Archive for September 2009
Between the Earth and the sky
I took these photographs while we were at the beach in Fanore on one of the lovely sunny days we had a couple of weeks ago. I was fascinated by this idea of a person going up into the sky attached to little more than a whizzing wheel of metal some strong thread and large sleeping bag! I am not sure what exactly it is but there is something very magical about it!
Maya and herbs
I like this photograph even though it shows very a dirty window and neglected herbs! It looks a bit like a painting. Currently I am gathering material for a new body of art work. I am not sure what will come out !
One of my main areas of interest is finding some sort of balance between a more frugal and hard core natural existence and a comfortable, convenient way of living, and if it is possible to live in harmony with the planet, particularly in our society. We have created a totally unsustainable way of existing on this planet. Sometimes I think that we are so far off the mark that even trying seems futile. When I move on from this negative thought pattern I get excited by the thoughts of growing our own fruit and vegetables and collecting free food from the earth and sea. Looking out our kitchen window and seeing a beautiful horse makes me feel happy. It strikes a cord somewhere deep within me about something we are loosing; a more natural and harmonious way of life.
James Art in the Secret Gallery’s Garden
This is a selection of some of the Art work that James has made over the past few months. He started with the large wooden sign for the Secret Gallery which is on the road between Doolin and The Cliffs of Moher, and since then his creativity just keeps on flowing! The piece above was made to support our wedding cakes, I really love it, now it is a Love Unity sun dial sculpture. “The Dalai Lamas Very Happy Wine Bar” was made for our wedding, and in keeping with the fancy dress in the theme of Kind People from History. The actual bar was painted all over with the word Love and Unity. I am hoping that there will be even more of James art at the Secret Gallery Garden soon!
Thoughts on tissue paper
Thoughts on tissue paper 1,2,3,4,5, Marianne Slevin (formerly know as Potterton!) September 2009
Thoughts written in children’s colouring markers on recycled tissue paper hanging in my studio in the Secret Gallery somewhere between Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher, on 5th September 2009. Maybe in a years time I can fill a whole gallery with these floating thoughts. This is a new phase in my art practice after 18 months or so of painting, though it relates to much of the previous art I did using text and materials that are not traditionally used for making art. I wanted to start to write a journal again in the old fashioned way, this is a culmination of blogging, tweeting and the good old diary, turned into a visual experience; you can read as much or as little as you like. I am drawn to working with fragile materials once more, I like the way when up get close to them and breathe that they move; our presence effects them, as well as the gentlest breeze.
I would like to do some as often as it seems appropriate for a whole year, but then that sounds a little contrived so I will just see where it leads me. 365 thoughts in the first year of my marriage my sound very neat but in my real and chaotic life it my be something like as many thoughts as I have pieces of tissue paper,( that was used to protect and wrap our wedding presents) till the time when the thoughts I have no longer wish to be written upon that same tissue paper! The very first piece I wrote was about this need to constantly compartmentalise things in the west, everything has the be accounted for, and all the messy bits need to be cleaned up! It is often those messy straggling bits and pieces that are the most interesting and awaken something within us!
The secret gallery's blog 