Charles Darwin

Portrait of Darwin by Gwen Buchanan

 Because of Charles Darwin's intense studies and lifetime dedication to his work...  we understand EVOLUTION.

Ape Skull by Gwen Buchanan

...below... an excerpt from Charles Darwin's....  "Origin of Species"

""As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive, and as consequently there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of survival and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.""

Charles Robert Darwin... Born 1809... died at 73 years in 1882

to learn almost everything about his life,  go HERE ...

I especially like this excerpt from his examination of
 "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals"  

Portrait of Darwin ...........   approx. 11" x 12",  charcoal, conte on brown paper

Ape Skull..............   approx. 8 1/2" x 11" charcoal, conte on colored cardstock

....... both kinds of paper have a great tooth for holding these drawing mediums.

The ABC's of Patterns..... K

K for KNOT...

It has been a while since I posted any pages from this little book I designed and made a few years ago..

...an Alphabet book of Patterns...

endless... no beginning... no end... eternal...

 on and on and on...

 Celtic knots also had this same element... 

smooth sailing... tight corners...

rather like life with it twists and turns....  and repetition of events

I cut the endless Knot from heavy watercolor paper ...  

...attached colored paper behind  making the image stand out...

 I remember how much I loved doing this project..  at first it seemed daunting,

then the more I thought and researched  and drew up ideas of  what could represent each letter 

and how I could  do the cutwork for each of them... 

it was like working out a puzzle... it was hard  to stop...

some were easier than others but it eventually all came together.

Years earlier, our Logo  "Becoming One"  evolved as a sort of endless Knot... with this eternal feel  ...

 twining  interwoven bodies...maybe a little medieval...

John hand-cut my logo design from Copper... it is about 7" - 8" across...

 ... we patinated it to this lovely verdigris color... 

which was then attached to the top of each of our Jewelry display stands ...

I  like the mottled effect...  it reminds me of old copper roof tops.

... our little black and white image appears at the top of each of our DESIDERATUM Art Jewelry Cards.

 ...a link to my previous ABC's of Patterns pages, 

going backwards from J.

approx. 6" x 7" x 1"... ...handbound... hardcover

George Orwell

George Orwell told it like he saw it.

..." All animals are created equal,
but some animals are more equal than others"...
animal farm, chapter 10

... Like we all still see it...

I'm sure you have read his book...   What do you think???

...8" x 9",  in my sketchbook... pen, ink, cross hatch, watercolor...  

Crow inspired by Arthur Rackham... 

Desideratum Art and Jewelry Studio, St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada

10 Drawings of Ears..

moi

When I take a break from making earrings, on these long winter days,

I go on over to my drawing desk.

  I like to pick a subject and spend some time with it...

 but what will it be...  

perhaps a more indepth study on one of the facial features..

.....since there was no one else to consult...

I chose Ears... 

.. all the ears in this study belonged to family members and I hope they don't mind...

and their names have not been changed ... 

so don't be too severe if you know them in real life 

and their Ears here are not exactly as the ones on the sides of their heads.... 

I tried...

Well, the more I read about Ear shapes and examined them... 

the more unusual they seemed to be...

 way more than initially meets the eye...

sort of like when you repeat a word for the 100th time

and you can't understand why it is pronounced that way anymore 

and the spelling just doesn't look like a word anymore either... 

well that is how my obsession with Ears felt...

How did we ever come to have two attachments on the sides of our heads like this... 

 that we rarely pay much attention to or hardly notice.

.. but really they stick right out...and they are right there in everyone elses  face.

...parts with names of Helix and Antihelix...   Tragus and Antitragus...

Lobule, Concha and not to forget, the Ear notch...
and these are just the outward visual parts...

and even though I make my living making earrings to hang off these little attachments,

these were new words to me.

and to think all I have ever really been concerned with, about them before, 

was just a spot to hang a pair of Earrings... 

 Ears are so much more!!

... the more closely I looked at each Ear 

and discovered each ones individuality, shape, tilts, turns and little nuances...

I became entranced with them..  structural, rounded, curving, flowing lines, depth, shadows...

   

 They are beautiful flesh and blood sculptures and we each have two...

They are amazing !!

.......and without which..... how could we hear the music?

or

 ...hold our glasses up?

...drawings from my sketchbooks.............   baby, children, teenager, adults ears... pencil, conte

at DESIDERATUM Art  and Jewelry Studio, St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada

*******


The illustration below was what first caught my eye and the instigator of my Ear Study....
 from "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"

... an excerpt from the story with the grand title of...

 "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box"
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Illustrator  Sidney Paget

... now you will have to get the book and read the rest of it...