Sunday, January 10, 2010

It Is True




 "THERE IS NO WEALTH,

BUT LIFE"




...from Ethics of the Dust (1866)

by

John Ruskin... 1819-1900... 
British Writer, Social Thinker, Economist,  
Theorist, Lecturer, Artist, Poet...


..."he thought with his heart"...



 



Objects in photos...

...a small panel of hand-woven Swedish-lace curtain, I wove quite a while ago, salvaged from a fire ... and
... a much-loved, cobalt blue, pottery bowl ...     Both... Made by Hand
and.....
..the wonderful, exquisite, perfect Egg ........ Made by Chicken...


66 comments:

Linda Sue said...

Beautiful shots and so decent of you to give CHICKEN credit for the most perfect egg...I have weaving envy...lovely piece!

Owen said...

Beautiful in their simplicity, these images...

And a burnt down house ? There must be quite a tale to tell there... hope you weren't in it at the time !

pRiyA said...

Beautiful.

Arija said...

Congratulations to the chicken! You made beautiful things in this case, the chicken created LIFE.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Mr. Ruskin was right on so many things.
Lovely.

ArtPropelled said...

Indeed! Simply beautiful.

Acornmoon said...

I am very impressed by your fabric, what a multi talented lady you are!

Jasmine said...

I love the first picture.

Lynne with an e said...

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." And such beauty to be found in seeming simplicity. The starkness of your photos is rich with colour, texture, meaning, depth. Really delightful to see and read, Gwen.

Wanda..... said...

The message is as simple as your beautiful objects...Love and Appreciate Life.

June said...

An apt quote exquisitely expressed. I am so touched by the hand-woven lace salvaged from your burnt-down house. May we have the story?

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Lovely. It reminds me of the William Carlos Williams poem...
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.

Seth said...

Made by chicken...LOL! Such beauty in these photos.

Penny said...

I love collecting my eggs and daily marvel at their perfection.
(Not being at all a perfectionist, all my wonky lined drawings!)
Great photos and a lovely idea of what you.

Laura J. Wellner (author pseudonym Laura J. W. Ryan) said...

The simplicity of white on white is always so beautiful, and that blue bowl is a color I adore! Being an artist myself, but also a museum registrar at a day job, fire is one of my greatest concerns...a burnt down house, that's heartbreaking...

Anet said...

What lovely photos... makes me long for Spring for some reason.
Beautiful weaving, you are always amazing!

sandy said...

Beautiful photos and that quote is "perfect" and much appreciated today. Thanks!

Guillaume said...

You make the most interesting and aesthetic pictures of the simplest things.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you, my dears... I appreciate your additional thoughts...

Anonymous said...

What a sweet surprise to see that we are expressing the same energy. What beautiful items, all three made 'by hand'. What a beautiful treasure to be salvaged from a burnt home, I am sorry to hear that you had to go through that experience, but I trust it happened for its own reasons, and that you came forth from it with new wisdom.

"There is no wealth, but life", so beautiful! Thank you for sharing this quote. Wishing you all the abundance that life has to offer!

A Heron's View said...

The Egg as an ovoid has always interested me, not just because is a symbol of life. The fact that its shape is also life giving, because the ovoid when vertical is also the amphora of the Greeks- that stored wine, water and other liquids and because it's perfect shape the ovoid allows a natural, constant circulation of the liquid to take place plus the porosity of terracotta material, help to keep it fresh.

herhimnbryn said...

Beautiful. All made with love ( even the chicken, I suspect)

Jennifer MacNeill said...

Lovely:)

Alina said...

What a beautiful and profound Post!

Shayla said...

Wonderful.

Debbi said...

I swear you could be a professional photographer Gwen. As always, a beautiful and thoughtful post. Gorgeous mood and colors.

Gwen Buchanan said...

... Thank you all for caring enough to comment... sometimes in our rushed and busy world we forget what a miracle it is to actually be Alive...

Chris Daly said...

Thanks for reminding me to pause and appreciate life. Mine has been a whirlwind recently and I just need to slow down. Your lace it beautiful!

layers said...

How perfect this is-- nature's perfection with handmade's perfections.
I just returned from teaching a workshop in Florida and there are always a few in my workshop who have sold their soul, integrity and honesty to commerce--

Ruth said...

Simply beautiful. Simple. Beautiful.

Life.

You so get it.

Don said...

love everything in this post!

Jan Morrison said...

a lovely post! I have spent the last few days cruising around your site and I really like it. I'm glad you live in my general neck of the woods, or arms of the ocean or ... I think I have earings made by you - I got them from my friend Laurel Lewey for Christmas and I do believe she got them from you! I love this weird serendipitous world don't you?

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you Ruth, Don, Chris, Donna, and Jan, the world is becoming smaller by the day.... I am so glad you are out there ... and here.....

rivergardenstudio said...

