Next Stage of my Creative Life
As I approach retirement I am reorganizing my life along different priorities, the main one being travelling and writing. I have been writing a travel blog (Travelling Crone) for years and will continue with even more fervour as I collect my adventure stories.
But of course full time travel and creating pottery do not make the best partners so I will be exploring new ways as well as expanding existing mediums that can work and even support my travel aspirations.
I will keep this site as a gallery and momento of that important stage of my life. And who knows maybe my path will lead me back to it.
So this winter sale will be my last…. at least for now. So I hope that you can drop by, have some apple cider & cookies. There will be awesome pottery and I’ve been exploring crocheting (!!!) so there might be some of that.
Red Dog 1017 Winter Sale
When You Find Your Tribe
Punta Nizuc, Mexico. – Underwater Sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor
I started an Art Monday feature on a FB page I manage, sharing a work that I have discovered during the past week. It has been fun and certainly expanded my mind and knowledge. Today, while researching Cornelia Konrad’s work, I found an art installation site that moved me to tears. Scanning these installations I connected to almost every one. It was like finally meeting people who ‘got’ me. I am fumbling with words to describe a visceral, almost molecular reaction to the photos. To photos for goodness sake! Would being face to face with them be too much? Or would I be disappointed?
How strange we humans are, how differently we react to stimuli. What moves me to distraction leaves another cold and wondering about my sanity. Then I see what moves them and I am questioning their tastes. LOL Did we come by these reactions via nature or nurture? Like anything else about us, I suspect it may be the alchemy of both. But I think back over my childhood and see nothing in it that would come close to nurturing this extreme appreciation of some art. But then so too my family tree. So where forth do you come, oh inspiration? Is it that tricky little thing called soul, that has nothing to do with nature nor nurture? That is only us, our essence that we landed with? But still, the why persists. Why would my soul come so equipped? What would be its purpose? Of course, by ‘soul’ I am not referring to the Christian concept, at all. More the spiritual ‘we’re all one energy ball of something’ kind of thing. Ok, I have gone down a rabbit hole that I want nothing to do with.. so let me just back out of here.
Ok, I’m back. It is all about the questions with no real expectation of answers, at least any that would pass the test of my cynicism. Funny but I think the questions are in and of themselves enlightening.. at least to me.
Go check out the web site and see if you get shivers from inspiration or from left cold. What does send you over the moon?
2014 Winter Sale
Hard to believe it is that time of year, again! And you know what that means? YES! It is time for Kerry and Donnae’s Winter Sale where you will be exposed to wondrously creative clay creations AND cookies and hot apple cider! You lucky lucky people 🙂 So come on over and lets make a party out of this.
Cat hair jewelry? Fur and steel make the “purrfect” combination
Found this post and just had to share. Inspiring, yes?!
No Fun Vancouver
For some reason I posted this to my travel blog, I think because I have been sharing interesting bits about Vancouver that might interest travellers who come here. So I am re-blogging it to my art site. My apologies to the people who follow both, you haven’t drank too much (well, maybe), it’s just me having a brain fart. :()
5 days a week I passed the dark man who never failed to move me as few street people have, and he was most clearly a member of that tribe. He sat under the Burrard St. bridge on a chair in the community garden, leaning his elbows on his thighs looking down at the ground between his legs, dreaded hair hanging forward. Sadness/loneliness/despair, all emanated like mist, almost visible for its strength. His chair sat amidst a garden that spoke of hope and renewal as spring dawned. The juxtaposition making his presence all the more poignant. People walked, cycled, ran and drove by and I never saw anyone give him a glance.
Then one day he was gone, him and his chair vanished. I almost gasped for the lose. I looked around hoping that he, looking for some privacy, had moved deeper into the garden away from the street –…
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Evil Doesn’t Get to Win
When evil descends and tries to smother us with darkness, light burns pin holes in its fabric weakening the weave of bleakness, never allowing evil to win. In the face of overwhelming horror there will rise to the surface good and grace and love; often at great cost. This is the fundamental truth that I arrived at this week – that evil will never ever ever win because it inspires ordinary people to heroism, becoming the counter balance of light and love. But if we try to fight it with hate and vengeance, we are doomed, since that is what feeds the fires of evil. Not easy choices, but choices never the less. Even while I watched the nightmare unfold, my mind searched for the inevitable traces of the heroes and I was not disappointed.
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- Maryann Jacob
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- Maryrose Kristopik
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- Kaitlin Roig
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- Victoria Soto
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- Mary Sherlach
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- Dawn Hochsprung
- School principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach raced out of the office as soon as they heard the shots, throwing themselves at the killer trying to take him down.
- Victoria Soto,27, a teacher attempted to hide several children in closets and cupboard and when the killer entered the room, she put herself between him and the children saving their lives and losing hers.
