ForestEyesWatching

Forest Eyes

The forest is impassive. The forest is indifferent.

It does not care, yet is beautiful nevertheless.

The forest is silent. Yet I found words everywhere,

in and around the trees, all across the sky, in reflections of puddles.

Everywhere I looked and listened.

I gathered a few handfuls of these words

I took them home and placed them on the table.

I arranged and re-arranged them

and from the silence of the forest magic, a story.

everywhere forest eyes are silently watching me

'You Already Have All You Need'

FloorTalkAtTheBallaratFineArtGallery

Wednesday 26th May, 12.15pm

During this floor talk,
Bridget Bodenham, Tina Lee and Petrus Spronk,
will talk about their ceramic work
presently exhibited at the Ballarat Fine Art gallery.

This is a chance for you to see the work
and hear the stories about it.

There will be a ten minute presentation by each artist.
After this there will be time for the audience to ask questions.
The moderator is Richard Perry from Hepburn.

Come and join us

'When a good idea gets out, things begin to happen'

NewExhibitionInvite

Lutea's imaginary cloudscapes

Dear Blogger Friends

Below please find an invite
to the opening of an exhibition
of my new ceramic work
and that of two of local ceramicists
Tina Lee
and
Bridget Bodenham
at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery

This exhibition runs from 30th April- 31st May

In addition there will be a floortalk
to which you are also invited, on
wednesday the 26th May at 12.15

Hoping to see you at both events

Petrus

P.S.
would you please inform anyone who maybe interested

MyKoreanPeriod

Tea plantation

Rice Harvest

Temple visit

Images from my time in Korea
both as artist in residence (1999)
and writer in residence (2004)

As you can read from the images
a rich and enriching time
which has inspired me for years
and will continue to do so

"Travel, getting lost and finding your way again"

EverywhereIWent......

Alhambra Spain

Oxford England

Santorini Greece

Bornholm Denmark

N.W. Greece

Everywhere I went I came across
beautiful doorways
Each journey started and finished
with a doorway
I was led from one space into another
through a doorway

Everywhere I went,
a poet had been there before me

TheUltimateDryStone

I was hitch-hiking in England when someone
gave me a ride to StoneHenge
For the ultimate dry stone experience
what more is there to say but
enjoy the images
from a time before it was fenced

"The Best Is Yet To Come"

KoreanDryStone

Stone offerings on a temple walk

composition of ceramic pots and dry stone wall

dry stone tribute

following the interest on my last dry stone posting,
I will follow this up with some more dry stone.

my dry stone interest having been awakened in Ireland,
I couldn't help noticing the intricacies
of Korean dry stone work.
therefore,
Above some of the many examples.

"For man is by nature an artist"

DryStone/StackingStones

Many years ago, when I hitch-hiked around the world,
I started to photograph beautifully made objects.

I found these dry stone walls above
while travelling around Ireland,
specifically around the West Coast,
in an area called the Burren,
a raw and beautiful environment.

Someone told me that people that made the walls
could be recognised by the pattern.

(someone also told me, when I was lost,
and asked for directions, to follow the smoke,
I did and came to a cottage with a smoky peat fire)

"Go outside everyday, miracles are waiting everywhere"

FromTheShadowsBackIntoBlogLand

This is my live in neighbour
he lives in a nest in the vine
where he sleeps most of the day
when I discovered the nest
and tried to photograph him in it
he came out, indignant, and wanted
his picture taken properly.

at night he awakes and plays
constant drum beats on the roof

He awoke me to do some more blog postings
I have been absent because I was busy
scanning 8000 images from slides into my computer

well, now I am back, and in time,
show you some of them

"scanning my past into the present"

T-PotProject

Tea for Two TeaPot

InsideOut TeaPot (handy for travelling)

DoubleBarrel TeaPot

During the seventies I was working
in a design center in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Using that which was available
which were plaster moulds
I made a series of fun tea pots
which everyone enjoyed but the boss
"this is a serious project"
"Sorry I was only trying to be Irish"

a comment left on my last posting
reminded me of this project
if the same people look at this
please make yourself known.......

smallBIG

I had no idea that something so small
(the birth of three golden chicks)
could be so big
(I am totally smitten)

I watch them learning day by day
and am surprised by their rapid growth.

I watch them understanding the language of
"here is food" which elicits a certain call
"here is danger" which elicits another

when at the age of four days the chickens came out
and a crow flew over
the young chicken ran for cover under a plank

hardwired?

"Is not the core of nature, in the heart of man?"

From90Into09

scanned images from sand works I created in
the early days of the 90s
into the last day of 09 (I just made it)

These works were made for the Adelaide Festival of Arts
and depict various architectural aspects of the city

In order of appearance an aspect of:
the art gallery
the museum
the parliament

Happy creative new year

"Make your work movements as unhurried as caresses"

aBarryBarryXmas

Dear Bloggers, blogFollowers and Blogenthusiasts

A BarryBarryXmas and a veggy new year

May 2010 be filled with loveliness
and many surprises of the positive kind

May it also be filled with blogging good words
plus encouraging and cheerful ideas
Cheers

"If you have a good idea, act upon it"

image from my 'Real Irish' selection

LetThemEatCake

I have bought a scanner
and I am resurrecting the past into the present.
the past which was documented on slide
into the present of the digital age.

since I have got some 10.000 slides
there is more to come
watch out for it

this image is from the time I worked with sand
as an artist in the street

a commissions for the Food and Wine Festival
in Brunswick Street, Melbourne
titled: 'A Piece of Cake'

'Industry without art is Brutality'

Brambuk

whenever I visit the Grampians, or Gariwerd, its aboriginal name,
a sculptural mountain rock formation in Victoria, Australia
I am sure to call in at Brambuk,
the Aaboriginal cultural centre

The architect, Greg Burgess, in consultation with the local aboriginal communities,
designed and built it in the 1980s
It withstood the test of time and is a building of great inspiration
filled with symbolic detail.

for instance:
it is shaped in the form of a cockatoo with outstretched wings
as if sheltering its eggs or young
It is made up of five circles which represent the five aboriginal communities
The stonework in the building represents the stone houses and the fish-traps of the area
The poles which hold up the building represent the Framlingham forest nearby
the spiral ramp leading up to the second floor represents the eel dreaming

It excited and inspired me the first time I saw it and it continues to do so

"When a good idea gets out things begin to happen"