Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Renewal


Renewed, 24" x 24"

For a number of years now, the main theme of my paintings has been "the passage of time, and what remains". A large part of this theme has included the cycle of life. One symbol or metaphor in my paintings for the cycle of time has been bird nests. I am drawn to the lines in the nests of course, and the textures, and the usual round shapes which fits my love of textures, lines and circles. And the fact that birds, with such small brains, are hard wired to create such beautiful 'homes' for their offspring is a miracle of nature. But the main fascination for me, is the cycle of life... the renewal.


Nature's Gestures, 30" x 30"

"The spiritual journey is a creative journey. It's about birth. It calls us past the boundaries of convention. It tests our willingness to see life in a new way and our courage to express it: for new ways of viewing life in the face of what is commonly accepted. We become new, and in this ongoing birthing, we bring new forms to life as well. Life itself has become a creative act, full of vitality and richness and passion. --- Anne Hillman, from Dancing Animal Woman


Histories 24" x 24"

For those who have been touched by the loss of a loved one... a partner, a family member, a friend... they know how hard it is to wake up to a new day, to find new meaning in life. I want to dedicate this posting to all those close to me who are facing their new life filled with change, with so much strength and hope.


--- Healing in words, healing beyond words.
Like gestures.
Warm gestures.
Like friendship, which will always
Be like a mystery.
Like a smile, which someone described
As the shortest distance between two people.
--- Ben Okri, from the poem Healing The Wounded
Learner or the Pygmalian Complex

44 comments:

Valerianna said...

All those things I, too, love about nests... and it is so very difficult to "be with" the loss of a loved one. Thanks for this post...

Leslie Avon Miller said...

There is a fresh poignancy about life each time we experience the passages of birth or loss. Our most tender feelings step over the barriers of day to day life and we see again how precious this one life is.
Your love of nests resonates with me. We have a little bird nesting in the rhubarb in the garden. I check each day to see if the new ones are here. Once they are, the cats will be on restriction!
Wishing all the best for those who feel the sting of loss.

Leslie Avon Miller said...

And P.S. Love your new works Donna! Histories is a particular favorite.

Jo Reimer said...

These nest pieces are so very beautiful, Donna. I find myself trying to look so closely that I feel like i'm falling into space. It's your layers. The work is so simple and pure, yet complex and rich. Like life.

ZenDotStudio said...

These pieces are gorgeous! I didn't realize you worked so large. I'd love to see them in person. It's fun to see things in context to get a real sense of size. Maybe you can post a few pix from the Salem show??

Love the Anne Hillman quote.

This is life in the human realm, isn't it, experiencing this sense of loss? We will all go through it at one point or another. Wishing ease and comfort to those going through difficult times.

Unknown said...

I love your new paintings, colors are very calming. I could watch them for hours, everything is in balance.
Thank you for your last post I have looking for if can bye from web INNER EXCAVATION-book, it seems to bee full of inspiration.
Have a great summerday:)
Henrietta

Anna Mavromatis said...

Your posts truly mirror your artworks; sometimes I try to "see" which came first to feed and inspire the other...
Beautiful works Donna, and beautifully married to the philosophical thoughts of the authors.
Thank you!

Teri said...

This post was particularly beautiful for me at this time in my life, when just last week we experienced the birth of a new granddaughter. The cycle of life is so pure, so true. It brings to mind all the nurturing, caring, and love that must come from within. If only we could stay that young, that vulnerable forever. We would never want to hurt or be hurt again. And, coincidentally (or not since I don't believe there are any accidents in life) my word verification was: nestingi Isn't that amazing???

Carole said...

Beautiful post Donna.

Anonymous said...

I love nests too, the depth of life they hold. I love nests lines going in million directions, all magnificently intertwined, individually yet connectedly, and interconnected to the lines of trees. Beautiful words and images Donna.
XOXOrly

Petra Eller said...

I am always very enthusiastic. Your works combine nature, modern design and elegance quite outstanding.
Have a nice day

Unknown said...

Beautiful set of pieces. I wish they were on the wall opposite me here, as I'd like to just sit with them and return to look again.

Ian Foster said...

Your new works are wonderful in those lovely earthy colours and your text and quotes will require reading several more times yet. Thank you.

Sea Angels said...

These are so inspiring I just adore your fabulous composition and choice of colour, I agree with all comments Donna and one look at your post is NEVER enough xxxxx
Hugs Lynn xxx

r.bohnenkamp said...

I love the colors, shapes and composition in your paintings
and the history behind it. really spiritual. great Donna

shayndel said...

Beautiful imagery and motif using the birds nest.
I love the theme and spirit of 'renewal'.

Anonymous said...

Donna:
Your work is stunning. Bird's nests are a particular favorite of mine as well. You might want to check out the amazing new book by Sharon Beals. It's entitled "50 Nests and the Birds that Built Them." The photographs are quite beautiful and may provide some additional inspiration for you.
Best,
Judith

lyle baxter said...

donna, I always have to look at your new post one evening then come back in the morning and look again to see what I missed the first time! what a lovely set of pictures! and after our "japanese orphan " conversation what a perfect dedication. Thank you for sharing your work!

Barry said...

D-great post as always - I totally identify with the nests, fragility of life and renewal connections; Histories grabs me. Thanks. B

annell4 said...

