Wednesday 5 September 2012

Winner Announcement

... And The Winner Is....

...by default due to being the only one....

 

...who submitted 21 art works to this first Mixed Media Challenge:

 

"21 Prayer Flags"



 

Maria Hasterok

from Sweden!

 

Congrats Maria, on your daily commitment to creating art!

You can choose an art workshop with me or 

some art work of mine, and you get a lovely music CD, too. 

 

Maybe there were others who were inspired to create art through this fun challenge, even if we did not get to see their work here on this blog.

 

Thank you to Maria,

and also Maddy, who sent in some of her beautiful wax art,

and thank you to all of you who quietly participated or followed this blog!

 

Love, light and blessings,

Susanne

artaccess.ca

 

and check out the newest blog going on now:

http://our-daily-art.blogspot.ca/ 

 

******

Friday 31 August 2012

Day-21

Well, We Did It....

 

...21 Days of art-shaking that was habit-making!

 

 

Here Is My 'Final' Painting No. 21


 "Reflections"
(acrylic paint & vaseline resist)

Reflections in nature are happening in the moment; reflections by us seem to be about the past; about what has happened already, and how that was for us; what we saw, thought, felt and maybe learned; reflections are best done in silence, but sometimes we become more aware while we share them....

This project has been fun for me from its spontaneous inception, all the way to its end. On the third day, I thought briefly, "what did I get myself into?!", but then I got into the rhythm of creating daily. Soon it was not a chore, but something I couldn't wait to do each day. It became a habit to make art every day, just like meditation became a daily 'craving' for me after completing Chopra's "21-Day Meditation Challenge" twice. 

And isn't it amazing that someone like Maria, who lives in a small remote town in Sweden, was able to participate and share with us her wonderful daily creations across continents! In that sense, technology is truly a gift!  With this project, I also really enjoyed the writing process combined with creating the art and daily posts on this blog, and I look forward to doing more of that.

At this moment, I feel a little sad that the creative part of this project has come to an end, but there are always new things, ideas and activities awaiting us, where we can put our passion to "work".  For now, here is a photo of all my 21 Mixed Media Challenge Creations and I am looking forward to seeing yours soon :)

 

 

21-Day Mixed Media Challenge

 

Now it's time to send in ONE photo of your 21 completed paintings in order to get entered into the draw to win the BIG prize. You have till Sept. 1, midnight to send in your pic to me by email at:

artaccess@shaw.ca

 

The Winner will be announced on Sept. 5, here on this blog, on fb and on my website:

www.artaccess.ca

 

Thank you to all of you who followed this blog! I hope this was as much fun for you as it was for me! And if you couldn't participate this time, maybe there will be a next and you can try then!

Love, light and blessings,
Susanne

 

 ******

 

 

Reflections By My Friend, Jeanne Marie, in Vancouver:

 

"West Coast Reflections Stevenson"
(digital)

"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.
 Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors.
 Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits.
 Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.
 Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny. 
Gandhi

To visit Jeanne Marie's my new website, please go to www.jeannemarieng.com and you can read her blog, order posters and cards of her photographs.

******


Maria's Last Prayer Flag:

 



And here she is with all her 21 hand-sewn Prayer Flags, not hanging yet in the forest, but close to her home by Högsby, Sweden. She writes this morning:

"First of all, heartfelt thanks for your awesome project that unfortunately ends today - I know already that I will miss it.... but you are right, it could be extended.
I am late today, because I got up really early this morning to hang my flag chain. Yes, it sounds like a contradiction, but the search after a perfect place took a real long time. After all that, the Prayer Flags are now not fluttering in the forest, but in Gillberga's highest elevation. I wrote about this whole process in a post on my blog:"


Maria with her 21 Prayer Flags hanging now in Gillberga



"Photo Montage of Maria's 21 Flags"

Maria, I will miss your morning mail and art work ~ but well done!



******

 

Thursday 30 August 2012

Day-20

Art, History and Spirituality....


