Monday, October 14, 2013

The Art of Being



My husband has been very busy this summer.  This torii gate has become the entrance to my Zen house.

The effect of building a space within a space is very powerful.

This is the path of stones to the entrance of my Zen house.
Line becoming object becoming space.
My husband built this Zen house (green house) several years ago.  Graced with bonsai outside and bird cages,
bird nests, buddha, rabbit vane, rocks fill the space within.
The effect of the Zen house is to give form to the surrounding gardens.  Within are
sweeping gestures of light and space.
Small pots of bonsai, help fill the space like a coloring book.
Here I am making boundaries, defining a space just to be.
Simply creating a space, enclosed and separate from the wild: a niche to feel safe inside of.
A moss ball I made earlier this summer with a rabbit fern.  It is sitting on white rocks in a lovely flat pot.
Some of my nest and rock collections.
More nests.

Another moss ball I made earlier this summer.  It is a rabbit fern and is attached to a piece of bamboo.
Back outside the Zen house...  at the entrance.  
My husband built 3 bamboo gates this summer.
Closing the gate, building the wall, we shut out the wild but still maintain the wild within.
The intent is to be at one with our environment.
The Art of Being
The fern in the rain breathes the silver message.
Stay, lie low.  Play your dark reeds
and relearn the beauty of absorption.
There is nothing beyond the rotten log
covered with leaves and needles.
Forget the light emerging with its golden wick.
Raise your face to the water-laden frond.
A thousand blossoms will fall into your arms.
-- Anne Corey, from A Measure's Hush 
 

 
 
 
 

28 comments:

ELFI said...

un époux en or...superbes réalisations...bonne semaine!

trish quilty said...

your zen garden and house are just beautiful and poetic. thank you for sharing....

Valerianna said...

If I didn't need to make art in my studio, I would fill it with to the brim with stones and bonsai and moss balls with ferns. But of course a few nests and stones and sticks are present for inspiration. I think I'd love being in your Zen House, so beautiful. The gates are lovely.

Laura said...

Beautiful~

Cate Rose said...

How precious, how peaceful. Be. Enjoy.

Anonymous said...



I just exhaled a big long breath... your secret house is a retreat in to magic.

deborah from collagewhirl said...

I love your moss ball idea, so calm and perfectly imperfect for your beautiful zen space. Kudos to your husband!

ZenDotStudio said...

such beautiful surroundings and your artist's hand is evident everywhere. Love the gates and the moss balls with ferns, especially. May it all bring you peace and joy. Thanks for sharing it with us.

ronnie said...

oooo deliciousness! (what a handy hubbie you have ;) )

ArtPropelled said...

Your garden and Zen house must be a peaceful sanctuary for you.
"Stay, lie low. Play your dark reeds
and relearn the beauty of absorption." .... I'm feeling it.

Caterina Giglio said...

your husband is an artist too.. what beauty and inspired serenity in your zen house... a place where one can let go, be empty out and "relearn the beauty of absorption" peace out...

Ruth Armitage said...

You are so lucky that you have a husband who likes to help in the garden!

Judy Shreve said...

Donna your garden and secret space are incredible - every photo is filled with beauty - so serene and peaceful. Namaste!
xxoo

Barry said...

Hi D - looks absolutely peacemaking and serene; like stepping into a different zone - so good to have these sacred spaces in our lives to help find the stillness. Big congratulations to your husband - he has done and excellent job in bringing ideas into reality. Go well - peace. B

Jo Reimer said...

The gates your husband built for you are absolutely amazingly beautiful, as is the space in which they live. Yours is such a lovely peaceful place.

Leslie Avon Miller said...

I am intrigued by your kokedama or moss balls Donna. They fit in so well with all the beauty you and your husband have created. I would think it would be nice to go outside in your gardens and have a cup of tea.

Cynthia Schelzig said...

Your garden is a sactuary ....so calming to look at and imagine that I am walking through it. Your husband worked wonders with his bamboo gates...they are gorgeous and behind each garden door awaits more beauty.

ersimarina said...

The pictures and your description of your Zen haven reminded me of 'The Poetics of Space', a really wonderful book by Gaston Bachelard. There is so much poetry in what you show and tell us here that for a moment I could almost see a thousand blossoms falling down on me...

india flint said...

love the red door.

Nancy said...

What a beautiful space the two of you have created. My guy found a Buddha head back in the hills this week. She's a beauty, very serene.
I love your work and now this garden provides more beauty to enjoy.

Tammie Lee said...

such a beautiful space your husband has created for you! Plus all of your beautiful details, it all feels heavenly and peaceful. wishing you joy and peace within and around you.

Velma Bolyard said...

beautiful spaces.

Anonymous said...

quiet
beauty
peace

absorbing

oh to have tea with you there

Don Madden said...

Hubby takes good care of you! Give him a hi five for me

Shawna Lemay said...

This looks like heaven! Such beauty. So calming....

Galeria Rocco said...

Awesome personal space Donna! Great handyman too! Enjoy.

Anonymous said...

oh donna, your zen garden and house are just stunning! my husband needs to take a lesson or ten from your husband, i'd say. such gorgeous peeks of stones and nests and all things beautiful. i'm absolutely in love with your moss balls!!

mansuetude said...

Thank you for the Basho

Such harmonics, a knowing.