Back from Braveheart Country

Oy me hearties!

Just got back from a wee whirlwind trippie to the land of Scots.  Edinburgh to be precise.  What a beautiful city! The architecture, the people and their guardianship of everything related to literature, art and history is truly astounding.  What I didn't realize was that a considerable number of the world's great writers hail from Scotland, and many of them are specifically from Edinburgh.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Alexander McCall Smith, to name but a few, are from Edinburgh.  I am happy to say that I returned with a signed copy of one of Alexander McCall Smith's books, 44 Scotland Street.

But here's the scoop.....
Of course I knew that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was from the UK, but not that he was Scottish or from Edinburgh.  While doing some last-minute packing, I tossed a small vintage book into my bag because I wanted to do a bit of travel journaling in an altered book format during the trip.  The book was one of about 7 old books that I bought at a vintage store on a recent trip to Rosendal with the plan of creating altered books by collaging and journaling in them.

Upon landing in Edinburgh, our tour guide in the bus gave a short introduction to the city and mentioned the long list of writers, of which Conan Doyle was one.  Late that night when I opened my book to start journaling I was mesmerized to see that the book was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, published in 1932 and printed in Aberdeen, Scotland.  This book came home!



Here are a few altered pages from the book as travel journal.  These are still works in progress, so watch this space.

A winter's tale

The weather is turning in our neck of the woods.  For the past two days we've had grey cloud sheltering us from the sun that, only a few weeks ago, still blazed in all it's summer glory.  We've had soft autumn rains showering us at night in a gently rushing lullaby.  Morning and evening temperatures are lower.  The trees in our driveway are standing proud and upright in heartwarming reds, purples, ochres and burgundies.  Late afternoons and nights are quiet.  The voices of the bullfrogs, the crickets and the nightjars are still now.  They too acknowledge the change in the season.  That winter is almost here.  That it is time to move inward.  Time to become quiet.

And my own discourse seems to be just that right now.  Erratic, energetic, random acts of creativity have been replaced by quiet contemplations.  Creative meditative acts have taken the place of exuberant creative output.  A state of hibernation has set in.  A profound state of deep and silent regeneration and preparation.  Like the still, sleepy development of an embryo.  And with that, a quiet expectation that something beautiful and surprising will emerge from this cold and sleepy season.

Goodnight sweethearts!

Watching & waiting

Birthday bliss - ethereal escapism at Illyria House

This week I was blessed to be treated by my sister to a luxurious high tea followed by a fabulous foot massage for my birthday.  It turned out to be an artist's date of considerable note! Illyria House in Pretoria was the venue of choice and I was on cloud nine for an entire day following this adventure.  The guesthouse was built in 1942 as a family residence.  The original structure and furniture have been preserved beautifully - the house and terrace reminded me of a bohemian villa with a secret garden somewhere in Prague.  Later, we strolled from one secluded garden room to another and I eventually found myself in a French/Italian style garden with Moorish influences.  Our walk ended in a breathtaking Asian style parlour.  I was whisked to different corners of our planet within the short span of 3 hours. Absolute bliss! Take a look and be inspired!

Rosendal

As promised, here are some more pics that I took during my recent breakaway to Rosendal.  If you'd like to know more about the area, how to get there, things to do, accommodation etc., click on this link http://www.rosendalinfo.co.za/.  And if you're in South Africa - make a plan to go there sometime.  You'll be glad you did!

A place of creative inspiration

There’s a special place in the Free State (one of our South African provinces) where I go to recharge.  It is a place that gets my creative juices flowing.  A place where I go when I need silence to create and to write. A little village that just celebrated its centenary.  Surrounded by sandstone hills and with the majestic Maluti mountains as backdrop, moss green during summer and occasionally snow-clad in winter, this little town isn’t far from the Lesotho border and close to the only two ski resorts in Southern Africa.  A hamlet where each of the weekend cottages which are sporadically being built here, is a shining example of experimental, eco-friendly and non-mainstream architecture.  This is Rosendal.

It is a place where a small but growing congregation of artists live and create and thrive.  Where old wood, scrap metal, discarded books and unwanted furniture become art materials for creating beautiful and fresh artwork. I have just returned from a quick breakaway to the village after a long, long absence.  It was so good to be back there!  To go for long walks in the morning and early evening and watch the light change and see the sunset turn the sandstone cliffs into gold.  To listen to the silence and breathe the wide openness.  To be inspired by the work of the artists in residence.  I hope to be building my own little retreat there quite soon.

