A few more images of summer are still waiting to be shared with you on my blog. I've been so busy I've hardly had time to process the images I've managed to create the past few months, so I've just filed them and stored them in my computer. But then I pulled out another storage card from my camera bag and found other summer sculptures that had not yet even been reviewed! This image was from that group.What fun to find more of summer's delights as we now sit on the threshold of autumn.
One observer of my work said recently, "Oh you must be so peaceful because your work is so peaceful" ... I had to ponder that for a moment because inside my own head things don't always seem very peaceful. Then I realized this... that the act of making the art is generally a quiet, peaceful process, unless I am being challenged by the elements, then there is the friction of the challenges: the light is fading, the wind is rising, the air is getting cold, or whatever is happening in the environment that I have to cope with to get my creation to an acceptable stage of completion. But all of these factors are things that generally can be worked WITH.... if one is observant, flexible and patient. These "focusing factors" as I like to call them, are aspects of my world that I am comfortable negotiating and can manage relatively calmly.
It is the other half of this endeavor... the attempt to make a living with all this creativity that I find to be really challenging and not very peace-inducing. The world of commerce and the rules and demands of this environment are foreign and alien to me, and highly frustrating and intimidating sometimes, so I often avoid them, which doesn't help. Perhaps it all boils down to one's comfort level. I have a relative who is very, very comfortable in the world of commerce with its facts, figures and sales. He however, is not so happy out in the woods... yet that is where I feel most at home. Stretching into the areas where we are not most comfortable is where the prickly edges arise, it seems to me. This is good to reflect upon as I get ready to simultaneously venture into my most intensely creative season (high autumn) and also prepare for the most intensely commercial time of the year (the approaching holiday season) with all of its demands. Trying to hold the "both-and" approach rather than the "either-or" may help encourage a more peaceful and yet productive period. We shall see!
Meanwhile, the treats of summer are still lingering in hidden places!
It's hard to believe, but some time very shortly, visitor # 30,000 will cross this threshold. Astonishing.
Till then, a quiet moment of reflection with Floating Stone # 5. This stone is unusual because it presented two entirely different photographic experiences without moving one teenise bit. This image came first, just as the sun had vanished behind the nearby ridge but was still brightly illuminating the clouds above. I reduced the amount of daylight so it appears to be deeper twilight than it actually was, but the pattern of the clouds deserved to be highlighted.Then later, I noticed a bush along the banks had a few leaves turning from bright green to deep pink, so I gathered them and very gently positioned them around the stone. Using a pair of tiny twigs as chopsticks, I tried to get the leaves into position. Because of the water tension, the leaves actually were pulled towards the stone and held in place by the surface of the water, but they had trouble accepting any more than just a few leaves at once. Water is such amazing stuff!
Then, after the sun had set and the flat blue light of early dusk began to settle, a second image was captured. Same exact location. The stone did not move, only the camera did.
Voila`!! I just love working with these floating stones.
What I've also been working on this past week is a pair of new calendars. The fans who love my Faerie houses have been well served with the creations by Pomegranate but several of you have asked if there will be any Eartherial calendars for this year's holiday giving and I'm very pleased to say that I'm working on bringing at least two more calendars online very shortly. One is of "Portals" and the other features all spirals. I'm awaiting the proof print for the Portals version and I must say, it is one of my best so far. Absolutely stunning. I can't wait to share both of them with you! So stay tuned and who knows, maybe when visitor # 30,000 arrives the calendars will be ready for your review!
I want to send a special posting out to promote my friend Jennifer's new calendar. I've just received my copy and it is very beautiful!!
If you want to go see it, just click on the title of this post and it should take you right to the page. If that doesn't work, here is the URL:
http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/mandalas-for-every-season/12478246
And if you are thinking this would make a great gift, you are right! The images are stunning and each month's image looks amazing. Also, for anyone who wishes to keep track of the lunar phases, Jennifer has made that very easy.... a hard-to-find feature that many will appreciate.
Also, Lulu is having a very special sale right now till the end of the month. You can get 20% off all your Lulu purchases by entering the coupon code: FALLPHOTO when you check out. A great chance to stock up on this beautiful and distinctive calendar!
Enjoy!!
Autumn is coming to the Adirondacks. We cannot be in denial any longer... summer is over.
Time to treasure the last few forays into the deep forest before all becomes drenched in the golden light of Birch, Beech and Maple leaves on fire with their last hurrah.
Last week, when the air was still and hot and steamy, (for just 2 days) I took a trip up my new favourite bit of mossy magic and found a lovely pool just waiting for a wee house. Arched bridges bring the eye rock-hopping from the far side of the pool, across mysterious depths to this Japanese style open pavilion. The pavilion sits on stilts in the icy waters and has large openings in the walls to give grand views of the tumbling brook upstream.
I love how the rock that forms the island appears to be floating in the long-exposure image. I think I shall try to play with this concept in a few other creations before the water becomes unbearable to work in anymore. But already it numbs the feet and hands.
Good thing making the art warms the soul!
At the end of the day yesterday (I was shooting a new Faerie House which I will share with you very soon) I ran out of enough daylight to make and shoot a second sculpture. The days really are getting shorter now, especially when you are in the mountain valleys with high peaks all around. So I wandered upstream.