- Maryrose Kristopik, a music teacher, managed to get her class of 20 locked into a closet and hung onto the door while the killer banged and yelled at her to let him in. Then she kept them calm by singing, praying with them and telling them she loved them. They all survived.
- Kaitlyn Roig, age 29, hid 14 students in a bathroom and barricaded the door, telling them to be completely quiet in order to keep them safe. She told them she loved them in case those were the last word they ever heard.
- Maryann Jacob, the school’s library clerk, instructed 18 children to crawl into a storage room where she barricaded the door using a filing cabinet
- A custodian ran through the hallways alerting the teachers of the gunman.
- A 6 year old student, after his teacher was shot and killed, led his class mates to safety.
Evil should be faceless and nameless while the heros and the victims should be named and remembered.
This is my truth, today. Where did you go when faced with this tragedy?
Public ( & not so public) VanCity Art
When the rabble babble on about “no fun city” or us not being a “world class” city I get twisted cause it usually comes from someone who thinks they should be able to either drink liquor 24 hours a day, anywhere they want or sell it 24 hours a day, anywhere they want. Then there is the group that thinks that the only good public art would be WalmArt. Yeah I’m sure you can guess how I feel about THEM! ugh.
Anyway
I believe the best sign a city is fun and world class is the amount of public art that is available to it’s citizens & visitors and that includes gorilla type spontaneous creative combustion art. The dialogue that it can produce is stimulating and watching people as they see it and their minds start moving instead of their thumbs, what a rush! So I collect VanCity public art and I thought I would start sharing it during those times where my work is not being particularly wordpress-worthy.
Today I was cycling around the south False Creek sea wall, which is developing into quite a nice little neighbourhood I must say. Very cool sunbathing beds that look like sculptures, native plantings & lots of room for peds & wheelies. This is the area that the world got to see as the Athlete Village during the Olympics and we see it as a money pit. Whatever, at least it is a very cool money pit that the well to do will be able to enjoy. Us too of course.
South False Creek Bird Sculpture
South False Creek Bird Sculpture
I Just gotta love this woman’s office, eh?
South False Creek Bird Sculpture
This next one is just so awesome on so many different levels. It was made from recycled Olympic Games materials, mostly 1,000 wheat board panels.
“Exposed to weather, soil, and the passing of time, the wheat board construction will give way to a process of gradual decomposition, its form providing fodder for new growth. Transitioning slowly from sculpture to plant nursery, the project’s bounty will be offered for transplanting throughout the future development.” Art Base
Cardboard Bulldozer Sculpture
Cardboard Bulldozer Sculpture
Is It a Kiln or a Lawn Ornament?
I was delivering parcels over in East Van, along that gorgeous section of Wall St., looking towards the North Shore Mountains and the Vancouver Harbour. There was an area of heritage homes where I had to literally crawl up freaking mini-mountains but I didn’t mind (mostly) cause when I got up there WOW! Stunning. So I’m almost on my hands and knees through this garden at a 90 degree slant distracted by all the evidence that an artist obviously lived there because of all those darn artsy art-i-facts we are so well known for littered up this goat trail when I came upon a kiln, the like I have never seen before, in life or in print. Using it as an excuse to stop for a breather it did look like it could be a weird ass bird house and that may well be what it is now. I continued climbing hoping that the owner would be home so I could drill him/her. No such luck. I have been left to ponder its story. Thought I would share with you and see if we can’t dig something up about it. Yes I know I could just go back but what fun would that be when we can look at it like a treasure hunt! (And I’m not sure I could find it again.)
So pass this link onto all your potty friends and see what happens. I am also interested in theories, those are always good for a giggle.
Kiln or Garden Art?
You can see, kind of, how freaking steep this property is. Wish I could have watched them get this puppy up there. Or maybe they built it there?
Detail of Lawn Ornament/Kiln
Distractions
Doesn’t life has a way of hip checking you out of the game, (like the little hockey reference there? Sooo Canadian, eh?) the good stuff as well as the bad.
The good is obviously the sun, summer is doing its best to burst through and the ground is gushing forth with colour and life.
Birds greeting the sun at Sandoval Lake, Peru.
I feel like these birds, face to the sun and sucking in all that glorious warmth. Ahhhh. My creativity is pulled outside to my little balcony garden and I am enchanted with all the wonderful gardens on my route. It is like I am shoring up the sights, smells and touch for my next clay days. What inspires all you creative types? The gardeners, the cooks, the decorators, the crafters – you know who you are. Share and maybe I’ll discover a new one to check out.
The bad, of course, is the postal job action of which I am a part of. Both sides have taken their positions to the court of the media and the public. It is so stressful dealing with the various fallouts, the unknown not being the least of them. I’m finding myself distracted and deleted by the fear and haven’t figured out a way of using it to fuel my creativity. Have any of you? Please share cause I could use some help on this one.
My poor abandoned work table.
donnae.ca 