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Standing On The Earth I See

Marianne Slevin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:04:29 +0000

Standing on the earth I see,

That you are quite the same as me,

We are both like leaves from an apple tree,

I think I am I, but I don’t even exist

surely I am, without the I added in

I look at you, as if you are you through and through

but we are all made from the same sodding goo!

Oh no that’s not right cause it’s not goo at all

it’s something that’s no thing at all!

Now I am no wiser I have just down sized me

to a ant that is beside me,

Then I realize there is no separation at all!

For I am as large as the planet which is still rather small

And I am not sure if my cousin is the moon!

Poem by Marianne Slevin

Nobody Cares About Art!

Marianne Slevin — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:20:05 +0000

“Tree Horse”, oil on canvas 2009 Marianne Potterton

I finished this painting today. It was so good to be painting again. I kind of switched my brain off and let my hands do the thinking. Sometimes it is nice to let a painting sit for a while and not rush into finishing it too quickly. Then just trust in your own ability to finish it.

As you can see from the sign above and the title of this post, I am feeling a bit disheartened about peoples lack of interest in art. If you are reading this you are an exception ! Thank you!

Peaceful Studio breakfast of James’ Biscotti and Coffee

Marianne Slevin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:21:18 +0000

James’ Biscotti

Our Children have been given breakfast in bed. I have decided to at least eat breakfast in my studio even if I have not done much art there for a while! Well that is not exactly true as I have been painting clothes with fabric paint to create my new winter wardrobe! Last night I renovated a chair that was very stained and with broken back, I did a painting of tree on the seat and the word Peace on the back. Downstairs James was baking a symphony of almond and vanilla biscotti with the tangiest lemon drizzle icing. This morning I wonder what will I art-around with while I have my breakfast. They were definitely the yummiest biscotti I ever had! Sometimes the possibilities are so infinite that I get lost! Will I Paint, draw, print, make, stitch,and that is just the start1

Peace

Peace Chair at The Secret Gallery

Poetry along The Burren Way

Marianne Slevin — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 10:48:21 +0000

Old foot road from Fanore

to Ballyvaughan

Four windmills

Rock flowers

brown bird

first raindrops

yellow fern

young bull

two magpies cross

Stone boulders lay silently

Fast moving grey cloud

over grey mountain

rock slope shines for a moment

Low stone walls crisscross

a seagull glides on air currents

leaving no trace of where it has been

A dog barks across

a low rocky mountain

wind gnarled thorn trees

Hawk great sky navigator

suddenly a second hawk

flies low over

the sloping rock fields

Wind dried

sky road

The ocean is covered with cloud shadow

rain in the sea

A single tree clings

to the mountainside

Stillness almost

Chirps from a hidden bird

taking shelter with wild strawberries and mint

Rain drops cling to

flower petals

I wrote this on 26 July 2000

This day 6 years later our son was born! Much has changed since then in our lives but the Burren appears much the same as it did that day!

Shelters and spaces to dream in

Marianne Slevin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:01:00 +0000

During this saturated cloud of a summer I am hugely grateful for these strong old stone walls. Though in sunnier climes I do recall enjoying a more out door life where shelters could be under trees, in valleys and other places in nature. When we renovated our adobe house in Spain we wanted it to feel and be as natural as possible. I love when inner spaces and outer spaces merge. In the painting Refuge I wanted to get across the feeling of living in nature, well sleeping, dreaming and washing I like to idea that it can still be quite elegant! In the painting, a white bed cover with a delicate floral print and white four poster bed-like mattress sits on the earth, with a similar style jug, towel and wash basin en-suite! This scene takes place under a tree on the brown earth, but the bed cover is not all covered in mud! I love the total impracticality of this! This is one of the reasons I love painting, because it does not have to be real, in the way we often think of reality, and it does not have to hold up a roof!!