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 … Continue reading Palingenesis, and the Art of Everythingism
Mythology
Inscape/Outscape
My brother and I currently have work on display in Kemi's cafe, Pontcanna. We present work in dialogue with each other, working from very different perspectives. Matt paints plein air from landscapes around Somerset and Portsmouth, while my paintings emerge from inner imaginative worlds. I am interested in capturing fleeting moments from the mundus imaginalis, … Continue reading Inscape/Outscape
Animating the Aliens
On the after-school Storytelling and Art course at Llanover Hall, the children decided to create a theatre out of cardboard. As our theme for that week was Sci-fi, everyone made alien characters to star in the show. On the first week, the parents got a preview of act one, with one boy being narrator, others … Continue reading Animating the Aliens
Windows on the World
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: … Continue reading Windows on the World
This Is What I Would Turn Into At Night
Here are some of my favourite art works by children I have been working with over the past months. They have been responding to old folk stories from many cultures. The Lady of the Lake (Wales) Maui's Magic Fishing Hook (Maori) The Fox Maiden (Korea) Guardian Totems (Korea) Medusa (Greece) Gelert (Wales) Baba Yaga … Continue reading This Is What I Would Turn Into At Night
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
For the last week of this five week cycle of storytelling and art from around the world, we travelled to Russia to hear about the enigmatic Baba Yaga. She is a many-faceted figure, variously seen as a Moon, Death, Winter, Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator, or archetypal image.[4] After discussing some of Baba … Continue reading Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
Stories from the Dreamtime
For Week 3 of the Children's Art and Writing course, the children listened to three stories from the Dreamtime creation myths of Aboriginal culture: How the kangeroo got her pouch, Barramundi, (how the fish came to be in the waters), and a Kunwinjku Dreamtime Story of the long-necked turtle and the echidna, telling why they live … Continue reading Stories from the Dreamtime
