from Waddington Auctions

I'm posting below this link from Waddington's auctions. This is a great set of Inuit drawings full of their icons, culture and wonderful sense of colours, story telling and filled also of one of the most charming sense of humour I know.

http://inuit.waddingtons.ca/9november2009/catalogue/0/0275

guardians...

Found this passage on wikipedia while I was researching Mandalas. It's about Guardians. I find it very inspiring.

" From The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen, Teachings of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, compiled and edited by John Shane:

Guardians of the teachings
There are eight principal classes of Guardians each with many subdivisions. Some are highly realized beings, others not realized at all. Every place - every continent, country, city, mountain, river, lake or forest - has its particular dominant energy, or Guardian, as have every year, hour and even minute: these are not highly evolved energies. The various teachings all have energies which have special relationships with them: these are more realized Guardians. These energies are iconographically portrayed as they were perceived when they manifested to masters who had contact with them, and their awesome power is represented by their terrifyingly ferocious forms, their many arms and heads, and their ornaments of the charnel ground. As with all the figures in tantric iconography, it is not correct to interpret the figures of the guardians as merely symbolic, as some Western writers have been tempted to do. Though the iconographic forms have been shaped by the perceptions and culture of those who saw the original manifestation and by the development of tradition, actual beings are represented."

It reminded me of the vision of Ezekiel in the old testament.

dolls

I wanted to save these 2 dolls for a show and so haven't posted them in their finished state until now but I am not currently looking for a gallery and so thought I might as well share them with you here. I truly hope you'll enjoy them.

"Burden" the doll carrying fire wood is just back from Mrs Huizenga store on Roncesvale where she spent the winter and summer.

The other one I am very partial to, I love the mix of sacred and playful. Very much like a Shaman... He is "spirit of the woods" which I did last year. But he's been hiding long enough. he is anthropomorphic, as always. My influences are obvious here are they not?

mo-dern-style!!!

As you know, I love finding treasures and I'm in a great neighbourhood for that! Found that fantastic chair on my way back home! Pure Moderstyle woohoo! Aw! I love the rocket ship form! It needs work though! but it's gona get a lot of TLC and we'll see what we'll see! very tempted to sand it clean, but then loose the great paint? arh! choices! hmmm?

Unfinished painting - Detail

I did this in France (almost finished) once I arrived at my mom's. The light was bright there of course and my mom set my quarters in her painting studio!!! Had to paint! It's a lovely little studio and I'm sorry i didn't take a picture of it. She has all her paintings on the wall, many great ones! She has a large table in the centre with everything an artist needs around it.

I didn't feel like painting Provence which might be shocking to some of you... but it has been painted already by so many on every angle and in every colour... I always feel I've come to this earth to sing the enchanting beauty of the Boreal Forest and so, that is what I did with this silly owl.

I wasn't able to finish it only because my lack of knowledge on birds feet ; owl's in particular. Couldn't figure how to handle the feet seen from bellow ; as she is flying away... I will figure something out eventually!

NO, you're not dreaming!

See that? I've started a new doll. No idea where I am going with it, but I have tons of material to pick from so who knows!? I love to do those tiny stitches. it's such a great sort of meditative work. The thread is a beautiful thick polished cotton thread from a vintage pool. Love it!

I worked on new feet for my green doll to. Almost done and finished a couple things on her. she is almost-completely-sort-of finished!

...Imagine that!

Oops!

Yeap... I did it... almost blew up the whole house! I *must* remind myself that I have a gas stove now! I actually left the house to go to the laundromat leaving this small saucepan on the stove heating up - forgot. Luckily when I came back, say... one and a half hour later, the flames had not been switched off by the boiled over liquid and disaster was avoided. Had to scrub this poor thing for a looooong time though!

That'll teach me!

another blog...

I have started a new blog to accompany this one, about my grandfather Monty. I will do an official launch once I have put in a bit more info about him and a first set of images. He was wonderfully talented and I want to try to give him a bit of the recognition he so much deserves as an artist.