Thursday 6 November 2014

Sunday 12 October 2014

ACelebrationOfSilence

 the landscape
is divided into halves
by the linear road ahead

on the road to lake mungo

although the earth is deep red
and the sky is liquid blue
there is a greyness about the vegatation
as if everything is covered 
in an ancient coating 
of spidery fine dust

on the edge of the lake
which has been empty for 15.000 years
is a huge woolshed
which has been empty for probably 
one hundred years

on this raised spot 
i feel as if i am standing on the edge 
of a huge shallow bowl
filled with desert delight
the delight of silence
to be in this tremendous stillness
the lure of the desert
the healer of the spirit

 The soft airbrushed sand of the edge, the lunette, 
of the lake

 the wind carved sculptural forms
of the edge of the lake



 no sooner had the sun set in the west
when the full moon, like a coin, 
appeared from a slot in the horizon
in the east and rose majestically into the darkening sky
where it hung suspended silently,
filled with promise





a small fire at the end of the day
as a companion to enjoy the night sky 
and a single song bird
Ahhhh......
"the pace of happiness is calm"
 

Thursday 25 September 2014

Spronk'sSpring'sSprung

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With the blue grey greens of the winter forest, 
for a background,
 Spring's palette is emerging 
with  a wonderful brilliance in the garden. 
As bright as the colours squeezed straight from the artist's tube. 

There are:

Dobs of Yellow in the cups of the daffodils,

Splashes of Red around the tulips,

A hush of Blue of reflected sky in the bird bath

Shades of Purple in the Dutch Irish,

Flames of  Orange in the wall flower display

While the fresh  sea of Green fills in all the remaining space.



At Spronk’s place Spring's rainbow is springing about.

'Everything you need is close at hand'



Monday 15 September 2014

ForThoseWhoThinkArtIsJustAHobbyAndArtistsShouldGetARealJob










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Keeping 'the art of making' alive in our community becomes an important responsibility. Why? Because we, the homeless artists of door3, believe society and the community needs artists. Artists are important because they are brave enough to still play. To play with old and new materials, with old and new techniques, they reveal the magic which is inherent in them.

Consider this, and then imagine the alternative, life without art and poetry. I mean the art and poetry of everything. Doing without the art of sculpture, the art of architecture, the art of ceramics, the art of dance, the art of cooking, and on and on. Without 'the art' all of these activities would be dead. Meaning, they would not inspire, they would not excite, they would not enrich. Art, like science, is important because it inspires both exploration and greatness in all fields of human endeavour. 

The artist, for whom I speak, plays, and through his or her play with ideas and materials, occasionally comes up with a revelation, a beautiful idea, an exquisite object, a great building, an intriguing story or a moving poem. 

The artist and the poet explore and share the possibilities of magic in an otherwise ordinary world. They show, in one way or another, that there is always another way. The artist and the poet are important in our community because they teach us to play. They remind us of something as simple, but relevant, as our childhood, when there was much magic. Much learning. The magic found in experiencing things for the very first time. Things new. 

This is what the artist and poet do, they awaken in us a sense of wonder, which is the driver of a creative life. They take us on a journey, a special journey, in a world where we are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders. 







Thursday 11 September 2014

ShowingOffWithoutShowingOff



A wonderful amorous peacock 
struts his stuff around Jubilee lake

a grand display of an exquisite design

there is a saying  in Korea: 
It is so beautiful no words are needed

'everywhere I go an artist has been there before me'




Thursday 21 August 2014

WhatIsInAName

i received this today
it was taken in the south of France
which has to be a plus

when you are confronted with your name
(which, in my case, is already somewhat unusual)
in such an surprising expression of it

it makes you feel 
a little strange
a little familiar
a little confident
a little grateful

and then to find out that Petrus 
is also the name of one of the best wines in France
makes it even more special

it reminded me of my personal project while i was in France
 
i hitchhiked through France a few times 
(a terrible country to hitchhike through by the way)
i would thank the driver for stopping 
and then in my best french i would introduce myself 
and tell him/her where i was from, and that i was on a quest
this was to find the best red wine in France
and the answer to that was that each time
the wine from their village was the very best.
 
as a result of this idea i would quite often be taken to 
a hotel, or house or farm and offered a glass of excellent red wine

i have drunk many glasses of excellent wine

and once i was offered a glass of wine 
to try it out and to give them my opinion 
i was always offered a snack of cheese, pate, sausage and bread
(because the french, being civilised, 
do not drink without eating something at the same time)
by then we would be buddies and i was able to ask 
where i could set up my tent
 
i did the same in Germany with beer
and in Holland with cheese
 
(working on the pride of the country)

 It is never too late to have a happy childhood







Thursday 31 July 2014

AJourneyOfBowls


i have been running the 
red star window gallery
in hepburn springs,
the smallest gallery in victoria,
without fear or favour
for almost three years

during this time we have shown 
one artist/crafts person per month

it is free
Ed the owner of the red star cafe
does not charge for the space
and i do not charge for 
the admin, installations, keeping the window presentable
and organising the events

i thought that for this month (august)
i would present my own work
a series of works from the early 80s till today

a journey of bowls
' being an artist is like starting each day like someone else'
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Wednesday 11 June 2014

