennis Parlante: "I use old papers, postal envelopes, stamps, and antique materials of all kinds. My goal is to go beyond nostalgia without sacrificing the unique power of these vintage materials." Dennis combines Asian simplicity with line and mark making and you can find so much more of his wonderful collages at his website here.

Liz Cohn: "I love using old papers and scraps of recycled material, because I think they give my work a subtle historical richness." Liz has many more collages on view at her wonderful website here.

Janet Jones: "I always work in a series, with several related pieces on my worktable at once. This allows me to develop a single theme from different aspects. It also keeps me from trying to put everything I know into one piece." Janet has a fabulous website with much more art works to be discovered here.

Stephanie Dalton Cowan: "Each of my pieces is the result of an organic unfolding--a development that yields unexpected discoveries and narratives about our inner and outer worlds." She has a website with more of her collages which can be found here.

Mariella Bisson: "My work is a dance between collage and painting, as I glue hundreds of paper scraps into position. I use small flickering fragments of paper to communicate the effects of sunlight and moving shadows." She has a great website filled with much more of her large scale collages found here. Note: this piece is 38"x50".

Kim Printz: "I love to randomly grab a book or a stack of papers that I can cut up, then try to make a collage in 10 minutes. I did this every day for a couple of years, and I think it helped me develop as an artist." Kim has a wonderful blog called paperwerks which you can find here.

Cecil Touchon: "The poetry that I address in my work is visual and concrete. It isn't a poetry of words, but one that deals with the foundations of written language--the typography and space, color and surface of language." You can find more of his work at his website here.

Personal Expression Part 2

2010-05-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sento at Sixth and Main: Preserving Landmarks of Japanese American Heritage by Gail Dubrow with Donna Graves

For several years now I have been exploring my Japanese heritage. I have concentrated on the aesthetics and culture of Japan and traveled to Kyoto, Japan last October. There, I immersed myself in the temples, gardens and flea markets, looking for any connection to my own art and aesthetics. I had not given much thought to the Japanese American history and legacy around me. I recently met Mary Higuchi, an artist, who paints about the Japanese American experience during World War II. She has personal experiences to express in her paintings. She has received many awards for her EO 9066 (Executive Order 9066) series.

Mary Higuchi was born in Los Angeles in 1939. On Feb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the mass removal and incarceration of "all persons of Japanese ancestry" on the West coast. Mary and her family were imprisoned at the U.S. War Relocation Authority Concentration Camp in Arizona, 1942-1945.

By the summer of 1942, virtually the entire Nikkei (Japanese American) population on the West coast--120,000-- had vanished from their homes, farms, businesses, and schools. Included were 40,000 Issei (1st generation immigrants) and 70,000 Nisei (second generation born in America).

Each single person and head of family was to register and receive identification tags. They were given one week to dispose of all their belongings. They then boarded buses and trains, guarded by armed military police, to be taken to camps located in deserts with severe dust storms, harsh summers and freezing winters. Families lived in communal tar paper barracks, enclosed by barbed wire and towers with armed guards. Below is a painting by Roger Shimomura.

Roger Shimomura's paintings, prints and installations address sociopolitical issues of Asian America. Roger, along with his family, were incarcerated in the Minidoka relocation camp in Idaho 1942-1944.

Many of Shimomura's paintings are based on his immigrant grandmother's diaries. Who Shimomura was, where he came from, and how he was viewed by others became a driving force in his work. He not only has based many of his paintings on his Minidoka camp experiences, but also on stereotypes, race and cultural misunderstandings. He believes in the importance of history and the lessons that must be remembered in the future.

Shimomura has had over 125 solo shows and is in the permanent collections of over 80 museums. You can find his work in several galleries including the Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle, WA and some catalogs of his work are available at Amazon.com. You can go his website here for his bio and more information about his art.

