Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Renewing the Creative Fire

WoolFelt Lampshade byNahoko Koyama and Alexander Garnett of Mixko.

Once, when it was deepest, darkest night, the kind of night when the land is black and the trees look like gnarled hand and the sky is dark midnight-blue, an old man staggered through the forest, half-blinded by the limbs of trees. The boughs scratched his face, and he held out a tiny lantern in one hand. The candle inside the lantern was burning lower and lower. The man had long yellow hair, cracked yellow teeth, and curved yellow fingernails. He was hunched over and his back was rounded like a bag of flour. He was so furrowed his skin hung in furbelows from his chin and armpits and from his hips. He held on to a tree and pulled himself forward, and then grasped another tree and pulled himself forward, and with this rowing motion and his hard breathing he made his way through the forest. Every bone in his feet painted like fire. The owls in the trees screeched right along with his joints as he propelled himself forward in the dark. Way off in the distance, there was a tiny flickering light, a cottage, a fire, a home, a place of rest, and he laboured toward that little light. Just as he reached the door, he was so tired, so exhausted, the tiny light in his little lantern died, and the old man fell through the door and collapsed. Inside was an old woman sitting before a beautiful roaring fire, and now she hurried to his side, gathered him into her arms, and carried him to the fire. She held him in her arms as a mother holds her child. She sat and rocked him in her rocking chair. There they were, the poor frail old man, just a sack of bones, and the strong old woman rocking him back and forth saying, “There, there. There, there. There, there.” And she rocked him all through the night, and by the time it was not yet morning but almost, he had grown much younger, he was now a beautiful young man with golden hair and long strong limbs. And she rocked him. “There, there, There, there. There, there.” And as morning approached even more closely, the young man had turned into a very small and very beautiful child with golden hair plaited like wheat. Just at the moment of dawn, the old woman plucked three hairs very quickly from the child’s beautiful head and threw them to the tiles. They sound like this: Tiiiiiiig! Tiiiiiiig! Tiiiiiiig! And the little child in her arms crawled down from her lap and ran to the door. Looking back at the old woman for a moment, he gave her a dazzling smile, then turned and flew up into the sky to become the brilliant morning sun.*


Post It Notes Lamp by Aaron Rutledge
Estes says that focus is composed of sensing, hearing, and following the directions of the soul voice.

Plastic Bottle Lamp by Reta & Vana Howell


And that to lose focus is to lose energy.


Crocheted Doiley Lamp by Ceylan Sahin

But there is no need to panic when we lose our momentum or focus…..we must calmly hold the idea and be with it a while. The absolutely wrong thing to do when we’ve lost focus is to rush about struggling to pack it all back together again.

Microfilm Lamp by 2nddraft


Rushing is not the thing to do….sitting and rocking is the thing to do.

Polymer Clay Candle Holders by Amanda Hunt at Polyclarific


Patience, peace, and rocking renew ideas.

Wood Sconce by Roy Gumpel from Woodstock Lamps


So…just sit down and be still. Take the idea and rock it to and fro.

Photograph and Ceramic Lamp by Donna Brady of Resurface

Keep some of it and throw some away, and it will renew itself.


Jeeves by Jake Phipps at Hidden Art Shop


You need do no more. Toaster Lamp from Metalight

*Rumanian folk tale The Three Gold Hairs as recounted in Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

26 comments:

Amanda Hunt said...

Thanks for featuring my work.

Jill said...

Lovely post, I adore that first lamp how beautiful!

Lou said...

Wow. You find such amazing things!

I have nominated you for a blog award. Come and have a look. Lou.

Chrisy said...

...thanks so much lou...i really appreciate it...

Hot Fudge said...

Your story had me racing to the end to find out what happened. The wonderful lamps you have chosen are stunning - I don't know where you find them all.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the comment. I'm in LOVE with the Graffiti lamps. I think I've seen this artist work before

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! I love how these are functional as well as aesthetic objects.

Unknown said...

This is AMAZING! I am in awe of your blogging and hunting skills - superb work Chrisy!

Unknown said...

By hunting -- of course I mean hunting for incredible treasures! ;)

michvanetta said...

Such a lovely post Chrisy.
I love the quote "Patience, peace and rocking renew ideas" - that it does.

Those gorgeous lamps have relaxed me too, off to bed for me xx

365 Letters said...

What a wonderful story and beautiful photos and lamps! Thank you for putting this together and sharing it with us!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful story! It's a great reminder for us all. Love the lamps too :)

Sayraphim said...

I love your blog, you find such beautiful things to showcase and I love the thought put into the text.

Well done!

Hey Harriet said...

I'm sure I've told you before how much I love your blog. And I'm falling in love with it more & more with each visit! There's a serious blog crush going on here ;)

Sensational post!

Chrisy said...

Aw shucks...so pleased that you're enjoying reading...i enjoy doing it...probably putting in too much time to the detriment of art work...but hey...i figure it's creative. And natalia..what else would i have been hunting...she says...as she drags another unsuspecting carcus through the door...

*~tabby~* crooked heart art said...

hi christy
thank you for stopping by my blog
i find yours so very interesting
i have a friend in austraila and i would not like your summers at all-too hot!!
got to have my snow
many thanks
tabby :)

Karen Cole said...

Fabulous blog you've got here Chrisy. So many wonderful new and beautiful things to discover. Thanks for visiting me so I could be a part of it.

littlepage said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Chrisy! I really appreciate your comment. This is a beautiful juxtaposition, the story, the lamps, I'm impressed. I'll be sure to visit again.

The Sea Wind said...

Chrisy,

I'm humble after reading this entry. There is something philosophical hidden behind simple wording, in-depth thoughts floating on the surface of a folklore, monotonous packed neatly inside vibrant colors and yet serenity within noises. This is fascinating.

Anonymous said...

Tag, Chrisy, you're it :)

belinda marshall said...

hi chrisy, great blog! i really like the post-it note lamp and the way you put all this together. thanks for your comment on my work/blog :)

ArtPropelled said...

This has to be the best post I've read this year. I loved every moment of it. You commented about putting in too much time at the detriment of your art. I've been thinking along those lines too...but blogging is such fun and we need a little fun to feed our creativity.

Jetta's Nest said...

That is the single most wonderful post I think I've ever read! I started reading it, racing along like normal and then I thought, 'hang on, just slow down and really read this' and so I did and I'm so glad that I did :) I'm going to bookmark it so I can read it whenever I feel like lifes racing along.

CEYLAN SAHIN said...

oh thank you for choosing my lamp to accompany your story :)
was having a not-so-good-day until i saw your post :)

Michelle said...

I see what you mean.

A lovely tale Chrisy.

:0)

lizet frijters said...

Your photos are amazing. What a creative ideas for the lamps.