LookingForTheMagicOfTheForest

i walk daily in the forest, the place where i live
i do this for health and for the appreciation 
of my amazing environment
so that i will not ever take it for granted
the health aspect is a strong energetic walk
the one for appreciation is a 
meandering cruise off the forest paths
today was such a walk
enjoying the freshness of the winter air 
and the wonderful fresh forest fragrances
i never come across any other walkers
but then today I did 
there was another walker, a forest spirit.
who, when he came across me, asked me 
if i was looking for magic mushroom
i wasn't
i was just looking, not with an expectation of anything in mind
but rather just to see what was on offer on the forest floor
which is the theme of an exhibition i am working on

however i was intruiged by his question
since i had never knowingly seen a magic mushroom
so i asked him if he could he point some out to me
which he did and here they are on top of the page

the question then arose 
"are they illegal"

because as strange as it may sound
we humans are weird
and actually declare some plants illegal
my question is: how can a plant possibly be illegal?
i shall try out the magic by making some tea of this lot 
and enjoy the spirit of the inner forest
aahhhhhhhhhhhhh
'Keep your mind in a happy place' 







Wednesday 14 May 2014

KilnGod/PleasedOrAngry?

this photograph 
was taken by one 
of the clay space people 
who attended the wood firing 
which i wrote about a couple of blogs ago

i do not know what is happening here 
but i think we just stoked the kiln
and the flames were reaching out for oxygen

whatever it was it looks pretty spectacular

one of the many super moments at the kiln firing

--> ‘lord, grant that I desire more than I can accomplish’ 
 Michaelangelo  



 

Saturday 3 May 2014

OnAnEverydayDay

sometimes
on an ordinary saturday morning
i take a stroll around my house
and i am always and again surprised 
at the beauty in some of the views
so close by

then i wonder why i need to go anywhere
when the image of paradise is in my own backyard

"worrying is praying for what you do not want"



Thursday 1 May 2014

TheFireBeastComesGood

 

over the weekend of the 27th april
clay space fired their big wood fired kiln
the project started with a making day
where those interested attended a workshop
to make clay objects for the firing
this was followed by a  wood cutting day
where most of us came to minna's block 
and cut endless pieces of 65cm long wood
 then we packed the kiln
and on the morning of sunday the 27th of april the firing started at 2.30 am
and finished almost 24 hours later on monday at 2 am

above, looking at the fire through one of the air intake ports

  
 on the thursday following an excited group of people opened the kiln

above,  is the view of the fire box with some objects packed in it
beyond which you can see the main kiln chamber with its setting



above,  looking at the stand of fired ceramic ware 
after the door was taken out of the kiln

after a struggle to get to temperature
which we did not achieve the result was very promising
the hard work we all put in was rewarded
with some great glazed pieces


clay space is a non for profit organisation of which i am a director
our aim is to promote ceramics and make it available for anyone interested
we have a classroom and conduct classes 

there is a gas kiln available for rent

apply to: art@petrusspronk.com

'mastery is not a commitment to a goal, but a continuous pursuit'





 
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Monday 7 April 2014

HumptyDumptyRestored

 many years ago
sometimes during the early 80s
when i returned from my 8 year long journey
and started to seriously consider my ceramic direction
i had my first one man exhibition
in Adelaide

i sold a bowl to an organisation
who gave it as a prize for something or other

the prize went to India Flint's mother
the same India whom i am presently having 
an exhibition with at 
the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery

on the opening day of that event 
she brought me the same bowl in many pieces
 a possum the culprit
i took it home
and with great care and attention
put it back together again

i was able to restore the form
but compromised the surface

in order to make up for that i placed some gold 
in the fillings on the collar of the bowl

'The work will teach you how to do it'







Sunday 6 April 2014

showing off


my part of an exhibition at the  
murray bridge regional gallery, s.a.
titled:

How does your garden grow



From the moment, many years ago, when I first bought a piece of land, I have gardened. Vegetables, herbs and flowers. My latest garden in Victoria, is situated next to the forest. While gardening one day, I realised how the forest is the perfect garden. Self contained, it supports many species. Since that moment I have modeled my garden on the forest example. Observe. Leaving things alone mainly.



‘the exhibition of stillness’



When, during the mid-eighties, I returned home from 8 years of traveling, during which time my true education began, I set up a studio and started making ceramic bowls. The inspiration of these came from a meeting with an American Indian medicine man who, one night, took me outside and, while pointing at the first moon, a thin silver bowl filled with light, said: “We call that the receiver”. I found this a moving and poetic moment. I took it as my direction.



The bowl is a most satisfactory form to work with. From that beginning my bowls have gone through many changes. Always the same. Always different. Until this moment in time, where the bowls are the result of my many years of bowl making.



Then, while walking in the forest recently I watched a leaf slow-falling to the ground, I became aware of the silence of the trees. I found myself listening.



During my ongoing journey along the ceramic path, where each bowl represents a step, I found myself again in the forest and there, written amongst the trees, a message. This became my inspiration for this exhibition.



Using imprints from the forest floor, I have created aspects of that which speaks to us from our family of trees. Aspects such as ‘the nothing becoming the everything’, ‘the primal stillness’, ‘things not known but remembered’, plus ‘the total silence of decay….’



Everyone of my project starts with a return to the source. From there I find a new direction again and again. Something raw with something refined. And there lies the necessary tension in the work. The tension which gets the attention.



Advice i received: 'plant something every day'