Let the Rain Kiss You
September 7, 2011 § 8 Comments
‘Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby…’ ~ Langston Hughes
MOF (Month of Finishings) Exibit A…
This project is recent compared to the other neglect victims on my hit list. I’m determined to get to them all, red face or not. I suspect mostly with. It’s great to feel unswervingly driven and even more inspiring to see what brilliant, creative company I’m in! I plan to enjoy every minute while it lasts.
This little Artist Original is Graphite, watercolour, ink and collage on Lana 100% cotton watercolor paper.
A little experimental for me but a lot of fun, influenced by a great book and a beautiful poem.
Jane
September 2, 2011 § 10 Comments
Hi there. Somehow a couple of weeks have snuck between posts. It’s all MOF’s fault (aka a Month of Finishings). After my last post I realized that I am completely serious about it. Yikes, that almost sounds responsible…
But I have to tell you about Jane…
It was fantastic! Was there ever any doubt. I decided to leave the novel till after seeing the film to enjoy it in it’s own right. I’m glad I did, it didn’t disappoint. Mia Wasikowska captured all of the complexities of Jane beautifully. Michael Fassbender was the perfect Byronic lead. And the production design was breathtaking. I particularly loved the wonderfully dark night scenes. Not a single hint of blue ‘moonlight’ in the background. Creaky Haddon Hall was swathed in inky black pierced only by a low flickering flame. Lots of long menacing shadows. Perfectly chilling!
At it’s end I was ejected onto a dark empty street dazed and completely satisfied. Itching to somehow capture that oppressive atmosphere on paper. The contrast between the stoic rigidity of society at the time and the wild natural world all around it intrigues me; feeling reflective of the imprisoned passions within the people themselves. It reminds me of Jane Campion’s ‘The Piano’ that way.
The images above were discovered on Flickr. I love the intense colour and atmosphere in each of them. The first is one of a fascinating series of rare Daguerreotypes owned by Rob Stevens. Some of these priceless objects were dug up in flea markets - imagine that! I love the subjects intense, almost burning, gaze. Such an intriguing portrait.
The two breathtaking landscapes below it are by photographer Irene Suchocki. Do check out her work. Eye Poetry, the name of her site is the most wonderful description of it. Every image has a beautiful narrative quality that I find completely compelling.
~
I’ll have things to show v.soon thanks to MOF. Sure feels good to say that! What pops up may seem a little all over the place but at least my pile of loose end projects will be shrinking. And now that the spring cleaning bug has bitten that has to be good.
Images | 6th Plate, Rob Stevens | Spying on a Tree, Irena Suchoki | Il Sentiero, Irena Suchoki | Jane Eyre 2011 Movie Poster detail, Design by BLT & Associates | Jane Eyre, Tiffany Lin | Pencil sketch, Alisa Coburn | To view larger or for licencing click on image titles. Images by Rob Stevens and Irena Suchoki are used with kind permission and are subject to copyright.
Sea Dogs and Cat Burglars
August 11, 2011 § 19 Comments
Currently making another foxy brooch as a gift for someone very sweet. The work flow hasn’t really had too much flow about it. It’s been more stitch, stop, stitch, stop. As new brooch ideas pop into mind and I hurry to scribble them down before they evaporate. Stitching turns out to be perfect for daydreaming. Maybe I should do it more often.
Looking at these it occurs to me that I have no trouble what-so-ever with starting a project in a ‘gung ho’, completely enthused kinda way. But finishing something, well that deserves it’s own ticker-tape parade complete with marching bands, epic floats, parade balloons and a speech by the Queen!… Well no, it’s not quite that bad. Maybe this month should be dubbed a month of finishings or MOF for short. A month just to clear the decks. Then next month I can run amok on new random wanderings, Maria Kalman style. I loved this fab TED talk she did, so inspiring!
Speaking of inspiring, don’t forget to pop into Our Creative Spaces. It’s inspiration central!
Waiting for Jane
August 8, 2011 § 6 Comments
Spent a good part of the weekend doing boring, but necessary, domestic stuff and househunting but did manage to squeeze in some loose ink sketching. Can’t help noticing my current leanings in this one. Having loved the delicious gothic edge to Black Swan I’m ‘champing at the bit’ to see Jane Eyre; especially after reading this. I even have a babysitter all lined up. I can’t wait! There is endless cinematic beauty in pairing wild dramatic landscapes with human fragility. And nothing better than watching a strong woman weather all that is thrown at her and remain true to herself.
