PearlDrops

this morning, early

when i walked out to feed the chooks

i looked up into the wintry geometry of the birch trees

of which there is a small copse which i planted 

when i first arrived, in honour of my father

(i remember standing on the veranda 

and throwing nine sticks into the air

then planting a birch in each spot they had landed)

this morning they offered me a gift

rows of clear pearl drops of rain

and each one reflecting the world around it

so many wortlds

so many stories

"there is no name for what i want to be when i grow up"

shhhh.......

 the forest provides 

that which we require in stillness

contemplation

meditation

relaxation

listening to your heart beat

finding you way 

out of confusion

finding answers

to your questions

practice this:

'sitting quietly, doing nothing'

AFlockOfChuffs

after my time as a guest blogger for the 'abc open' program

where i wrote about my journey with the big C

titled: the dance of life-the only dance there is

so very eloquently summed up by marc eiden

the open producer at ballarat

http://open.abc.net.au/posts/the-art-of-living-64dt3uz

i am back in my studio for two projects

one is titled: 'no harm'

commissioned by the hepburn council

more about that in time

and another one a series of bowls

but instead of black bowls this is a series of white bowls

for an exhibition in bendigo next year

plenty of time to play

 after a day in the studio i enjoy a walk in the forest 

it helps me to loosen up from the intensity of the work in the studio

today while walking in the forest 

a flock of chuffs, startled flew up through the trees

i 'saw' it, went home and got a small bucket of white clay

and on the blackboard of the trees

drew my experience

'for man is by nature an artist'

FoundBeauty

once again

driving from daylesford to ballarat

to be radiated,

filled with light

to eradicate the darkness

created by the troubling dance partner

the big ugly C.

i discovered this magnificent arch

(plus the marriage of trees and clouds

in creative harmony)

through which i entered 

into the magic of the landscape 

around dean

grateful for the unexpected beauty

found on this daily journey

                     We are sleep walking in The Garden of Eden and may awaken to it

 

 

Masterpiece/ploughed field

"Into one of the green hills a brown field is being drawn 

by a farmer with a stubby red pencil. 

His tractor. 

It labours up and down and slowly fills in the space 

with a wonderful deep cinnamon brown colour.

 The lines, left behind by the plough, 

follow the contours and undulations of the land 

and make for a fascinating texture 

and a beautiful strong drawing."

                                                                  petrus

from my abc blog, see the whole story on: 

http://open.abc.net.au/posts/the-dance-of-life-part-12-74gw4rt

The dance of life-the only dance there is

my latest and most challenging project

Artist'sResponse

i have been off the blog for a while

 because

i recently received some difficult news

i was diagnosed with cancer

and as with most of these events it is not so much the news, 

but what you do with it

when i was told i went into the forest

and spend ten hours on the artwork above

it wasn't so much making the work

as placing myself into a creative state of mind

the state i needed to process the information i received

it worked and i was soon on top of it

i decided to document the whole of the story

then, send it in installments to my concerned family and friends

and regard it as just another art project

bought a voice recorder and will carry my camera

then, for some reason of magic

the ABC open picked it up

and asked me to tell my story in a series of guest blogs

which i decided to do

this is the link, it has one of my stories

and soon the story of 'the dance of life' will be published

http-//open.abc.net.au/posts/tags/petrusblog

           'When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

'
    

        

2012WhatWillThePastBring

during the new of new year

one likes to think about the possibilities 

of what that year may bring

standing on the edge of 2012

i would like to think about what the past may bring

my grandparents born, sometime during the 1880s

in a small  place in holland,

and long since past  into that other place of existence

where they are an occasional memory,

would maybe both be excitedandannoyed

and amusedandconfused

to find them selves on a blog

in a small town somewhere in australia

and thus, post mortem, be exposed to the world.

their past brought me that future

the same past which brought, and will continue to bring,

magnificent, super, glorious, sublime,

lovely, delightful, fantastic, tremendous,

incredible, fabulous, and magical surprises

'The heart has its reasons that the mind knows nothing of'

SexAndDeath

the venus flower basket

has a tale of sex and death.

the basket is a curved tube like glass sponge

created in intricate lattice work.

it is a bridal chamber

for a pair of tiny male and female shrimps

of the spongicola family.

the pair enters the bridal suite,

made in their beautiful home of the sea.

the young ones produced from this union

escape from the basket

while still in the embryo stage,

while the parents die  inside the chamber.

'Your children get only one childhood'

 

TheLastPost/TheDeathOf2011

 burned forest bones

"death

all things summon us to death.

nature, almost envious of the good

she has given us,

tells us often,

and gives us notice,

that she cannot for long

allow us that scrap of matter

she has lent..........

she has need of it for other forms,

she claims it back for other works."

found at the mona art museum of old and new art

'after each big event take some time of'

snowflakes in the summer forest

"he, to whom nature

begins to reveal 

her open secrets, 

will feel an irresistible yearning

for her most worthy interpreter:

art"

goethe

FreeForestGifts

this is an elderberry tree

i found it in the forest

and remembered the variety of ways this was used

when i visited europe

elderflower wine, elderflower cordial

and then later elderberry wine

i harvested a bowl full of flowers and made a very fragrant cordial

i took a suacepan and filled it with 1.5 litres of water 

and poured in 2 kilos of sugar

while this was brought to the boil, i occasionally stirred it.

in a large bowl i placed the elderberry flower heads

pared the skin of a couple of lemons

tossed them into the bowl

then sliced up the lemons and also tossed them into the bowl

when the syrup water was boiling 

i poured it over the elderberry flower heads

and put in a small container (75gr) of citric acid

i covered the bowl with a cloth and put it away for 24 hours

next day i sieved it through a cloth

and poured it into clean glass bottles

then put it away for a sunny summer's day

'every roadside is suitable for planting fruit trees'

FieldBreadStacks

everywhere i go at the moment

the farmers are cutting their hay 

rolling it up and and 

storing it in plastic wraps

I can't help but thinking of times past

when there were haystacks

that smelled of sweet, sweet, grass

'Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now'

 

 

 

 

TheForestPatientlyWaits

my contribution for the 2011 glenlyon's sculpture show

the work wonders if humanity, as represented by the chair,

is imprisoned by nature, as represented by the tree branch,

or protected by it

"What gets your attention gets you"

 

 

 

SandAndSurf

'illegal immigrants'

sunday the 16th of october i took part 

in the ephemeral aspect of the lorne sculpture event

and, over the course of the day

created yet another plague of rabbits

there was much movement of sun, wind and rain  

plus many people

the work which was being created at one side

was being removed by the sea at the other

such is life

 You can't depend on your judgement with your imagination out of focus

gift

 yesterday i received a cd from the national Gallery of Victoria

it contained a series of special images

of an installation of my work

if you would like to view this installation

you will find it on the second floor
of the ian potter gallery at federation square

at the back of the joseph brown collection gallery

the best is yet to come