Art: a ceremony of appreciation

A poem has left its mark on me today.

A short poem full of feeling, that brought me to the quiet place in myself. As I reflected on it, I admired the choice of words, so succinct, heartfelt but not hackneyed, and the beautiful mind of a wonderer, taking time to think these thoughts.

It reminded me of the artist, trying to express something of the beauty she (or he) sees in the world. And the thought that in making art, perhaps we are trying to find ourselves, to find the bereft 'half-self' in the act of creating something? To lose our selves in a mindful, playful act of beauty? The juxtaposition of textures, colours, and shapes, looking for harmony - a small ceremony of appreciation of Nature, the ultimate artist.

Here's a link to the poem 'The Other Pieces' by Australian poet Mark Tredinnick so you can enjoy it, too:

http://www.marktredinnick.com.au/index.php/writing/more/the_other_pieces/


Here is a small collage on paperbark. I love the wrinkles in the bark.

Wedding Card and 'for the love of bees'...

It's so good to have some creative time again. This is my response to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday prompt:

for the love of.....

bees
those small furry honey-makers
roaming the world from flower to flower,
spreading pollen
keeping nature growing....

I processed the image colour in Radlab. In this image I used several of Kim's textures - Cherish Scripted, Inked and Tea-stained, plus one of her masks (New Mask 1, I think). I used my new macro lens, a Nikon 200mm f4 on my Nikon D90.

I've been having some fun making a wedding card for my niece using old coffee-stained lace.