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...

One Thing After Another

...approx.  8 1/2" x 11"... a page in my sketchbook... drawing and lettering... pen, brush, ink, watercolor

Gwen Buchanan,  Desideratum Art and Jewelry, New Brunswick, Canada

Borzoi

A dog bred in Russia...

perhaps developed from the Saluki and long haired Collie-types ...

once known as the Russian Wolfhound... now Borzoi...

Tall...  height at their withers is at least 29 inches..

has a silky wavy coat in a multitude of color variations....

Borzoi have elegantly long and powerful jaws... 

jaws bred for clutching wolves and game hunting...

long muscular legs...

capable of running at tremendous speed...
the word Borzoi means "swift".

due to their intelligence... and stubbornness...

one of the hardest of all breeds to train...

much patience needed...
loyal... 

rarely bark... can be aloof...

...a sight hound... keen eyesight...

They say their temperament requires understanding...

 it is not wise to annoy them.

Dogs are still taking my attention..

approx. 5½" x 8½" pen and ink, cross hatch, watercolor washes.

Trivia.... The Borzoi is the symbol of  "Alfred A Knopf"  publishing house.



 

Bright Lights and Bonfire

At this time of year...

...the shortest days ...

the sun rises almost directly out in front of us...

far across, on the horizon of the coastline of Nova Scotia..

we have to wait for it... when we get up early...

I love waiting for it

 Especially this day...

with the fishing boat heading out...

into that almost purple haze of seasmoke

on our always offering Bay of Fundy... 

Later in the day

we offer back...

our light...

with fir and spruce thinnings...

warming crisp air...

  glowing stones in a circle...

calm evening, calm sea, 

silent...

but for snapping, hissing, crackling... 

Fireworks were hiding inside those trees...

Then once again...

the setting sun offered back its light...

like a game of catch

later...

 inside by the glow...

dogs know...

....Lights of the season powered by Nature...

My Very Best Wishes to Each and Everyone

***photos taken in December at St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada

Quote by William James

 

This quote feels intensely romantic,

 don't you think?

William James 1842 - 1910... Philosopher, Psychologist... Thinker
...brother of Novelist Henry James

*   i   LoVe  TypOGRapHy  *

.... especially Calligraphy

"When the fruit is ripe, a touch will make it fall"

...in 5½ " x 8½ " sketchbook,  india ink, crow quill,  FW acrylic artists ink, script brush

Sterling Silver Dragonfly on Copper Square

 

I have been making bugs... using my pen and my torch...

I like to study bugs.... 

they are small,  with lots of delicate working parts, amazingly strong for their size... 

some nasty, some nice... 

and there are so many different kinds... and they do so many different things... 

Bugs are just all around very  interesting subjects to get to know more about..

We designed and created the sterling silver  Dragonfly  on copper square early in the year

and it is time to build up stock again.. not a good season to be running out of popular designs...

although I have to admit there are a few other styles that I am very low on,

if not completely out of at the moment..

and I should have had more made...  but alas... time... energy....... a good book.

Lots of tiny Dragonfly parts all prepared... cut, shaped and hammered ... 

little dragonfly wings, little dragonfly bodies and little tiny silver grains for the dragonfly eyes... 

That is one in the middle, there's more in a little wooden dish to the left... 

 We usually split up the jobs..  

Johns' hands are stronger than mine, so he gets to handcut all the copper squares

 and do the heavy hammering.. 

I layout all the tiny parts and set them up..  

 ... sometimes my tools or my big hands have accidentally knocked my board 

.. Not a good day when that happens...

Here they are all covered in carbon.. it has to be removed

  but the texture and color is gives for taking a photograph suits my fancy ...

 I really love this contrast.

and

I absolutely Love the Pattern they make all lined up like that...

I imagine quilt patterns, floor tiles, rugs, fabric ...

I start rearranging them

to see what they might look like with all there tails touching 

or their little pairs of eyes all staring at each other

 Then I am imagining them all divided by long bands of another metal 

or fabric if they are a quilt  and what kind of borders could be invented.. 

 or maybe designs inlaid in wood.. or a surround for a fireplace 

or borders around the edge of an illuminated book.........

oh once it starts it is hard to go back to work... 

 the Dragonflies are distracting me from the Dragonflies...

 but I'm sure you know what it's like 

and how one thing leads to another and another....

  

 

Back to reality... 

Now they are ready for the pickle pot

-  a nice name for being dunked in a scalding acid bath - which will remove all the built up carbon. 

  John drills holes in the tops with the flex shaft...

  We sand and polish them in the vibratory tumbler.

Then I make the earwires and attach them 

and we are all stocked up again...

$25.00 pr.     ...approx.  1½" from top of ear wire to bottom of copper square
...bug drawings (in first photograph)  from my sketchbook 

  Pearl Jam...  "BUGS" 

All handmade at our DESIDERATUM Art Jewelry studio 

in St. Martins, on the Bay of Fundy,  New Brunswick, Canada

...click for more of our Whimsical designs

DOGS

Sketches and watercolor washes...

trying to put ideas down quickly ...

not worrying about perfection...
just in having a good time, just like dogs. 

A protector...

an entertainer and companion...

... loyal...

... interested in every-little-single-thing-that-you-say and do

 ... never argues or complains...

...best friend...

"A Dog has the Soul of a Philosopher"........ Plato

...crazy to see you again

even if it was only 5 minutes ago that you left the room...

....and always ready to go

before you even know you are.

Our New Copper and Sterling Silver Dog earrings inspired by our gang

...simple little design of dogs with curly tails

Tabitha    

... alias the Queen... Miss Energy... see how high I can jump...

what's you wanna do now Butch, huh, huh?? come on, lets go, come on, come on!

Gabi  

... alias Shy-girl, Sweetheart, sleepy-head, lover not a fighter..

her motto to a thief: here's where the good stuff is, I gotta go back to bed.

Pirate  

... alias Stinky, need I say more..  super-sensitive, super-smart, likes to steal...  

oh and his feelings get hurt very easily..

Tobi  

...alias Bouncer,  Mr. Runaway Hobo, happy go lucky.. 

...come whenever I feel like it, but that's OK isn't it?

and if you like a few laughs.. check out Andy Rooney ... 

He prefers dogs to people.... and  he is funny.

... Dog Portrait Photos by my son, Max Ackerson...  September 2011

*in memory ... about a week after this post,  Andy Rooney passed away.. 

 I was very sad to hear this.. I always enjoyed his "Rants".  He will be missed by many.