Rocks breathe, springs circulate; now is the change complete. She is absorbed into the body of the island, visible to the seer’s eye alone. The Myth of Santa Warner, Ithell Colquhoun, 1947 When I was researching our recent visit to the island of Crete I remembered that one of my favourite artists, Ithell Colquhoun, was … More The Magic of Islands
The brief for the Ancestree project at Wales Millennium Centre was very open and inclusive. We asked visitors to write on the leaf templates, or just on paper about their favourite things, family, or nature. Some stayed for longer, but most were families enjoying half term, passing through on their way around Cardiff Bay. Finished … More Ancestree Stories
Here is another of Matt Lee’s lockdown drawings, accompanied by my creative writing response. I think they reflect the strange dreams many of us have been having. The Coming by Sarah Featherstone The globe head leans towards her. The glass is gold tinged. She can’t see inside yet, but she knows. Arcturus, she whispers, you … More Lockdown Drawing/Writing#2
Kids love monsters; they never tire of stories from myth and legend. At the beginning of the Story telling and Art course, we travelled around the world, exploring stories from many different cultures, finding out about the spirits and mythical creatures that populate these tales. We encountered trolls from Iceland, dragons in China, a host … More Mythical Monsters
Cardiff Print Workshop members have been invited to exchange prints with artists based in Grenoble, France where one of our members previously worked. The workshop in France is called “Le Geste et L’empreinte”, and is run by artist, Anne-Laure Heritier Blanc, who currently leads printmaking sessions at the workshop on a monthly basis for a … More Print Exchange
Two important exhibitions in London last weekend: Natalia Goncharova Retrospective at Tate Modern, and Lee Krasner: Living Colour at Barbican. In Goncharova’s famous painting, The Cyclist, the figure is willfully heading in the opposite direction to that indicated by the pointing authoritarian finger. It suitably sums up Goncharova’s spirit. A leading figure of the new … More Palingenesis, and the Art of Everythingism
Dod yn ôl at fynghoed: this is the title of the latest Creative Schools project I am working on in Tonypandy. In Welsh, it translates as “to return to my trees”, or “to return to a balanced state of mind”. The aim is to bring the children back into contact with nature through outings, stories, … More Into the Magical Forest: Creative Schools
Exploring the amazingly magical Iceland this week on the Children’s Storytelling and Art Course, where an elf expert is consulted before routing a new road through rock piles that may be elf habitats, and trolls are everywhere in the landscape if you know where to look. Ghost Mazes by George and Caius, and poltergist by … More Elves and Trolls
Travelling back in time to Ancient Greece this week, the children of the Storytelling and Art course heard about the many chimeric creatures that inhabit the myths: Minotaur, Satyr, Harpy, Sphinx, and Chimera. Inspired, they created their own hybrid monsters, cutting up old magazines to produce these fantastic collages.
In their passports, participants of the Storytelling and Art from Around the World course inserted a picture of themselves as a character of their choosing complete with name, magical attributes, and planet of origin. Using coloured acetates, windows were made to look in upon various characters created in response to folk stories. This week: … More Windows on the World
Sarah J Featherstone 