Thursday, January 28, 2010

Time

Well we are at the end of January today and I have never known a month go so quickly. It doesn't seem five minutes ago (slight exaggeration) that we were celebrating Christmas. Where does the time go? At the rate time is passing it will be Valentine's Day in a few hours so I hope you have all got your cards and gifts ready.

I like this time quote by Will Rogers: "Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save."

A digital piece of art called "Gathering Of Friends." Those trees took ages as you can imagine. ( Ahh I think I have just found out where my time is going.)


Another digital drawing "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon"


The beautiful paintings below are by UK artist Simon Hart. He has a background of textile design and that shows in the detail and patterning of his work. He has great colour sense. He has published his work in many areas including greetings cards, wallpaper, childrens' books etc. There is an interesting biography of him on his website here and lots of gorgeous images of work, past and present.

Morning, Dittisham Quay


Djemma el Fna, Marrakesh


Sunset, Alhambra


We have had some incredibly cold and frosty weather since the snow departed so here are a few frosty pictures for you.





While I was perusing the books and magazines in the Contemporary Craft Gallery in Percy Street, London the other week, I spotted a booklet by the wonderfully talented mosaic artist Cleo Mussi. It is by Mussimosaics Publications and I couldn't resist getting a copy. I find her mosaics quite fascinating and the booklet, although small, has some great photos of her work. There is a lovely rhythm and pattern to her creations and she uses a lot of recycled bits of domestic china with interesting decorations. Her designs are immensely popular and I would love to own a piece. If you want to read more about her you can view the article in a past copy of BBC Homes and Antiques magazine here. Cleo's own website is here.



When I was buying my lovely bracelet (see previous post) I also saw some other wonderful jewellery by a designer called Anne Farag. Anne has some very enticing designs on her website here. She enjoys producing jewellery with distinctive patterns derived from other cultures and I think her work has a definite ethnic and almost tribal quality.


The beautiful ceramic work below is by sculptor Debra Fritts. She is a storyteller in clay. Her method of working is quite complex and she imprints marks and textures into her work. You can find a description of how she achieves this on her website. She has lots of work in galleries including here at BlueSpiral, Pacinilubel here and GalleryOne here. Her own website here has lots more of her work on show.

Smart Girl


Saving The Earth


Night Walker


Clean Slate


Jennie Ashmore is an English artist and craftswoman who produces the most amazingly beautiful collages of natural found leaves and petals. She finds the raw materials in gardens and woods etc and presses and arranges them. Her images are very redolent of old textiles and quilts. and her sense of colour, design and pattern is excellent. Quite gorgeous. You can find lots more of her work on her website here.




22 comments:

Nicola said...

As always, a truly inspirational collection! But I love your two pieces above :)

Trudy Honeycutt ~ Folk Artist said...

Always a pleasure, Cathy! I feel like I further my art education immensely every time I visit!! Hugs, Trudy in Colorado, USA

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Nicola. They took me quite a while but I think they were worth it.

Cathy said...

Hi Trudy. Thanks for that. I am always blown away by the wealth of art and craft talent on the Internet.

Gillian said...

Your trees are gorgeous - no wonder they took so long! Love the quilt-like leaf collages too - wonderful. I'm actually glad to see the beginning of February - so much more Springlike! G

bunnits said...

Yes, where does that time go?? I love your "Gathering of Friends."

Caroline said...

Everything is so interesting this week! Simon Hart's work is so colourful and his website led me to his wife's - what a talented couple - have you seen their self catering places in Dartmouth? Love your photos this week. x

Cathy said...

Yes, there does seem to be a bit of a spring in the air Gillian - a hint of a promise of things to come. Those leaf and petal collages are gorgeous, aren't they? Such a unique idea.

Cathy said...

Thanks Melissa. I struggled to find a name for it but then they looked like a group of animal and bird friends so I thought that would be a nice title.

Cathy said...

Hi Caroline. Yes Simon and his wife are very talented indeed. No I haven't seen their self catering places, but I bet they are popular. Dartmouth and indeed Devon is a gorgeous place for a holiday.

Artist said...

love your digital one, especially how the three deers on the left touch each other and create a wonderful image just within itself.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Such beautiful quilts. Ms. Ashmore has an amazing eye for colour, doesn't she?

I also love the quote by Will Rogers. It gave me a bit of a headache, but it's so very true!!

Wishing you a lovely, restful weekend!!

~ Phyllis ~ said...

Hi Cathy,
Gathering of Friends must have taken a good bit of time but well worth it. It's lovely, as are all of your drawings.
Loved the frosty pictures. The one of the two horses grazing on the frosty grass reminds me of growing up in Kentucky.
Always a pleasure to visit your blog.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Lovely collection of things as ever, I love Jennie Ashmore's work, and the colours are stunning in Simon Hart's work...

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Artist.

Cathy said...

Hi Pamela

Yes, I liked that quote about time. Very true indeed. I have made my mind up not to worry about time anymore but just let it pass as it will.

Cathy said...

Thanks Phyllis. It must be cold in Kentucky...lol. I love frosty mornings because the air has such brilliance and clarity that all my photos turn out well. Mind you I like misty weather photos too. Gathering of Friends did take ages but I am very pleased with the result. Hope you are having a great weekend.

Cathy said...

Thanks Juliet. Yes they are both very colour conscious. I love the way other artists use colour and pick up a lot of tips and inspiration for my own work.

ArtPropelled said...

Oh how beautiful! Jennie Ashmore's leaf collages are stunning!

Cathy said...

They are exquisite, aren't they Robyn? I bet they are even better viewed in real life.

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

Hi Cathy, I'm delighted to tell you that you won my pass the book giveaway. I sent you an email and wondered if you could let me have your address please, so I can send your parcel to you!

Also, wanted to say how much I love your blog and I share a love of many of the same artists as you. I love to pop over to your "on line gallery"

Carolyn

Cathy said...

Hi Carolyn, I am really thrilled about winning the book giveaway and the choccies...haha. I look forward to receiving them. I have sent you my address via email. Sorry to be so late in replying to the email. Computer up to its tricks...! Really pleased you like the blog and the artists and craftspeople I find. Off to find some more now for this weekend's post.