NoMoreWordsAreNeeded

no more words are needed

(Click on the image for an enlarged version)

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"

 

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'

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. 

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'

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

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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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' 

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  

 

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"

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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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'

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'