Images | Morning light in the valley, Alkiza | Pressed Flower, Sun in her eyes Tumblr | Geister, Westpark | To view larger or for licencing click on image titles.| Sketched portrait in ink and watercolor on paper, Alisa Coburn
Wintery wanderings
August 3, 2011 § 14 Comments
Just a few pics of our wanderings of late. Sniffles and sore throats have kept us close to home but that’s ok, it’s nice to have the time to breath in your surroundings and winter is more of a snuggly indoors sort of season anyway.
The creek has well and truly taken on it’s winter look. All the lush green has moved from the branches to the ground in wonderful carpets of emerald moss. I still wish I lived somewhere snowy in the winter, but I love the distinct change in seasons here. The light is softer and the shadows bluer. I love smelling woodburning fires in the evening and seeing my breath in the morning. And there really is nothing better than the crisp air of a clear wintery day, especially if you find a sunny spot to curl up in like a cat. I would have made a good cat.
In other news:
- I’ve been really enjoying the Pinterest community lately and the wonderful new links it has thrown my way. Especially this, this and this.
- Over the weekend I showed my little chickens this cute clip from ‘Ride’em Cowboy’ and have had to play it again and again and again. Good job I’m a huge Ella fan!
- Watched Garden State and Black Swan back-to-back and loved them both. Now I’m addicted to this song and have listened to it again and again and again and again. Sadly, it didn’t go unnoticed, comparisons were made and I was forced by sheer whining to remedy the shortfall quick smart! I fear my Mummy swindling days are over, either that or my cons have to get much craftier.
Water Paper Paint… Play!
July 21, 2011 § 16 Comments
I’ve been following the work of Heather Smith Jones over at her lovely blog for quite a while, having fallen in love with the delicacy of her watercolor works and her wonderful compositions. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when she brought out a book. I couldn’t get my copy fast enough.
Now that I have it, and have greedily consumed every word on every page, I have to gush… This book is fantastic! It’s not just a dry (haha!) how-to, it offers a bunch of projects to unleash your experimental side and makes you feel like a kid with your first paint set. It’s liberating!
I also love the gallery section which showcases the work of eleven other fab artists. Some, like Geninne, are firm favorites and some are new to me; like Andy Farkas. I have a passion for hand printing and Andy uses watercolor pigments mixed with rice paste instead of the usual oil-based inks to achieve stunning watery woodblock prints. Ooooh (rubs hands together) I’d love to give that a try! – And that, and that… and that! Seems like the perfect mantra for the entire book.
I’m really enjoying Heather’s exercises, being generally inspired and working with some new challenges. I love the natural loose texture that watercolor has. But finding just the right amount to use in a composition is a bit of a balancing act. What you leave out can often be more powerful than what you leave in. So I’ve been playing with the idea of just capturing the essence of something. Leaving out everything other than the essential. Revelling in one element rather than all. Sounds like a good life mantra too.
Pop on over to Our Creative Spaces for tonnes more inspired peeps.
Credits | Top four images from ‘Water Paper Paint’ by Heather Smith Jones. Published by Quarry Books. |
Pgs 140-141 : September Pages and Three Little Birds by Geninne D. Zlatkis | Pgs 134- 135 : Refresh, River Study 5 and River Study 6 by Andy Farkas | Pg 155 : Layers by Heather Smith Jones | Pg 50 : Painting for Using a Colour System by Heather Smith Jones. | Images from ‘Water Paper Paint’ are used with kind permission and are subject to copyright. Thank you Heather | Bottom two images by Alisa Coburn.
I love the postman…
July 12, 2011 § 7 Comments
Look what he brought me today!
This is my beautiful brooch from the Flowerpress Brooch Swap. Thank you Jesse, I absolutely adore it! Made by the hugely talented Jesse Breytenbach from Jezze Prints it has travelled all the way from Cape Town ready to be fawned over and shown off to all and sundry by me. (I will do an excellent job of that Jesse, promise.) Check out all those teeny-tiny perfect stitches and french knots! And the lovely cards all packaged beautifully … contented sigh! There’s nothing for it, now I have to find an elegant new coat to do it justice.
Susie did I mention what an inspired idea your Brooch Swap was. : )