...often to be found in the "Soul Of A City":



"Soul Of A City" 
(paper, paint, foil & ink)

 ”The city as a center where, any day in any year, there may be a fresh encounter with a new talent, a keen mind or a gifted specialist — this is essential to the life of a country. To play this role in our lives a city must have a soul — a university, a great art or music school, a cathedral or a great mosque or temple, a great laboratory or scientific center, as well as the libraries and museums and galleries that bring past and present together. A city must be a place where groups of women and men are seeking and developing the highest things they know.”  Margaret Mead


Here is a city with such soul, namely, Ghent (Belgium):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vtkr93_Ec

And another 'soul-city', where I lived before moving to Canada in 1980, the city of Berlin (Germany), where also my friend, Maria, and I went to high school together; this short film is about artists living and working there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q7NrkwyADE

Home now, again and again, for more than 25 years and I love it here, Victoria (Canada):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxqCfbRuRUs


Enjoy!  Susanne 


******


Maria, who now lives in Högsby, Sweden sends this today: 



"Answer" (fabric, yarn & ink)

"I pulled Queen of Cups - very appropriate!!! To counter this darkness outside today, my flag is very light and transparent - hopefully it'll help :) Tomorrow is the day, or not? Hopefully, I'll find the prefect place in the forest to hang all my 21 prayer flags!  Maria


******

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Day-19

Two More Days Of Art-Making....

...or a life time, is it?

 

 

Some quotes by famous artists on creating ART:


Pablo Picasso
"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary."

Leo Tolstoy
"Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced."

Vincent Van Gogh
"The only time I feel alive is when I'm painting."

Emile Zola
"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, as an artist I will answer you: 
I am here to live out loud."

Michelangelo
"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."

 Francis Bacon
"The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery."



Today's Painting:

 

"By The Pond" (acrylic paint)

 

Hide And Seek

                                   hide and seek                                   
come and find me
among the soulful trees
or in the high grass by the pond
waiting for a kiss on my forehead
or for your warm lips to find mine

come and find me
my green eyes
no longer hiding my soul
and my slim body seeking
your gentle touch

come and find me
my body hiding among the slender grass
and my firm breasts seeking
as the water lilies are longing
for the naked sun

come and find yourself
in the reflection of the pond
or in the mirror of my soul
our hearts neither hiding
nor our minds any longer seeking

we are one

by Susanne
 

******



Maria's Flag Of The Day:

 

 "Fall Leaves" 
 (fabric, yarn & leaves)

"Today, my finger ended up appropriately on 'Herbstlaub' (Fall Leaves). The flowers on my flag are dedicated to my grandson who turns seven today! Only two more flags to sew, then the result will be ready to be seen in the forest - will send photos of course!!!  Maria


******

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Day-18

This Art Challenge Is Coming To An End Soon - Or Is It?

Have you come into the habit of creating everyday and don't want it to stop now?


Well, what is one to do....? 

 

Make more art on your own maybe....have another challenge....set up regular "studio times" for yourself....join a class or other group of artists to create together and inspire each other....what are your ideas? 



My Art For Today:


"Moon Dance"
(paint & ink)


The other night when I was lying in bed beside my big window, while listening to the soothing sounds of crickets outside, I saw part of the moon lit up and dance in the sky. I tried to focus on it to see if it would stop moving, but it didn't....:)

Moondance by Van Morrison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVYHSi3HQNg
Moondance by Michael Buble: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_uAWvZk0O0
Moon Dance by Michael Jackson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xHISpBqgTI



Have a wondrous day,
Susanne

*******




Maria's Creation:

 

"Me" (fabric, yarn & ink)


"Such a splendid day today! Fall has arrived! Today, I pulled again the 10-Cup-Tarot Card (yesterday too) and my word in the book was "me".  That's why I am on the flag today - behind me all the ups and downs, and in front of me as well, but always with a breathtaking view of the beauty of the world."  Maria


******

Monday 27 August 2012

Day-17

Gratitude....

