Robyn Gordon ~ Wood Carvings and Mixed Media

Robyn Gordon is an artist living in KwatZulu Natal, South Africa. I love the subtle tones and textures in these works. They have a quiet elegance that seems to transport me to the land where she lives. Each time I look at them I see some new detail. You can view more of Robyn's artworks on her website:robyngordon.weebly.com  Her blog: artpropelled.blogspot.com is really inspiring too!

Tribal Story Door
Medium: wood carving
Materials: wood, found objects, rusty metal
Dimensions: 140cm x 65cm

Carved Bust
Carved for The Pulse of Mixed Media by Seth Apter
Medium: Wood carving
Materials: wood, found objects, beadwork
Dimensions: 140cm x 18cm

Totem: Running on Empty

Niche Carving
Medium: wood carving
Materials: wood and found objects
Dimensions: 70cm x 74cm

Butterfly Girl

Butterfly Girl

Butterfly Girl is carved from found aspen branches that I collected in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico. Her base is made with vintage crates and yardsticks. She holds a carved flower in one hand and a butterfly creature in the other. The butterfly creature's wings are made from an antique litho tin toy. The surface of the piece is delicately painted with acrylic and finished with wax.

Size: 20" x 10" x 8"

Butterfly Girl

Some Assembly Required...

After I peeled the bark and cut up the log that I showed in the last post I became a woodshop astronaut. My daily uniform: Face shield, dust mask, earphones, gloves... and lots of sawdust. Sooo much sawdust! It ain't pretty. Now on to finish sanding and then putting everything together. Soon I can get out of my space suit for awhile!

A Day in My Studio

aspen drying

peeling bark 

designing a figure

rough forms cut out on the band saw

sweeping up

Before it Gets Really Hot...

Last week I decided to dive in and complete a task I've been um...putting off... building a new website. Happily I can now scratch that project off the list of things to do before our  desert summer begins. When the temperature rises over 107 my little grey cells slow way, way (and did I say way?) down! To build the new site I used an online company that caters to artists, designers, and photographers. They have some basic templates to work from, handle the hosting and will even acquire a domain name for you  if you don't have one. They have reasonable prices and good tech support too. If anyone out there has been thinking of making a website have a look at  www.bigblackbag.com  Take a peek at my new website too!

It was so nice to get back to my work table this week! Just finished these two angels yesterday.

Lost and Found Angel with Green Vine Crown

Lost and Found Angel with Cloud Crown

Next on my list are two summer art festivals. La Jolla Festival of the Arts, June 23-24 and Bellevue Arts Museum Art Fair, July 27-29. It will be nice to escape to cooler climates over the summer. Maybe the ocean air will re-activate some of my poky little grey cells!

My Accidental Garden

Its a glorious spring here in the desert. The bees are rolling round in the cactus flowers gathering pollen. They look thoroughly intoxicated. The backyard garden has finished with early lupine and poppy blooms and we're on to firewheels, hollyhocks and a few iris. I like to call it an accidental garden but there is some planting and tending involved. A lot depends on the timing and quantity of fall and winter rains. I planted some seeds gathered from last season's plants and some re-seeded on their own.

Every morning I go outside first thing to see whats newly bloomed and watch the birds and insects do their dance. Sometimes the antics of all the life in my garden makes me laugh out loud. It seems there are epic stories, goofy soap operas and complex relationships taking place under the soil and between the flowers. What are those ants doing underground anyway? They seem so organized!

Whatever is happening each morning in the garden provides me with fodder for my day in the studio. Every evening I come home and check to see if something new has bloomed.

The Blossom Sisters

Secret Garden Talisman #4

Pasos Benditos ~ Blessed Steps

Pasos Benditos/Blessed Steps

The title for this piece, Pasos Benditos in Spanish or Blessed Steps in English, is taken from the practice in many spiritual traditions of doing a walk as an offering or a form of spiritual renewal. It may be a contemplative walk through a garden or a dedicated pilgrimage that lasts for days. Sometimes it is a walk through a labyrinth. The experience of walking becomes a meditation and each step is a tiny prayer.