Artist: Gift Madziva - HAMMARSDALE

A blank canvas is challenging enough for most artists - but creating a work of art from recycled materials is quite another form of challenge altogether.............to look at what has been discarded with a view to producing that which will be treasured, requires imagination and determination.

Gift takes up the challenge on a daily basis and successfully produces incredibly beautiful mixed media and metal works that are statement pieces!!

Shown here are the framed works " Harp" and the 3D " Flora"

Also to be exhibited is a 2m sculptural metal piece that can be shown off in the garden or adapted and used as a light.

Artist: Sharon Goulding- DURBAN NORTH

With an eye for subject matters that are conversational pieces, Sharon's new work is bound to bring a smile to many faces. She has an extraordinary talent for capturing a joie de vivre!! .....this first piece is entitled 'Wendy, the Garden Angel'.....a little research on the website http://www.wendy.com/ had this to say about the name Wendy...

A lot of people will argue about whether or not the name Wendy was created by J.M. Barrie for the character "Wendy Darling" in his books about Peter Pan.

While research shows that Barrie didn't invent the name "Wendy", he might as well have. Barrie introduced the character Wendy Darling in Peter Pan in 1904. It is well-known that J.M. Barrie's work was often inspired by the antics of children. Many important characters in his books are modeled after children of his friends and associates.
One such child was a little girl named Margaret Henley (shown at the left) who adored Barrie and always called him "my friendy". However, because she couldn't pronounce her r's, the words came out "my fwendy". One variation of the tale says Margaret called Barrie "friendy-wendy" or in her pronunciation, "fwendy-wendy".
Margaret Henley died at age six (c. 1895). But Barrie used Margaret's invented name "Wendy" for a character who symbolizes mothering, caring, loyalty, and undying friendship. Who would have thought that the tenor of the world would be affected by a nickname invented by a little six year old girl? Imagine the ripples she's caused.

Either way....I think it's a darling painting........I know; but I couldn't resist!!!

...and then there's 'Our Ladies in Blue' - a classic piece!!....women at work - a force to be reckoned with....

Sharon's third oil painting is another of a woman at work - "Agnes of Ushaka" - a colourful piece which does, however, leave one wondering how Agnes fared at the end of the day.....

Artist: Nora Lemmon - WESTVILLE

With just 2 oils submitted this time...Nora has ensured that they do not go unnoticed!!!

Burano I & II are true to the very colourful nature of Burano which is thus described on a travel website:

Burano is an island far off the main Venetian island group, but it's much quieter, less crowded, and quite colorful. There is very little business or shopping here, as it's almost all residential.

How can anything Venetian not be 'Renaissance' related??.....

Artist: Ronnie Huber - Glenwood,DURBAN

Although this painting...Point Road/Mahatma Gandhi (1200mm x 750mm) has been previously posted on the blog, I thought that as it is being exhibited under the Renaissance theme, that it should be highlighted a little more - especially when I asked Ronnie for her interpretation....
When driving past the facade of the demolished building, Ronnie was moved by the emptiness reflected in the windows of the building which she suggests are the 'eyes' - where once a dance of light and shadow existed...now a soul- lessness...a skeletal structure of what once was.... which also leads onto the contoversial matter of the renaming of the notorious Point Road after the iconic peacemaker, Mahatma Gandhi. Though the move by government was to honour those who contributed in the fight for freedom and human rights....there are those critics who believe that the with the development of high rise buildings being marketed at the richest of the rich
- that this is a total contradiction of all that Mahatma stood for... .








Ronnie's magnificent oil of an Ndebele Woman (900mm x 450mm) captures the essence of a woman of foresight who has a story to tell..of journeys travelled, of paths not taken..........her beaded adornment , a testimony to cultural heritage







On a lighter note....Geraniums in Enamel Pots (300mm x 250mm)
- what is it about enamelware that always takes one back in time to Grandma's enamel pots and jugs...is this the reason we so desire the antiquity.....warm thoughts, memories flooding the mind

...so too silverware..bone handles..Cutlery - 400mm x 300mm......or is it simply that we have so tired of the instant modern life and desire the quality and craftsmanship of the past

and,...... Persimmons - bottom - 300mm x 300mm, like Pomegranates, represent a bygone era...