Very, very beautiful! It is said, "It is one thing man can not do, build a bird's nest." Did you know "she" shapes it with her breast? Thank you for this post. You are a woman that can build a bird's nest.

lynda Howells said...

I have missed you..glad you are back.x Love this work and the image of the nest. I think others have said all l would have wished to say ..so..xxlynda

Leovi said...

Beautiful textures in the three works, I love the structure and of course the game that gives the nest, strongly thematic and aesthetic. 20 years ago I too was inspired to build nests, with concepts similar to yours but aesthetically different. In case you're curious I send the links:

http://lafotografiaefectistaabstracta.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-post.html

http://lafotografiaefectistaabstracta.blogspot.com/2010/09/foto-abstracta-552.html

http://lafotografiaefectistaabstracta.blogspot.com/2010/09/foto-abstracta-550.html

http://lafotografiaefectistaabstracta.blogspot.com/2010/08/foto-abstracta-549.html

Marianne Hall said...

Dearest Donna, I felt this post was meant for me....especially the Anne Hillman quote.....as I am preparing for my journey, which is truly a rebirthing process.......and it is not lost on me that you posted this at 4:44 PM.........in Doreen Virtues book, Angel Numbers 101 (those of us who know this know this)...444 means 'There are angels-they're everywhere around you! And so it goes that we are fully loved and protected on our journeys .....Your work is beautiful...and as was said previously.....I didn't realize how large they are.....They must be stunning in person....

Jill Zaheer said...

Donna,
It's been way too long since I've last visited your blog- but so glad I have today. Your words in parallel to your paintings are just beautiful. Just love the sentiment that a smile is the shortest distance between two people. I'm going to try to remember that always! Beautiful work-the colors, the feel and the understanding and coming to terms of life's cycle. Thank you!

Caterina Giglio said...

ah yes... I see we are on the same page! I adore your work, just fabulous! thanks too for stopping by and leaving such nice remarks on my blog... you are so kind...

mansuetude said...

Like a smile, which someone described
As the shortest distance between two people.
.
your post gave me a smile and touched my heart--the words, harmony of your work, the colors seem esp. muted, quiet, evocative of rusts in the Histories esp touches a chord.

Watched a small cardinal press her breast into the making of a small almost funnel nest outside a glass door this spring. She seemed to shape it enough for her body expanded by her heart and breath. We do the same with the love around us, and it stretches out, crosses the boundary of time and space. I still see (from your phrase above) the smile of my brother who left a year and half back, and its as if he is here and his small boyish hand could reach across the space of a breath and pass me again a small feathered nest found by him in the woodlands where we played. Renewal, yes, its like another, personal Spring with rhythms of its own soul in each thing.

Thank you.

ArtPropelled said...

Love your beautiful new work Donna, especially Renewal! The months of May and June are full of anniversaries for me so this post has come at the right time. A comfort...Thank you.

Cynthia Monica said...

Thank you so much Donna for those inspiring words by Martha Graham you left for me on my blog:

"Keep the channel open. No artist is ever pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine satisfaction, A blessed unrest that keeps us marching And makes us more alive than the others."

So meaningful to me and I shall be referring to them often!

nancy neva gagliano said...

in sync: just posted finally, too. and thrilled to see your new piece: your touch, work, words, thoughts. see me smile across the miles...
leaves me hopeful that life, which is change, which is full and includes loss, eases each beloved one's pain ... and artists' words and images help the renewal of spirit.

india flint said...

perfect definition of a smile...

Hannah said...

Thank you for collecting these thoughts together in your "nest" of a post. The wish to be 'held' in a time of loss is such a strong one--and often we do not find that holding from the people around us. Your work and words provide that container so many of us need. I love the way in which you speak about the small brain of birds in relationship to the beauty of their nests! I'll be looking at my resident mocking birds in a whole new way!

Cynthia Schelzig said...

Wonderful how you incorporate the nests into your work. I always marvel at your composition...fabulous!

Seth said...

Your artwork here is sensational. There is something about all your pieces that truly speaks to me. And this post, and the meaning behind it, is especially meaningful to me!

.Trudi Sissons said...

Donna - I have to second precisely what Seth said above. I hope you continue this particular approach - to my eye - some of your most expressive and meaningful work!

Laura said...

so beautiful Donna...your work and the wonderful quotes and thoughts of your own you have so lovingly gathered into a sweet, safe nest of a post.

Emma said...

beautiful work, so gentle. I will collect the nest soon to enjoy, but I almost can't bear that they build a new one each time, renewal indeed, & such acceptance.

Jann Gougeon said...

Your work is so beautifully nuanced . . like nature's history.

eb said...

every visit
is a smile indeed
yes - a short distance
between you and me
your work
and your thoughtfulness
inspire me
every day
and especially
today...

xox - eb.

kenflett said...

Beautiful and meaningful Work.

ken

Deborah said...

Lovely words and images.

rivergardenstudio said...

These nests, and the nest that is our heart that holds and encircles our loves, very moving Donna. I am sending you peace and quietness north across the pacific and sound to you in your beautiful nest and hopes that it holds you tight in its arms.
roxanne

Lynn said...

So quietly moving and beautiful. Thanks.

ELFI said...

ce travail est plein de recherche et de beauté..les couleurs sont douces et la signification très joli...

Leovi said...

Yes, the smiles, laughter and laughter is one of the best systems of healing.