Thank you for reminding me of the beauty that a simple, or hand-made object can hold. The colors remind me of the pictures of the land you wander, the sky and the frothy waves. roxanne

Lord Wellbourne said...

Beautiful site and beautiful spirit. This is a welcoming place to rest and remember what matters.

Jill Zaheer said...

The simple things in life- including such a peaceful picture- are beautiful! Best wishes for a wonderful new year-and enjoy all the magnificent beauty nature has to offer!

MILLY said...

My most treasured objects are Handmade things, and the tools to make such things, such as my sewing box.
I appreciate all you say in this lovely post.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Lord and Ladies, blogs are worlds within worlds aren't they... talking books...

...thoughts sent through the waves make me remember when I was a child, how they ever got those words inside the radio, or how on earth the pictures appeared on my TV screen.. I remember spending much time trying to figure this out... how did air turn into songs or pictures?...

... and now, many years later, we can communicate one on one, to almost anyone who sees our words... it is amazing...

Thank you...

mansuetude said...

you break my heart...

a good thing.
you and the Chickens.

.
have you made breakfast with that beautiful poetic egg yet?

Gwen Buchanan said...

No, I saved it... We can't have broken hearts here... eggs make good glue, especially the white.. sticking hearts back together would be a much better use for this one...

my best to you...

Anonymous said...

I shall miss you but there's plenty here for me to peruse in your absence. I shall read about the fire - you've come through some tough stuff haven't you... but I am so glad that the creation of beautiful things is a constant for you. Take good care. X

india flint said...

eggs, a perfect design solution!

Leanne Pizio said...

Beautiful Gwen! As always you inspire
and entice us to reflect on what is important.
Have a good time off.
You'll be missed.

The Crow said...

Crow see chinese child draw egg, so many time, on paper.
Every egg perfect.
Crow ask why child draw egg so many time.
Child laugh and say:
"Everybody lay egg."

Crow not know what this mean.
Child keep on drawing more egg.

Crow remember child who draw egg.
Crow remember lay egg too.
Now: many crow.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you girls, it feels like the time of year to begin new things...


Dear Crow, The more Crows who wonder, ponder and do, the better...

Northmark said...

I read a very interesting introduction to John Ruskin in Jonh-Paul Flintoffs book "Through the Eye of the Needle". Am pretty sure you would like it, but life is short and there are simply astoundingly many good books around.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Northmark,
I appreciate the link to Flintoffs book... I went and had a look at a few reviews and it looks like it would be quite entertaining... always room for that more of that..

sandy said...

I came over to see if there was anything new I missed. I'm not sure how I ever missed your daughters and Max and Zach and your grandkids on the sidebar. Those grandkids are adorable! I'd love to hear more about your kids and grandkids some day when you have time.

Sophie Munns said...

wonderful. wonderful post Gwen and great comments to linger over...!
best,
S

Anonymous said...

Gwen, ever since I saw your photographs in the blog post 'FRIDAY SPRING' I've been trying to remember who the artist is whose paintings your pics reminded me of - at last I got there. It's Martin Devine and here's a link to his site if you're interested http://www.devine-art.com/index.php?section=1

Gwen Buchanan said...

hey Sandy, I hesitated on putting my crew on the sidebar for a long time.. as I had originally started the blog to merely have a web presence for our business to show the world we enjoy doing more than one thing...I didn't know how closely I wanted to connect the two of them.. it seems to be a tug of war for me...

Thanks Sophie, the input and sharing from everyone are such an informative pleasure!

LiZZie, what a great comparison... love seeing and learning about the approaches others take to express themselves... and love the simplicity they approach their work with... thank you so much for the link!

alaine@éclectique said...

Gwen, thankyou for visiting my blog; I absolutely love yours! There are so many interesting things to see here; I'll be back to say G'day often! xa

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Alaine, I love your Illuminated Letter "A"... nice to meet you too!

rivergardenstudio said...

just thinking of you and sending blessings... roxanne

Catherine said...

what beautiful colours and textures!!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Girls, it is hard to stay focused on working when the sun is shining so brightly... I am tempted to jig...
hope all's well with you!

wildpic said...

it is true ... gwen.
have a wonderfull time with your work ...

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi wildpic.. it's been a while.. hope all is well with you

Chris Daly said...

How exciting about your new studio! Wishing you well! Chris

Cuidado said...

A post for you and other SJ'ers on the 22nd (after 8 on 21st - GMT) on Shutterchance.
http://justpictureit.shutterchance.com

Keepin very busy and understand you are too..... C.

india flint said...

the Egg really is the perfect piece of packaging...

BLACK AND WHITE said...

Gwen, ♥♥♥!

George said...

I just discovered your beautiful site -- lovely images and very inspirational. I plan to return.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you all so very much.
You are lovely.

Morna Crites-Moore said...

That is a gorgeous piece of weaving and all the more special for having been rescued from the fire.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Morna, It was the biggest surprise that it survived. I still treasure it.