Artist: Ilma Matthews - DURBAN NORTH

I loved Ilma's take on the Age of Antiquity...simply - all of Creation in existance...The Ancient of Days.... the detailed oil painting above Aloe Ferox (770mm x 510mm) somehow represents the 'softer side' of an Aloe...which oft is thought of in a 'prickly' sense....

Ancient of Days is a name for God in Aramaic: Atik Yomin; in the Greek Septuagint: Palaios Hemeron; and in the Vulgate: Antiquus Dierum.
The title "Ancient of Days" has been used as a source of inspiration in art and music, denoting the Creator's aspects of eternity combined with perfection.

William Blake's watercolour and relief etching entitled "The Ancient of Days" is one such example. ...see the sidebar

The seascape oils above & below are a pair - Seascape waves....ushering in all too gently - Seascape, Ghost crabs

(both 255mm x 610mm)

Ancient of Days

Blessing and honor, glory and power

be unto the Ancient of Days

From every nation, all of creation,

bow before the Ancient of Days

Every tongue in heaven and earth shall declare your glory

Every knee will bow at Your throne in worship,

You will be exalted, oh, God

and Your kingdom will not pass away,

Oh, Ancient of Days

© Gary Sadler & Jamie Harville,Integrity's Hosanna! Music, 1992.

...and then there's a little oil with a bold stance... Ilma's point of reference, ever seeking out to do 'original' work , was one of her own photos - and is simply and sufficiently entitled....Zebra (250mm x 355mm)

Sculptor: Nola Steele - DURBAN NORTH

Nola's sculptures, like Nola...have a story to tell ....it was to say the least, a fascinating visit to the the home of Nola Steele who was married to the late Nick Steele - gameranger extraordinaire - the legend lives on in many the hearts,minds and memories of conservationists and of course by way of the books he wrote, Gameranger on Horseback and Bushlife of a Game Warden which were illustrated by Nola.... a lady of many talents!!

A woman shackled....sculpture above - a sombre study....

Though Nola's bronze sculptures were the reason for my visit, I was fascinated by her paintings and the vast source of references -piles of drawings,photos and casts of wildlife footprints that she has collected over the years!!...based on her background and the time spent living in the bush, it's not surprising that Nola's wildlife bronze's reflect her impeccable attention to detail ...whether it be the squared upper lip of the White Rhino or the pointed upper lip of the Black Rhino and Calf, specifically carved in a manner seen in the bush i.e. calf just behind the mother ...

Pregnant Nude
-expectant




The sculptures shown here will be on exhibit on a 'Not for Sale - Commissions Taken' basis
Given the history of Bronzing... I was delighted that Nola agreed to exhibit and help create another dimension to exhibition in terms of the Age of Antiquity .

Contrary to the familiar image of Greek sculpture as white marble statues, about half of all sculpture produced during antiquity was composed of bronze. The metal is a relatively strong alloy of two other metals, tin and copper. Bronze was also first and foremost the medium of ancient weapons used by the Greeks and most other cultures of their time. As a medium, bronze proved more versatile than marble and actually contributed to the transition of Greek sculpture into the Classical Period. The ability of bronze to hold its shape - no matter how complex - allowed sculptors to more easily experiment with less rigid poses. The construction of life sized bronze statues involved many complications and required a special technique that took generations to develop.

Black Rhino female with calf

White Rhino - shown here from varying angles..so clearly depicts Nola's love of her subject matter in the care taken to ....show that the rhino has just been alerted...one eye open, one ear back...............as I mentioned previously....a story to tell...

Artist: Colleen Barker - DURBAN NORTH

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure dome decree

Where Alph, the sacred river ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea........

Kubla Khan - written by 19thC poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge who claimed that the poem was inspired by an opium induced dream.....

Now who other than Colleen, would have thought of introducing an oil painting of Poppies with a title 'Opium' - as a theme piece for the Renaissance exhibition... mind you, given the fact that the Sumarian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Roman, Persian and Arab Empires all made widespread use of opium as the most potent form of pain relief - it's certainly a topic well befitting the Age of Antiquity!!!

