Easter... a time to slow down and muse a bit... or get hands-on maybe?

Easter for me has often been a quiet time in recent years... by choice ... with many away for a five day break the world seems to become very peaceful! In the southern hemisphere days are growing shorter ... so its autumn and, depending where you live, the time to pack away summer things! Not so much in Queensland though!

In fact ...we're off to the beach in the hope of a little sunshine and swimming... and beach walks. Missed out over our summer of the "Big Long Wet" but maybe this break we'll get to see the waves!

I recently bought a camera so my task this weekend is to get used to using it and downloading images on my  return. Also ... finding the box and manual it came with... these past few weeks have been flat out! One doesn't realise quite how much you can come to depend on grabbing the camera and downloading an image till a hiccup like this... spontaneity goes right out the window and blogging images of late have been "found".

However they've been wonderful images Ive been finding! Just miss having that camera for another set of eyes ... that's the thing... to capture passing moments ... noticing things for later.

So... what to say about Easter....

love the life death-life-thing... the ancient pagan festival to spring.... but we southern-hemispherists (OK ... you know what I mean!) dont have the symbolism of new life coming through... so the death part of the cycle is more evident here.

Australia is made up of so many different cultural groups so Easter to many simply means not working, shops closed and perhaps a break somewhere.... hard to say how its perceived beyond the chocolate buying.

I'm really drawn to this ovoid form below... Anish Kapoor... it's my symbolic gesture to Easter this year!  The other images are finds from tumblr that I just posted at Seed Capsules if you wish to go see all of them there - or visit the archive  perhaps!

Anish Kapoor’s Minimal Maximus

For some reason I have adored getting stuck into painting at Easter over the years ... I guess the spaciousness ... life slowing down for a few days...

If you need inspiration for getting hands on at Easter then this might be the image for you! I was stopped in my tracks... loved this!

therhumboogie: Human spirography, Tony Orrico makes these stunning drawings for 4 hours sometimes to make one large piece. I think they are just an amazingly beautiful feat of patience. 

in a somewhat similar vein....

ordovicianfauna: Fingerings by Judith Braun

well... hands on ...feet on... etc...

ordovicianfauna: Drawing Machine #1 by Joseph L. Griffiths is nothing without some human interaction.

If you do a spot of gardening... and the inspiration strikes....

nadyawasylko:100 shovels arranged in a radiating circle on a brick wall at Pratt. The sculpture is by Donald Lipski, “a protean surrealist who uses common materials and other objects [and] gives them new meaning…deconstructing our usual connection with the objects.”

And maybe you have a few repairs to do and that leads off on a tangent... 

magnificentruin: Günther Uecker Zum Schweigen der Schrift 1994

well I seem to have found things to share with you that require an element of every hands on making...

morganlevine: More string art (by Ella Robinson)…the next big thing.

perhaps you'll get into the kitchen and bake... mmm... that s good thought! I'll bring the teapot if you do!

But if you do get out the paints I wonder what you'll work on...

                                                                                               this is intriguing...

pootee:  ¥ª₰ ¥∀₰ §฿₣∑₦₭$

I'll leave you with this colour chart for natural dyes in case you are inspired when Im off at the beach reading a book!

found at mirror-mirror blog - the blogger is not a big
Martha fan...but did go for these eggs using natural dyes.

well I guess its happy easter from ....

you know who...

and Happy Celebrations and/or relaxing etc from moi!

And before I go... here's a thought with some gravity,

 from Rumi:

Be with those who help your being.
Don’t sit with indifferent people, whose breath
comes cold out of their mouths.

something you just have to do

Ngurrara: The Great Sandy Desert  Canvas 10 metres x 8 metres

 

Found at artpropelled.blogspot.com. Read more on this art work here.

George Peterson at circlefactory.com

Robyn at Art Propelled has quite a following and tonight I discovered a series of works and posts I was interested to learn more about. Wise words from Robyn via Maslow here. Work by robyn Gordon below.

'the cluster of possibilities' - taking a leaf from La Dolce Vita

from the snow storm - December 8th Post image by Caterina at La Dolce Vita which is accompanied by text from Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem The Snow Storm.

following are 2 images from Cat who works with found materials gleaned from all over.

 The wonderful Caterina at La Dolce Vita has been posting from her home in Colorado some wonderful snowy images of late and today I thought I would share her Jan 7 post with you on thrifty living as it is a timely new year musing! Cat suggests that no matter what the motivation behind thriftiness is its a noble pursuit that brings VALUE to the fore. 
I am reminded of a wonderful french doco by Agnes Varda 'The Gleaners and I' that I saw a few years ago which travels through city and country-side in France, includes interviews with various people including psycho-analyst Jean Laplanche and French collage artist Louis Pons who calls his "cluster of junk.... a cluster of possibilities". This small painting titled 'The Gleaners' by Jean-Francois Millet (1857) refers to the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or where it is not economically profitable to harvest. Some ancient cultures promoted gleaning as an early form of welfare system.
Below are 2 examples from Louis Pons work - his beautifully named "cluster of possibilities"

Joute Pour Adulte 1961 Assemblage

La Point Sublime 1970 Relief


Also found at La Dolce Vita: 
One artist saw a New Year opportunity in setting up this this new blog to encourage purchase of 2nd hand goods and exchange and barter. read about Debrina's initiative at the bartercircle.blogspot.com - which lends itself to replication elsewhere.

Creative people often thrive on being great finders and foragers and it is timely we all have a think about the cluster of possibilities that are there waiting!