May you wake up with gratitude!

 

I am grateful for waking up to Maria's art work on my desktop first thing every morning. She is the most persevering participant with this blog and project from what is visible. Soon, her prayer flags, she is sewing each day, will be hanging in a forest near her farm in Sweden. This image, although not created by me, is for her:

 

 
"Gratitude"


***


"Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation ... while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (from the movie, "Tree of Life")




The morning pages in my gratitude journal bring me such joy and are a "wavering light that resembles a flame flickering in the darkness". Thoughts of gratitude remind me of what I have in my life, from the trees outside, down to the very breath I take at each moment. Gratitude makes me mindful of taking nothing for granted and appreciating everything.

Enjoy this wonderful short film on the 'art of gratitude':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj2ofrX7jAk



"Tree of Life" (paint & ink)


The 'Tree of Life' is a symbol of interconnectedness and evolution of all life on this beautiful planet and in the universe. I Am grateful for That and each moment I get to be here.

Another short film with amazing images of Planet Earth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v2L2UGZJAM&feature=related


Blessings to you all,
Susanne


******



Maria's 17th Prayer Flag:

 


"Today a calf - I am contemplating becoming a vegetarian. The thoughts are so strong that they influenced my flag.Maria


******

Sunday 26 August 2012

Day-16

The Challenge....


...is not so much as how to create 21 small paintings in 21 days, but where to put them all once they are done? 

 

So, I have decided to have a Silent Auction at the end of this Challenge and put either all the pieces in one installation on sale (not sure what this will look like yet) or auction each piece off individually.  Stay tuned for a date, likely to be in October, and it will be a partial fundraiser for the Dogwood Initiative: http://dogwoodinitiative.org/

 

"At the Market"
(paper, paint, ink, mesh & wax)


My grandfather used to take me to "The Market" every Saturday morning in my hometown, Bremerhaven, Germany. I loved the vibrant colours and how busy it was there: live chickens in the city, honey still on its comb and "Quark with Sahne" (a fermented soft cheese with a thick layer of cream on top). We used to take a big shopping bag made out of jute netting with us and by the time we had walked around the seemingly huge market, the net would be filled with treasures of simple abundance to be shared at home.

***

Today, I was teaching an encaustic mixed media painting class and here are some pieces from that.... The wax on the the "Bambbo Buddha" has to cure and hence will become less cloudy and more clear.


"Bamboo Buddha" 
 (paper, wax & damar resin)



Another sea scene here that might get a third crow....but this one is for Maria now!

"Crows"  
(wax, damar resin, milk paints, paper, sea weed, pebbles & mesh)


Blessings and love to you all who are following this blog, and here is a huge musical treat to meditate or dance to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWjjkmgxDa0&feature=fvsr

Susanne


******

 

Maria shares: 

 

 
"Together"  
(fabric, photo, yarn & ink)


"Susanne,...Today, I also have the ocean - one can see immediately that you have the Pacific in front of your door and me the East Sea - haha. It seems as if the sea is for you what the forest is for me.  Weird, how the landscape of one's childhood can be so deeply imprinted.  We both left our home countries, but when I return to the place of my childhood and I can't find anything recognizable, it is that my home has left me, which isn't that bad.

I can hardly wait till Friday to hang up my Prayer Flag Chain in the forest! On the other hand, I don't want to stop with this awesome project."  Maria


******

Saturday 25 August 2012

Day-15

In Love of the Sea....

"The Sea" (paint, ink & mesh)


Song of Myself 

"You sea! I resign myself to you also - I guess what you mean,
I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers,
I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of me,
We must have a turn together, I undress, hurry me out of sight of the land,
Cushion me soft, rock me in billowy drowse,
Dash me with amorous wet, I can repay you. Sea of stretch'd ground-swells,

Sea breathing broad and convulsive breaths,
Sea of the brine of life and of unshovell'd yet always-ready graves, Howler and scooper of storms, capricious and dainty sea,
I am integral with you, I too am of one phase and of all phases. Partaker of influx and efflux, 
I, extoller of hate and conciliation, 
extoller of enemies and those that sleep in each others' arms."
 