Is there a specific place that talks to your heart and fuels your creativity?  I’d love to hear about it!  Please drop me a few lines on your way out.

Here are a few pictures.  There's more to follow, so watch this space!

Goodnight Sweethearts!

My handiwork is en route to Sweden, USA & Australia!

Here's 2 of the 12 postcards that I completed for the annual DIY Postcard swap!

This morning, while I was working in my studio, I noticed that a considerable number of blue swallows were darting around in the air above our house and I was wondering if they weren’t getting ready for their annual migration.

Only later in the day did I realize that today, 19 March, is officially the last day of summer here in the southern hemisphere, and the last day of winter in the northern hemisphere. 

9 of the 10 addresses that I received in the postcard swap were in the northern hemisphere.  I thought how fitting it is that my postcards are on their way up north on a day like today.  

So, to the people receiving postcards from me – your cards are currently migrating up north with the blue swallows of the south and I hope that they bring you lots of warm sunshine and joy – from my sunny summer garden to yours! May your summer be as bright and beautiful as mine was!

Here’s a little bit of info on the making of my mixed media postcards:

THE PHOTOGRAPHS 

We were visiting Cape Town a couple of weeks ago and we stayed in an apartment overlooking Muizenberg beach.  Early one morning our baby daughter peeped out from between the shutters in our bedroom just as the sun was rising over the Atlantic.  The light shone so vibrantly through the window that her little figure became a silhouette, together with the horizontal lines of the shutters and I grabbed my camera to capture the moment.  Since she became part of our lives I had wanted to create artwork in her honour, so I decided to use these photographs as a basis for the postcard swap. 

THE BACKGROUND

We have many birds and two rabbits that decided to make our garden their home, and she loves to go for long walks in our garden in the late afternoons to see what all the little creatures are up to.  So I decided to use antique garden illustrations as backdrop and continue the play of light behind her silhouette by printing the photographs on transparent paper so that the background can still shine through.  It brings a sense of mystery to the image – not unlike her future, which is still a beautiful, miraculous mystery to us at present.

THE STORY

I decided to add to the mystery by writing a short little story about Angeli and her garden across 3 photographic prints at a time.  So every recipient will receive a little piece of the “puzzle” – one third of the story.  And so here’s the full story:

THE SILHOUETTES

I decided to add birds and rabbits to the postcard to illustrate the little story.  So I drew inspiration from Arthur Rackham, one of the world’s great children’s book illustrators, and created stencils in the form of silhouettes.  Arthur Rackham became well-known for his trademark silhouettes around 1905.  You can have a look at some of his beautiful work here.

THE FINISHING TOUCHES

To add a bit of interest to the image, I used Japanese washi tape that I received as a gift from my cousin in Tokyo.  Exactly one year since the tsunami hit Japan, this is a small token in honour of all those who suffered unspeakable loss.  It is my humble salute to an extremely gracious and resilient nation. 

Finally, I added stickers of vintage sweet brands, because as they say: "little girls are made of sugar and spice and all things nice!"

 

THE COLLECTION

In the end, I created 4 series of postcards, each series consisting of 3 postcards that together carry the story of Angeli’s Garden.  If you’d like to see each of the 12 postcards in detail, you can view them on my flickr page here. 

In one of my earlier blog posts, I mentioned that nothing brings out the muse as quickly as a deadline.  So very true, I realized again this week.  I wasn’t sure if I would have time available to make the required 10 mixed media postcards, but I decided to register anyway, to make the time and in the end it was such an enjoyable experience!  Handling work on a project-to-project basis with a deadline – whether it is preparing for a music show or making art – it just works for me and keeps me productive and inspired.

Goodnight sweethearts!

Showing up

It is just past midnight and once again I am amazed at how energized I become when I immerse myself in music and art.  I started with a collage on canvas around 21h00 and right now I have to force myself to go to sleep.  Like Eliza Doolitte…”I could have danced all night…..and still have begged for more”.  And once again I realize that all you have to do when it comes to creating, is to show up and make yourself available.  As creatives, we are called to edify, to uplift, to deliver a message, and if we don’t make ourselves available, those who were in need of that message will surely miss out. 
Goodnight sweethearts!
Ax