In my backpack I carry a stone. Yeah, I know... backpacks are heavy enough as it is, or at least mine is all loaded up with camera gear. But I have been carrying around this particular stone for most of this summer. I knew it was going to be part of the "Floating Stone" series I just didn't know when or where. The stone is one I collected on the South Island of New Zealand and it is very smooth and heavy. It is possibly a pale turquoise version of the famous green jade used in the Maori carvings. It doesn't really matter. It's just a very beautiful stone polished by years and years of turbulent living in it's own world. When I found this pool, even though the sun was long gone from reaching into the deep ravine, I knew this was the spot to "float" the New Zealand egg stone. The lack of direct light actually helped it to come out even better than I had hoped.
This very damp, dark and magical glen is full of such pools and mossy places and the Faerie energy is very strong here, but very wild too. I found several places where other little Faerie houses had been made by someone. Sweet little offering that already were being reclaimed by the earth. I hope to get back up here a few more times before the snows fly and do some more creations and installations.
Next up will either be the very elaborate Dogwood and Pine Faerie house or the Fern Pavilion in the stream... I have to process both images and I don't know which one to share next!
Hi Everyone,
Sorry to switch the mood from my previous post, but I just got off the phone with Pomegranate and they have informed me that the 2011 Calendar has
SOLD OUT !
Now, this does not mean you cannot still get yours, the stores will most likely have them in stock. However, local stores will be unable to restock this item because the publisher has no more! While this is good news for some, I want my fans especially to be alerted so they can make sure to get theirs in time.
If you want to order directly from the publisher (probably the safest bet) you can use the link on my website or the one here on the links section in the upper right corner of the page. Either of those will take you directly to Pomegranates webpage where you can place your secure order.They assured me at Pomegranate that they have several cases still on hand to supply web orders, but last year, even those sold out just prior to the holidays, so this is your heads-up warning! :-)
I'm going to send an alert newsletter out to tell my subscribers since not all of them visit my blog. I just don't want anyone to be disappointed that they were unable to get the calendar. I apologize to my followers for the double coverage of this news.
We are all now poised.
Together on an edge.
Awaiting... something.
Some are waiting for the New Moon to arrive.
Some are waiting for the New Year to arrive.
Some are waiting to see if they can move back into their homes.
Some are waiting to hear if they even have homes to go back to.
All is hushed as we all wait, feeling all alone, yet...
together we wait.
Today I felt overwhelmed with the waves of grief and sadness that seem to be hitting so many of my dear friends in very far corners of the world. Friends in New Zealand and Colorado. What can I possibly do from here for them? Not much, it felt like.
But perhaps, I can try to take these feelings and bring them to the Earth, as an offering of sorts... it is all I can do. So this stone was chosen. This pool I had found a few weeks back. I had planned to return on a brilliant blue day to catch the sky and clouds in the pool... but this offering needed to hold the sense of stillness and waiting. Yet also it makes a respectful bow, to that strength that comes from deep within and a prayer of gratitude to the Grace which which holds us up through such loss.. a seemingly impossible gift which always comes when most needed.
Prayers go out to all people everywhere who are dealing with loss these days and who are awaiting a fresh, new beginning. Perhaps tomorrow can be that fresh start we all are leaning into.
Blessings of Love and Light to All
Time to see what is on the other side of the door to the secret Faerie Garden !!
As I peered over the wall now I could see all the amazing colours and secret delights that were just on the other side of the door! The door was still open a crack and the golden light from outside poured through the diamond shaped window into the garden.
A delicate spiral stone path led down from the door and up to a gorgeous tuffet of pale green moss. The flowers were a riot of colour and texture! I could see three tiny Faerie sized seating areas arranged in a circle around the moss. The seats were Milkweed pods with tiny cushions of yellow flowers places inside each one. And there was even a Milkweed pod sleeping nook high above the garden. It's hard to see from this angle, so here is a better view.
Now you can see all of the seats and the hanging sleeping nook. It was easy to imagine a group of faeries getting together for a cup of tea in their secret garden after putting their tiny Faerie babies up in the pod for a nap. :-)*** ~ *** ~ ***So much is happening now. Summer is coming to a close. The cricket song is almost too loud in the warm evening air. The past few days we've had unusually hot and steamy weather. I've been able to be working in the cool forests and have some more delights to share with you soon. Thanks to a helpful hint from a friend, I've found a new glen full of enchanting pools and tiny waterfalls. So much fun to work around and with but the sun is incredibly fleeting now. While working up in the mountains is delightful, the window of good, useable light for getting good photos is getting smaller and shorter now. I've even seen some red and orange leaves. Autumn will be here before we know it. So the push is on now to get out there and create as much as I can while it is still warm and somewhat green. All this creative work will hopefully be worth the wait! Stay tuned!!
Welcome to the enchanted world of Environmental art and Faerie Houses sculptures created by Sally J Smith. Here you will find photos of the artist's unique art-forms and hear some of the stories from behind the scenes as she shares with you her creative process.
A few more images of summer are still waiting to be shared with you on my blog. I've been so busy I've hardly had time to process the images I've managed to create the past few months, so I've just filed them and stored them in my computer. But then I pulled out another storage card from my camera bag and found other summer sculptures that had not yet even been reviewed! This image was from that group.What fun to find more of summer's delights as we now sit on the threshold of autumn.