Walt Whitman


Walt Whitman's poem spoke to me in so many ways; I grew up at the ocean, in Germany, and every time I go away from living at the sea, I have regrets that ultimately make me return to it; at the sea, I love the feel of soft warm sand between my toes or walking on it when it is wet and dense while the tide is out and I get squirted by crabs; I love taking off all my clothes in the sun and feeling the warm water caress my naked body....but the ocean can also be cold and dark, and there is no 'perfect storm'; the sea can be angry and unforgiving, neither of which I consider myself to still be; but it is the feeling of being One when in nature and the surrender and peace I feel from that....

Have a creative sunny day,

Susanne



******



Maria's 15th Prayer Flag:

 

 "Magpie" (fabric, yarn & feathers)


Maria tells this short story: "My tarot card said today that the reward for work will come soon, and in the book I blindly chose, 'department chief' - oh no!  Shortly after that, I found two small magpie feathers. I really like crows and the magpies are clearly the department chiefs in our garden."

 ******

 


Friday 24 August 2012

Day-14

Love Is Everywhere....


"The One I Love" 
(paper, paint, ink, foil & cloth)


"Love is for vanishing into the sky. 
The mind for learning 
what men have done and tried to do.

Mysteries are not to be solved: 
The eye goes blind when it only wants to see why.

A lover is always accused of something.
But when he finds his love,
whatever was lost in the looking
 comes back completely changed.”

― Rumi, Night and Sleep ―


******



Maria's 14th Prayer Flag:

 

"Abstract" (fabric & thread)


******
 

Thursday 23 August 2012

Day-13

Eternal Flow...

....of art, life and Divine love...

 

"Eternal Flow" (paper & paint)

My uncensored and unedited stream-of-consciousness-writing on: Eternal Flow.... out of our control; unable to grasp with our minds and hands the ever changing movement of what is and has no end; a play of a love story with changing actors and neither script nor conclusion; eternal flow when surrendered to it, life lived effortlessly; when resisted, struggle and suffering; ... eternal flow is here and then it is not, because as soon it has arrived, it has left; like each drop of water in a rushing river, streaming down giant rocks in a waterfall; come and gone, and we cannot hold on, in the ever moving stream of..... Eternal Flow.

Namaste,
Susanne

PS: The successful artist of this challenge will also receive a gift of the CD: "Sakura Dream, reiki music for healing and relaxation", which includes the beautiful song, "Eternal Flow".



And here, a lovely poem by Jodie Mayhew:


Eternal Flow

Eternal Flowing of the Tide
With Gentle Force in Rhythmic Glide
So Too My Love with Grace and Art
Shall Dance the Waves
within My Heart.
And Where the Watered Winds May Blow
My Wings of Faith Forever Flow
Through Darkened Depths of Midnight Rays
Beside You

I Will Always Stay.
Within the Song of Storied Seas
The White Caps are The Doves of Peace
On Prevalent Shores of Journeyed Sand
Our Strength will Reign On
Hand In Hand
Like Eternal Flowing
Of The Tide
In Rhythm We Walk
Side By Side


******



A Love Letter to the Swedish Forests by Maria:

 

 
"Love Letter" 
(yarn, fabric, paper, paint, crayon & found objects)

"Today, I pulled the 'Harmony Card' and then 'love letter' in the book, and this flag is my love declaration to the Swedish forests, where I am so happy at home."  Maria 

 

******

 

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Day-12

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Day-11

Art and the Narrative

Context creates meaning....and makes art more interesting

 

"Surfing the Wave" (paper & paints)


Surfing the waves of my inner sea of thoughts and feelings has become a metaphor for me in my search for inner peace with all that is, partly because I love the ocean so much. Also, because I noticed in meditation that I could not make my thoughts go away, no matter how much I focused on my breath and a mantra. Thoughts were coming and going like waves on a beach, and so I decided intuitively to surrender to them, instead of trying to control them.