One source for more information is JAPANESE AMERICANS AND WORLD WAR II: Mass Removal, Imprisonment, and Redress by Donald Teruo Hata and Nadine Ishitani Hata. Another source is WORDS CAN LIE OR CLARIFY by Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga. (During this dark period of American history, congressional officials, as well as President Roosevelt, referred to these relocation centers as "concentration camps). Soon after the incarceration process began, intelligence agencies knew that Japanese Americans posed no threat to the United States during World War II.

Nature's Best Work

2010-05-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Nature has all the elements of design: line, shape, color, texture...

"Nature contains the elements, in color and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the notes of all music. But the artist is born to pick and choose... as the musician gathers his notes, and forms his chords, until he brings forth from chaos, glorious harmony. --- James Abbot McNeill Whistler

Line: Look at nature's calligraphy... Red winged black bird egg

NATURE'S COLLAGE: The bird used bits of newspaper and old found papers...
Rooted nature clings to nothing to be a new thing....

TEXTURE: These bird eggs were collected from one nest. The one spirit, silent, beats in every breath its name....

COLOR: Lingam rocks are found in a sacred river in India. They are believed to be filled with spiritual healing power. Look at the beautiful subdued, earth colors.

SHAPES, TEXTURE, LINE: Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to learn to understand art more and more. --- Vincent Van Gogh

SHAPES AND TEXTURE: Seed pods and remnants of plants... within my hands, what's lost is found....

THE READY MADE NEST: Some birds may use human-made materials to build their nests.

The age-old story repeats itself..

Below is an etching by Yoshio Imamura. He incorporates nature into his work in beautiful, subtle ways. You can see more of his work here.

"The beautiful is in nature, and it is encountered under the most diverse forms of reality. Once it is found it belongs to art, or rather to the artist who discovers it." --- Gustave Courbet

Some of the images in this blog post came from the book EGG & NEST by Rosamond Purcell.
It is a beautiful picture book that captures the intricacy of birds' nests, and the aesthetic perfection of birds' eggs. You can find the book at Amazon.com.

"The Artist has been the element of nature, and the arbiter of nature; he who has sat on a cloud and viewed it from afar, but at the same time has identified himself as one of nature's parts. The true artist views nature from his own time."
---- David Smith, (1906-1965)

The Obsessive Ones...

2010-04-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am drawn to, and fascinated by artists who seem obsessive to me. When I looked up the word OBSESSION I realized that perhaps that is not quite the word I should be using. These type of artists I am referring to work with very small pieces of paper, or wood, or cloth, or metal and end up creating very large scale art works. Perhaps the word I am looking for is PERSISTENCE or TENACITY. For example, when I saw some of Leonardo Drew's assemblages (featured below) at a gallery in NYC, I was 'blown away' by the size of the entire artwork that consisted of hundreds and hundreds of wooden boxes. I realized that this sort of obsession is not the same as when I say to myself that I am obsessed with collecting rocks or tools.

Through a labor intensive process of cutting and gluing thousands of pieces of board and paper, Lance Letscher, creates large scale collages. He obsessively crafts his collages out of cutting fragments from old ledgers, diaries and books.

You can find a fabulous book of Lance Letscher's collages at Amazon.com. You can find his work at the DBerman gallery here.

Mark Bradford transforms materials scavanged from the streets into wall-sized collages and installations. His map-like multi-layered paper collages often refer to city streets as well as social commentary. He cuts up very small pieces of paper to become part of very large billboard sized artworks. You can find his work in the gallery Sikkema Jenkins here and in museums all over the world. You can also find more of his work at this website here.

Leonardo Drew builds up his assemblages with rows of hundreds of stacked wooden boxes, covered with found objects, and caked with rust to suggest decay. Drew's gigantic wall assemblages function as social statements and as meditations on creation and process. You can find his work in museums and in the gallery Sikkema Jenkins here. You can also go his website here to find his bio and see more of his work.

You can find a truly wonderful book of Drew's monumental assemblages at Amazon.com.
The title of the book is EXISTED: LEONARDO DREW. The title refers to the profound human urge in the face of life's transience to leave a trace, to state "I was here".

