a few things: art + creativity

Wow! I didn't expect to hybernate my way through January, although that is what it seems like in terms of this space - I expected to be here often during our care-free summer days! Children, however, have a way of insisting you be present in the 'now' and life always throws curve balls and so our January flew by - in both bliss and crazy-business!
I do like January for the thrill of setting new times + plans and there is no shortage of these things humming into place in the background for WEAVE+WONDER this year. While I am still sifting, sorting, organising and planning, my thoughts often wander back to some of the inspirational time spent wandering abroad before Christmas and so here are a few pics following on where I left off.....

I did thoroughly enjoy time spent immersed in a taste of London's art, highlights included the Gerhard Richter exhibition at the Tate Modern and the Power of Making exhibition at the Victoria & Albert...
There is nothing like spending a few quiet hours alone with your thoughts and endless creative genius!

:: as a student of architcture, vista's of buildings keep me captivated for hours!

:: I can't recall the name of this work, a 20-odd metre movie screen with changing cinematography, very sensory and interactive..the ever-changing audience in the foreground part of the animation!

:: The Surrealist permanent exhibition was sensational, nothing like a few of Picaso's works up close!

:: will post more on Richter's work soon - he was prolific and diverse, love!

:: Mind bending making at the Power of Making exhibition, V&A.

:: Power of making exhibition, V&A: wall-size knitting; ballgown made of dressmakers pins; rug made of tesselated wood!

:: Banksy street art culture in Notting Hill

a way of seeing the world

There are some days when I am keenly aware of the privilage of working creatively. The way it trains the eye to see the beauty in the everyday - the way light falls, the way colours catch my eye + blend harmoniously or jarringly as the case may be, compliment or contrast, the rich ever-changing beauty of nature is a gift for the eyes that really look to see.
At the moment I am noticing: the vibrant blue of the sky against a changing theatre of clouds; the warm-bright-light bouncing tranquilly off my white walls; the random glimpse of fushia as we pass a gum tree bursting blossom out of it's bulbous gumnuts; the golden orbes of orange on my neighbour's tree; the regal majesty of a deciduous tree ablaze in colour and gracefully letting down it's leaves.

And I am searching to find: lavender beginning to bloom; bare branches standing sculptural against the sky.
This training of the eye is a choice that brings much joy + fulfillment to the beholder and I find that children have this gift innately, not distracted by abstract worries of the adult world, they are fully alive + present to wonder, all around them, each.and.every.day. Our job as parents is to catch some of that and encourage it for all it is worth - art is a way of seeing the world - we need only to practice taking the time to see it!