I started to surf the waves of my constantly shifting inner experience by focusing my attention and following each wave up close in matching motion with my breath. I realised that I was not my thoughts and feelings, and I found that the very act of surfing creates inner peace, no matter how turbulent the waves are. That is because not only do I accept my thoughts and feelings as being there, but also by not trying to change them, they precisely do change. 

Wishing you all a peaceful day,
Susanne

******

 

Maria's Narrative and Art Today:


This morning something made me angry, but then came a bird of prey and turned his rounds above my head high in the sky for half an hour. After that, nothing bugged me anymore.  Today's flag is a 'thank you' to this bird:


(fabric, photo, yarn & found object)

******



Our other regular contributor is Maddy, who has been house sitting and just sent in a number of encaustic creations, now that she has access to a computer:



"Fire On The Mountain" (encaustic)


"Good Morning!

I've been housesitting and not able to post my paintings. Again, my idea for this one was completely different from the end result...at least where I stopped! I like that about encaustics....it's so immediate and so changeable! Maddy"



 
"Ancient Cavern" (encaustic)


".... as it evolved and the texture was revealed, it reminded me of hieroglyphics on the wall of an ancient tomb... Maddy"



 "Meteor Shower" (encaustic)


"This was inspired by the amazing meteor showers that have been dancing in the night sky the last week or so... Maddy"

******

Monday 20 August 2012

Day-10

Nature Heals

Hope and Healing Nature's Way....

 

The title of my newest creation on this beautiful day:

 

"Hope and Healing Nature's Way" (paper & paint)

Or I could call it, "Rasta Sun" :)

 

But actually, this mixed media painting was inspired by a job interview I had last Friday, where the overuse of prescription drugs and an alternative use of vitamins for mental health came up during a role play I was engaged in.  When I got home, I wrote an email to someone sharing about this and gave an example, where a friend of mine recently had chosen meditation over medication.

Then later that day I found the newspaper clipping on the left that says: "Hope and Healing Nature's Way" and I just had to do something with that. The colours are kind of rasta inspired and I guess, the medicinal use of marijuana is also considered a natural treatment. I wish though I could post some music on this blog; first "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot for Maria yesterday and now some Raggae to go with 'Rasta Sun', but I guess, it is what it is :)

 

******

 

 

Well, Maddy is back with this jewel:

 

"Flowers" (encaustic)

"My latest creation. You never know where things will end up....this was going to be a water scene, lots of colours built up, but irises and pansies started to appear! Add a little bit of sparkle and voila!" Maddy


 ******

 

And Maria has this to share:

 

 "Outside" (fabric & yarn)


Which looks a lot like her farm in Sweden, I believe....

Maria writes: "Today, I am not talkative (but satisfied) and will keep it short with a quote from the Dalai Lama: 'Nothing is more relaxing than to embrace what comes.' "

 

******

 

Sunday 19 August 2012

Day-9

Whow ~ Nine Consecutive Days of Creative Fun!

It is not too late to join in, even without the possible prize at the end....

 

...you could do it just for yourself....12 more days to create....!?

 

 

Here I am with a present for Maria: 


"Sleeping In The Forest" (acrylic paint & ink)


I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.
 
by Mary Oliver 

  ******

 

 

  Maria's Prayer Flag of the Day:

 

(fabric, string & ink)

Maria writes: "I had a more difficult day today and in accordance with that I had to cross a huge nettle field in the forest - and then at home again, I picked the word "enter".


Another contribution from Maria:

 

"Sundown" (photo)

She shares: Thank you!!! "Sleeping in the forest" is a real soul comforter! So nice! And lovely of you!