"I shall become a master in this art only after a great deal of practice, until eventually the results of my theoretical knowledge and the results of my practice are blended into one---my intuition, the essence of any art."
---- Erich Fromm, THE ART OF LOVING

Personal Expression Part 1

2010-04-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

I have recently returned from teaching a workshop on Personal Expression. I help artists explore and search for deeper meaning in their art. They participate in many exercises and activities and one of them involves answering questions about themselves. One of the questions I ask the artists/participants is: Who are the artists you admire, and why? I believe the answers can help discover what an artist is thinking, and more about their aesthetics and how other artists influence their own work. For myself, I am attracted to subdued colors, textures, mark making, circles, dots, minimal or limited palettes. I also am very attracted to art that expresses a more personal concept or feeling. And I love work that is quirky or unique or different. Here are a few artists whose works I have been attracted to for many years or who I have just recently discovered.

Franz Kline (1910-1962) is famous for his black and white abstractions. His expressive calligraphic lines and bold contrast of color is well known in museums and in books.

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) was a realist painter. His favorite subjects were the land and people around him, that he was most familiar with. His love for both shines through in his subdued colors and subtle textures. You can find his work in museums and in books.

Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) began as an abstract expressionist. He evolved into a figurative and still life painter, and eventually came back to abstraction ending with his Ocean Park series. You can find his paintings in museums and books on his life and works.

Geoffrey Gorman works with wire, bones, paper, and found objects to create his whimsical animals and birds. You can find his work at his website here and at the Jane Sauer gallery here.
He writes in his statement "Found and lost objects assembled into curious and evocative shapes is what excites me." Me too.

Gary Weidner is a minimalist painter who uses a limited palette, marks, and subtle textures.
You can find his work at his website here, and at a number of galleries including the Gruen Gallery in Chicago.

Leonor Anaya works with clay, incorporating subtle textures and subdued colors. You can find more of her work at Reece galleries here.

Hisako Sekijima works with natural fibers, twisting, binding and tying. She has a book available at Amazon.com and you can find more of her work here.

"Art is creative for the sake of realization, not for amusement: for transfiguration, not for the sake of play. It is the quest of our self that drives us along the eternal and never-ending journey we must all make. -- Max Beckmann

Searching for Heritage

2010-04-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

...Each venture
Is a new beginning...
...what there is to conquer
By strength and submission,
has already been discovered
Once or twice, or several times,
by men whom one cannot hope
To emulate--but there is no competition
There is only the fight to
recover what has been lost
And found and lost again and again....
--- T. S. Eliot

For some time now, I have been searching, reading, and exploring my Japanese heritage.
I went to Kyoto, Japan last October with that search in mind. A trip to Japan had been a life long dream and I felt such a strong connection to the culture and aesthetics that I am planning another trip there next year. I feel as if my search has only just begun.

Here are bits of Japanese papers, old letters, receipts, and worn and rusty objects that I found at the temple flea markets in Kyoto. I hope that some day they will find themselves in some of my collage paintings. Below is a collage by Paul Horiuchi.

Paul Horiuchi has been dubbed a "Master of Collage". He was born in 1906 in Japan, and died in Seattle in 1999. He created graceful juxtapositions of texture and color, using paint, ink and paper. He pieced together torn pieces of calligraphy and textured papers, visualizing strong aesthetics of his Japanese culture.

Horiuchi drew on his heritage, creating works that abstractly evoked the forms and textures of nature. His work exudes quiet energy and calm. Horiuchi once said that his collages were "attempts to produce areas of peace and serenity...". His meditative collages are strongly connected to reality. In the surprising collage titled "Rock Garden" (below) Horiuchi abandoned his more well-known very flat abstractions to provide a sense of space and place.

You can find the book on Paul Horiuchi's life, works, and collages at Amazon.com. There is a current exhibition of Horiuchi's collages in Seattle, WA through May 8th, 2010 at ArtResource,
625 First Avenue, Suite 200, or www.SeattleArtResource.com.

"As soon as I think of Japan, my mind feels beauty, my heart feels purity, and my life feels humility." -- Sri Chinmoy, Japan: Soul-Beauty's Heart-Garden