And the weeks go by...

Well, it's been a busy few weeks...thank you to all you beautiful people who came to the "Shapeshifter" exhibition and also those who came and found me at "The End of the Line Festival" up here in Belgrave. And of course a huge giant thank you and hugs to all those who bought artwork! I couldn't get by without you :)

I thought I'd share some photos and images of the events...I'm afraid there's not many and they aren't the best, but ah well, they give you a glimpse. More can be found on my Facebook page here

"Hedge-dweller" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Mother of the Mountain" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Wood Wife" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Lost Children" and "Trickster" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Wood Witch" (centre) from 'Shapeshifter'

"Crow Mother", "Daughter of Dana" and "First Shaman"

The shapeshifters :P

And at the "End of the Line"...

My stall at the end of the line...bit of a weird set up as the wind and sun were playing havoc with us all day!

Just a small section of the market, there was lots more round the corner...and music and art exhibitions happening up and down the main street

View down to the little market stage, we had beautiful live music all day

"Shapeshifter"

An exhibition of work inspired by mythology and story... I'm very excited to be part of this exhibition, it's going to be beautiful!

Showcasing the amazing talents of illustrators - Cameron Brideoake, Creature creature, Luka Va, Luke Whitten and Me!

here's some sneak peeks..... :)

One of my pieces...

Creature creature

Cameron Brideoake

Luka Va

Luke Whitten

After the rain...

" The wind is up, I set my sail of songs,

Steersman, sit at the helm.

For my boat is fretting to be free, to 

dance in the rhythm of the wind

and water.

The day is spent, it is evening.

My friends of the shore have taken 

leave.

Loose the chain and heave the anchor, 

we sail by the starlight.

The wind is stirred into the murmur

of music at this time of my

departure.

Steersman, sit at the helm"

       

                      - R. Tagore

The Avalon Harp

So, another harp commission...this time I thought I'd give a little glimpse at my processes... :)

first roughs...just getting a general idea of what it is i want to do...

Final roughs (originally the design was for a slightly different shaped harp so I had to change things around a bit after this)

Usually I would do a colour rough but I didn't have much time so I had to jump right in! As you can see, the colours changed a bit as I went along...

finished image!

obviously the harp itself isn't completed yet, hopefully I can get some pics of the finished harp :)

Shop Update

Well, the shop is open again, with only a few offerings for now but more to come....

I'll get there eventually! :-P

"Forest Walker" 2012

The Crane Harp

So this time around a harp commissioned for a lovely lady who helps people on their own journeys in life and often on their final journey....

Excerpt from the Harps Australia website:

"This harp’s artwork was inspired by the work of Tina Tourin, founder of the International Harp Therapy Program (IHTP). Celtic lore associates crane knowledge as arcane wisdom and teachings.  In both Eastern and Western traditions, the crane is seen as a bird that carries the soul to safety and rest, in China to “ the Western heaven” .

In Celtic tradition, the soul was carried to the sacred “Isles in the West”. In European prehistory, Crane dances enacted by shamans symbolized the journey of the soul through death, incarnation and rebirth. Today, this ancient lore is enacted in the IHTP training of modern harpers to utilize music to create “a cradle of sound” to accompany and comfort individuals in life-death or crisis transitions. Nadia chose the cherry blossoms and delicate Asian style artwork as a fitting reference to the IHTP’s important work in Japan and Asia."

I hope she likes it.... :)

And after it was all strung up....

(with thanks to harps australia for these photos)

And just because I love it and because it is rather fitting with it's "last sleep" and harp theme...

The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon 1881–1898 - Edward Burne-Jones

From the Forest

 A commission finished today....

"From the Forest"

Acrylic on wood panel

20cm x 25cm

On my desk...

The view from my desk early this morning...the hills were covered in fog!

 Another little sneak peek at what I've been working on lately...I find that I have a million things on the go but not a lot completed at the moment...oh dear! But these ones will definitely be finished this week, a commission for the lovely Lola and some new brooches for in.cube8r gallery, yay!

A Tale of a Painted Harp

Muse Playing the Harp -by Antoine Auguste Ernest Herbert found here

Ah harps...what is it about them that sparks the romantic imagination and gets the inspiration flowing?
When  I was younger, I thought them the most magical of instruments and I desperately wanted to play one. I was going through a phase where I was rather obsessed by anything Celtic...well, maybe that hasn't changed really, ha!...and I loved the idea of the roaming storytelling harper, someone who with their music could touch the otherworlds...Anyway, luckily I got my wish. One day my parents surprised me with a visit from a harpmaker named Geoff Welham,  who had brought along with him two beautiful harps for me to choose from.
Here's me with them- the one I chose is the one I'm holding, my little darling who I'll always treasure... I think it might actually the first one he ever made as well, which to me is a nice thought...

Unfortunely I havent played very much in the past few years, art kind of took over and I'm now out of the habit. But it's something that I miss very much, so I know I'll start again, and teach my poor confused fingers how to play again! After all, I can't really keep using a name like 'wayward harper' if I don't actually play the harp now can I? hehe!


So, it's this project below that has lead to my recent re-awakening in my interest in harping -
This is "The Journeywoman Harp". A recent colaboration between myself and Harps Australia.
And hopefully the start of something new as I'd love to continue with commissions of this sort.

In the shop window at Limerence Boutique

design on the back of the sound box

What I find incrediably fascinating is that the harp exists in many different forms in many cultures across the world. And being one of the oldest types of instrument it's not surprising that it's perceived as such a mythical and magical instrument.

Trinity College Harp

The earliest surviving harps from Scotland and Ireland date to about the 15th century, like the famous Trinity College harp above and the Queen Mary Harp of Edinburgh, Scotland, shown below.

Queen Mary Harp

The Witcher Trinity Harp

I adore the colours of this harp!

The Witcher Trinity Harp
The harp itself plus its carving, silver and jewel ornamentation by Jay Witcher, 2000
Pyroengraving and color by Charlotte Hallett, 2000

Pyroengraving and color on carved maple wood harp
with silver and jewel incrusted ornamentation

A reproduction of the decorated Trinity harp,
also known as the Brian Boru harp, which is on display in the library
at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland
in the same room as the Book of Kells  

This information from an article about pyrography found here



A burmese harp - I have a tiny model of one of these!

"A Burmese Harper" - amazing photo re-blogged from here

Russian Hand Painted Lacquer Lap Harp/ Zither found here

Egyptian tomb painting

Egyptian harp - New Kingdom, late Dynasty 18, ca. 1390–1295 B.C.

I adore this Elfin harp! from Caswell Harps

Beautiful medieval harp from Alfaric Harps

Wow! image re-blogged from here
Harp (cláirseach) 1734, John Kelly, Irish, active 1726–1736

I adore this image, not sure where it's from but it's been floating around on my computer for years :)