And here is the superfat sundown, which is just moving over my head! I would love it if you could post it. Then nature can also be part of your project :)

Lots of love and have a peaceful Sunday,
Maria

******

 

Saturday 18 August 2012

Day-8

Door or No Door....

...that is the question :)

 

"The Door" (paper, paint & mesh)


Maybe there is the door to "The Unknown", but a door to enlightenment....?


I don't know, but maybe 'just' being in the moment is IT? Adyachanti writes: "Enlightenment is nothing more than the complete absence of resistance to what is. End of story."


****** 

And as serendipity has it, Maria's word for this collage on Day-8 is, "Moment":

 

"Moment" (fabric, yarn & ink)

She writes to me: "This morning, in the pouring rain and surounded by a cloud of mosquitos, in the middle of the forest, I could feel for a moment exactly that I am part of the universe - it's time to celebrate! On the way home, I sang out loud and once there, I 'blindly' chose from a book the word, "moment". 

******

Friday 17 August 2012

Day-7

Freedom in the Unknown

No idea how many of you are actually out there participating in this "Creative Challenge", and if you are, who you are and what you are creating?

 

But I am enjoying this challenge on so many levels that I can barely wait to get home at night to become involved with my newest creation. 

 

I feel free and peaceful creating from within myself, sharing and trusting that any part of this blog will 'touch' or inspire someone as it is meant to be, who ever and where ever you are.

Of course, I do look forward to Maria's daily prayer flag that awaits me every morning on my desktop, all the way from Sweden. It gives me pleasure to read that she too is enjoying this project:

... liebe Susanne,
...dear Susanne,

bist du auch voller Zufriedenheit heute? Mir geht's SO gut!
are you too full of contentment today? I am doing SO well!
Die Flagge des Tages braucht eigentlich keinen Kommentar.
The flag of the day really needs no commentary.

Alles liebe und herzlichste Grüsse, Maria
All my love and heartfelt greetings, Maria

"Keep Talking" (fabric, photo & ink)


...and I also would say, "keep walking" as well as "keep collaging, sewing, painting, etc....

******


...and painting and collaging I did:

"Freedom In The Unknown" (paper, paint, ink & mesh)


With that I would like to share a longer quote from Adyashanti, my favourite spiritual writer at the moment:

"Human beings have a drive for security and safety, which is often what fuels the spiritual search. This very drive for security and safety is what causes so much misery and confusion. Freedom is a state of complete and absolute insecurity and not knowing. So, in seeking security and safety, you actually distance yourself from the freedom you want. There is no security in freedom, at least not in the sense that we normally think of security. This is, of course, why it is so free: there's nothing there to grab hold of.

The Unknown is more vast, more open, more peaceful, and more freeing than you ever imagined it would be. If you don't experience it that way, it means you're not resting there; you're still trying to know. That will cause you to suffer because you're choosing security over Freedom. When you rest deeply in the Unknown without trying to escape, your experience becomes very vast. As the experience of the Unknown deepens, your boundaries begin to dissolve. You realize, not just intellectually but on a deep level, that you have no idea who or what you are. A few minutes ago, you knew who you were—you had a history and a personality—but from this place of not knowing, you question all of that.

Liberated people live in the Unknown and understand that the only reason they know what they are is because they rest in the Unknown moment by moment without defining who they are with the mind. You can imagine how easy it is to get caught in the concept of the Unknown and seek that instead of the Truth. If you seek the concept, you'll never be free, but if you stop looking to myths and concepts and become more interested in the Unknown than in what you know, the door will be flung open. Until then, it will remain closed.

I've seen people who have never meditated come to satsang and have a deep experience of the Unknown, and I've known many who remain in the trance because they stay with the mind's techniques and strategies. There is no prerequisite for experiencing the Unknown. Everyone has equal access to it."   http://www.adyashanti.org/index.php?file=writings

Have a wonderful and joyous day!

Susanne

 

******