The Source

When visiting Sharmon Davidson's blog "True adventures of an art addict" the other day I noticed an earlier post from April 19th that intrigued me. I wrote to Sharmon seeking permission to reblog this post in its entirety ... which she kindly gave.
Homage to the Seed intentionly covers a broad spectrum of matters pertaining to seeds - from Science to the cultural/political to the  poetic interpretation .... and this art work had a fine symbolic quality to it which is akin to the way in which ideas around seeds, life cycles, growth long worked on my thinking. So here is the post in her own words and images. Thank you Sharmon!

The Source

"What's up with all the round things?"  This question was put to me some years ago by a guest critic in one of my classes at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.  I think he (whose name I don't remember) was an art professor at the University of Cincinnati, and of course he didn't exactly say, "What's up...".  But he noticed that my work was full of 'round things', and advised me to consider what they symbolized.  Because they obviously did have a personal meaning for me, a meaning I couldn't articulate, floating just below the surface of my consciousness.

Kalachakra Matrix

It took a while.  In fact, I forgot about his question entirely.  Until one day, years later, while taking a bit of an inventory of my work (like the piece above),  it just hit me out of the blue.  Seeds!  Yes, that was it- what it all grew from, what it all came back to.

 Secret Garden

Of course, this is only one layer of meaning, and there are many others closely intertwined.  But that was the foundation, the inception of the idea- the source.

 Seed Mandala 10

 Seed Mandala 23

 Seed Mandala 16

 Well, there are many, many more examples, but for now I'll show you the one I just completed.

 Where the Seed Goes

 Ingredients:  monotype fragments, silk tissue, acetate, acrylic ink, Caran D'Ache crayons, cheesecloth, watercolor pencils.

11.5" x 9.5"

Thank you again Sharmon!

Also I wanted to say I've had many wonderful visitors read the previous post I did on the story "up the road from where I live" ... a story on how Mining is shaking up long-established farming traditions. I will tell more in a couple of weeks... my friend up there was totally amazed at some  feedback she got after we sent around her organisation's newsletter.

Its not always about money ... there is much to be said for making voices heard and giving moral support to those working for an important cause. 

Also I have some interesting communications on the issue of herbs as medicine to add very soon. Happily I managed to freshen up my website last night... it was looking rather neglected! Camera problems have also interferred with putting up images of my recent paintings... I'm sure I 'll get there soon!

bye for now,

Sophie