ART PROPELLED: A Dream of Trees.

Many of us in the blogosphere look forward to visiting Robyn Gordon's blog and tumblr site whenever we can. If you asked what is was that kept luring us back I suspect there would be many answers ... and that's because there are many reasons to relish spending some time getting to know what goes on in her orbit from her home and studio in South Africa.

Robyn rarely posts on her own work... spending considerable time discovering other's work, and then, with her keen eye, paying tribute to ideas that speak to her from these travels. This is sometimes shaped into a blog post which is how a post like 'A dream of trees' came about. Numerous discoveries end up on her tumblr if not at her blog!

If you visit her blog here you will find the most wonderfully evocative post titled 'A Dream of Trees' which features one of Robyn's amazing wood sculptures along with a series of works by other artists .... and writers.

Memories of Trees by Robyn Gordon. Website here.

View these images at her flickr site to get a fuller sense of Robyn's process. As one who got a yearning to sculpt in wood when I was about 15 .... but then bulked at the reality of it when a kind neighbour delivered a section of a tree trunk to my back door for me to work with ....I have huge respect for anyone who can accomplish such a skill.

The x-factor

Young hunter

Prayers for our daughters

Door -Tree of Knowledge

tools of trade




Robyn "up to the eyes in sawdust"

the owl keeper

Hello Owl!

Angel in the garden

Patterns of Africa

Drakensberg

Bushman paintings in the Drakensberg

inspiration

CREATION MYTH

In Dogon mythology the world is thought of as a granary which at the dawn of time, was divided into compartments to house all the people, animals and seeds that God wanted to send to Earth. The first granary came tumbling down from heaven on a rainbow, having been loosened from its riggings by a bolt of lightening. It crashed to the Earth. splitting open on impact and the contents scattered across the land. Thus, life began on Earth.

This morning I was delighted that Robyn had included a small painting of mine alongside many wonderful images at this post on 'A dream of trees.' This is a work I did for an exhibition titled  'homage to the Seed' held at Noosa in April 2010. The first show of the residency year... this work was one of a pair ... a work in acrylic and ink.

TEXT from Robyn:
Sophie Munns is an artist of seeds, leaves and anything pertaining to
plants. This piece glows! See more of Sophie's work here and here. 

I also found this work by Jeanne Myers fascinating ...


                                  Growing in the Dark. Mixed media on paper by Jeane Myers. See website here. 


The thought of seeds and plants growing in the dark, whether at night or the way things start coming to life in the soil... hidden from sight!

Robyn closes with this poignant text from Hesse...

"Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life. " - Hermann Hesse


Do go see the post in full ... I have taken a huge liberty here to post this at my own blog ... 'A Dream of Trees' comes from the mind and soul of a sensitive artist who celebrates life through her own creative process in daily life and her connections with a great many creatives all around the globe! The conviviality and warmth of connection Robyn brings through speak to a pronounced artfulness for an often underrated aspect of art-making and that is the sharing and communications we can have around the work.
To do this well takes a certain quality of engagement and generosity of spirit .... a valuing beyond one's own work and preoccupations out into a much broader universe and deeper kind of engagement.

Bravo Robyn! We thank you!