Earthy Abstraction

I was very pleased to have "Reading the Runes:Stones of Power" accepted into the Earthy Abstraction show in North Carolina.

A Juried Competition, March 27 – May 16, 2015

Arts Council Galleries at

301 Hay Street, Fayetteville, NC

 

Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery (EWCG) in partnership with the Arts Council Fayetteville/Cumberland County invited artists to submit entries to a juried competition entitled Earthy Abstraction.  This exhibition features artists that work with or incorporate elements of natural materials such as soil, clay, wood, stone and other materials into their visual practice.  The works have a direct connection in theme, texture, and materials with the natural world.

 

Arts Council Gallery Hours
Monday - Thursday: 9 am to 5pm
Friday: 9 am to noon  •  Saturday: noon to 4 pm

The natural materials in this piece include stones, driftwood, an acorn cap, natural indigo dye and rusty metal.

The stones rest on a complex cloth, which I first indigo dyed and rusted. I then did some image transfers and some painting. There are five stones which represent the following powers: Growth, Decay, Drift, Persistence and Ice.

Drift - Bead Journal Project February 2012

My rune stone for February is "Drift".

The idea of drifting is frequently considered to be negative in our society; we are expected to be focused and marching forward toward a goal. "Going with the flow" or allowing ourselves to be carried in directions by outside forces is thought to be a sign of weakness.

But drifting (in moderation) can be positive - we are transformed by our encounters with the random.

I have used a piece of driftwood, collected on the beach,  as a cabochon. I've found myself using driftwood in my work frequently - it's quite light weight for it's size. I've even used driftwood as a both sides of a functional clasp. I'm currently working on a very large piece that will include a piece of wood 8 1/2 foot long!

Driftwood frequently shows strong grain lines and I used beads in several shades to show these lines.

My "Drift" runestone is still afloat in beaded water; on the very bottom, the stone can still be viewed.

Once in awhile, allow yourself some drift - be carried by outside forces and see where it takes you!

Touring Michigan (And Making Art) - Brimley State Park

Even when you live in a great place, sometimes you just need to get away and do some things you can't do at home. In our case, that means a campfire in the evening followed by sleeping in a tent near the water. Brimley State Park is a great fit for us: not to far away, quiet and beautiful.

The park is on the shore of Lake Superior and has a great sandy beach - a beach that is a great place to collect drift wood.

I love to use driftwood in my art, it's so light weight and has such interesting markings and patina after it's time in the lake.

It's been so cold that I suspect there haven't been many visitors and there's a lot of reeds, driftwood and other objects on the shore.

This piece really caught my eye:

And I was inspired to create an ephemeral "environmental sculpture" ala Andy Goldsworthy:

The Viking marauders landed at sunset and alas, were never seen again, their ship destroyed by the waves of Lake Superior in the night.

When the creative muse speaks, the wise artist listens - my sculpture may have only survived a few hours, but the memories will last much longer!