The colours used by Colleen are given to much gay splendour and abandon...a freedom that leads onto another oil...a sea most certainly not sunless!!! .....entitled ' Red Sky at Night - Shepherd's Delight'

Artist: Jeannette Edwards - Durban North

Few people embrace themes as tenaciously as Jeanette - suffice it to say that on receiving details about 'Renaissance - Recalling the Age of Antiquity', she set to work immediately to find out specific historic details about the church depicted in her oil painting shown here ' Positano' (500mm x 400mm)
and sent me this very interesting piece....

The church of Santa Maria Assunta is famous for its magnificent dome of Majolica tiles, which dominates the village. 'Harpaars Bazaar' was the first movie which portrayed Positano to the outside world, and since then many movies (under Tuscan Sky) have been made in this beautiful setting along the famous Amalfi Coast of Italy.

The village is said to get its name from an incident when pirates stole a 13th C Icon of a Black Madonna from Byzantium. There was a terrible storm off Positano and the sailors heard a voice saying, 'Posa Posa (put down)'. They unloaded the Icon and the storm abated. Santa Maria Assunta was later built around the Icon.

The other painting to be exhibited is entitled 'Girl picking Poppies' (600mm x 750mm)which was inspired by Monet's "Poppies at Argentuil'.

To quote Jeannette -Monet portrayed the simple pleasures of life, like walking through fields of flowers on a sunny day - that is what I hoped to capture.....

and indeed she has!!!....somehow though, this did lead me onto thinking of another aspect...lest we forget...

November is poppy month, the time of the year when by the wearing of a simple emblem, a red poppy, we salute the memory of those who sacrificed their health, their strength, even their lives, that we might live in a free country.
Long known as the corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) because it flourishes as a weed in grain fields, the Flanders poppy as it is now usually called, grew profusely in the trenches and craters of the war zone. Artillery shells and shrapnel stirred up the earth and exposed the seeds to the light they needed to germinate.
Today the poppy is worn on Remembrance Day, the 11th of November. At 11 o’clock on that day, everyone is asked to be silent for just one minute. The silence is a chance to remember all those who have died in wars and to be glad that we are not at war today.

WE SHALL KEEP THE FAITH.
Oh! You who sleep in Flanders’ fields,Sleep sweet - to rise anew,We caught the torch you threw,And holding high we keptThe faith with those who died.We cherish too, the poppy redThat grows on fields where valour led.
It seems to signal to the skiesThat blood of heroes never dies,But lends a lustre to the redOf the flower that blooms above the deadIn Flanders’ fields.
And now the torch and poppy redWear in honour of our dead.Fear not that ye have died for naughtWe’ve learned the lesson that ye taughtIn Flanders’ fields.

Artist: Marlene Dickerson, LA LUCIA

A typical mammal is a warm blooded, air breathing vertebrate. The heart is divided into four chambers. The body temperature is regulated by a mechanism in the brain, and maintained by the body hair.......(Classification of the Animal Kingdom,English Universities Press Limited)....that's one way of looking at them....and then there's another... Marlene's way...


When it comes to her Wildlife works, Marlene displays a keen sense of knowing.....as in the oil above, Gemsbokke - freedom on the range, a purposeful moving on ...beautifully captured in natural, gentle hues that take you on the journey...............




'....Warden R C Bere and I were driving across a plain one afternoon when we observed a group of elephant cows with their calves. They looked around, flapped their ears and ignored us, so Bere pulled up to let me take photographs. Suddenly, the largest cow spread her ears, shook her head wickedly and, screaming deafeningly, charged. She pulled up not six yards from us. "What brought that on?" I asked "She was peaceful enough before."
'Maybe she was sick of the sight of safari cars," Bere answered. "Or maybe she ate something that disagreed with her. Maybe it was mosquitoes, they drive elephants crazy sometimes. With elephants, you never can be sure. They're unpredictable - like people." ' (Marvels and Mysteries of our Animal World)

..........I liked that story and I think that we humans often fail to realise just that... we assume to presume and neglect to understand the way of wildlife....I think Marlene's oil, Elephants,
projects the majestic unpredictability and strength of character, the maternal instinct of an Elephant cow when with her calf...purple is symbolic of royalty - an apt colour used with intent!!