contemporary collage paintings
the process
Leslie Avon Miller

My life flows when I'm in my art.


Jean De Muzio

Saturday, November 3, 2012

echo and interruption

bundle by Leslie Avon Miller







The World is not something to
look at, it is something to be in.

                                                      ~ Mark Rudman


bundle and leaf







I look and look.
Looking's a way of being: one becomes,
sometimes, a pair of eyes walking.
Walking wherever looking takes one.


 








The eyes
dig and burrow into the world.
They touch
fanfare, howl, madrigal, clamor.









World and the past of it,
not only
visible present, solid and shadow
that looks at one looking.










And language? Rhythms
of echo and interruption?
That's
a way of breathing.


cracked, a self portrait series by Leslie Avon Miller





Breathing to sustain
looking,
walking and looking,
through the world,
in it.

~ Denise Levertov ~


cracked, a self portrait series by Leslie Avon Miller






It’s been 5 months since I have painted. 
I could let that break my heart. 

I could. 

Instead, I see this as another 
beautiful crack and restoration in my life. 

A new chapter.


Leslie's studio on a Saturday morning.







After a time of letting go, I am looking around me again.

 I feel the flutters of excitement and anticipation. 



Part of my beloved stash of natural materials.







Natural materials and fibers have always captured my heart. 

I was born a gatherer. 


Boxes and boxes







This is not a step back to what was; basketry. 

This is a step into the new and unknown.


dried orchids, pine needles, sea shells, leaves and nuts, weathered clothes pins...






pottery beads, dried tea bags, found drift wood and more hosta leaves

I am weaving the past into the future and the now. 

Artist books, bundles, assemblage perhaps.

Paper and natural dyes. 

fiber bundle, found shell fragment, coffee stained paper and waxed linen on maple leaf



I can’t see around the corner, 

but my eyes are as wide

 as those of a young child 

on Christmas morning.



32 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. This morning, peeling a roasted eggplant, I thought, "I wonder if I can dry eggplant peel?" So bits of peel are near the fire, another experiment. The top of the eggplant is a real keeper.

    And I must say, the lovely palette of natural materials is something I was never able to attain with paint.

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  3. You have such an eye for beauty, beauty and simplicity. I am tantalized and nourished by your photos, your collections, you bundles.

    I look forward to peeking around the corner with you.

    wishing you the warmth of fall fires in this season of renewal and turning inward.

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    1. Thank you Carole. This is the perfect season for exploration in the studio.

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  4. What a nice new header for your blog. It looks you've found a new beautiful chapter!

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    1. Hi Eric. Thank you. I love the new header too! And its my studio full of yummy materials!

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  5. Bundles...I love them and make them every so often. Your photos and bundles-to-be (and that gorgeous header)are a feast for the eyes.
    Hugs from another cracked egg ;)

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    1. From one cracked egg to another - beauty is wound into each bundle. I find them compelling....

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    2. "there is a crack in everything...it's where the light gets in" Leonard Cohen

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  6. Ooooh, I do love branches and dried seeds and pods, and bundles. You just need to see my pinterest board of bundles, wrapped, and tied.
    You are off to a new dawn of awakening... when one door closes another door opens :)

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  7. what a nice blog post... makes me want to start collecting... you really have the flair knack for it. I am going to tweet it and share it on fb. Well done.

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  8. Leslie's back! ... re-energized .... reborn! A new header for an exciting new chapter in your life.... and oh, these beautiful images are causing havoc with my heart. Yes, you could so easily have let the chemical allergies break you but that's not who you are and I admire you so much. I'm loving the excitement and eager anticipation, brimming over in this lovely blog post. The well is full and the day awaits.

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  9. Beautiful header, beautiful post and beautiful bundles Leslie:)

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  10. un renouveau qui me plait! magnifique!

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  11. LAM-lovely crisp images on white - love the cracked eggshell series - fragility of life, fragility of ideas, fragility of our art. Go well. B

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  12. Leslie - these images are so warming and inspiring. I love the inherent possibilities...
    The header is stunning and welcoming and warm and it seems like you have started a new day; a new way; and are just having a delightful time of discovery. Enjoy!

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  13. I love your collection of found materials and the sense of something new on the go. Walking in the woods, I was wondering about oak gall ink and if you might be able to use it or other such natural pigments in your work. There's a link here which you might like to browse -http://diannesmedievalwriting.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/you-want-vinegar-with-your-oak-galls.html

    Ax

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  14. These bundles and textures remind me of what you captured in your paintings! It is still you - - such beauty and so exciting that you've found another way to express. Can't wait to see more. Exciting indeed!

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  15. I love your stash of natural materials, a world of possibilities awaits.

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  16. These are beautiful, Leslie.
    I covet your collection of natural materials!
    It is really inspiring how you've adapted to your new situation in a full-steam-ahead way.
    Can't wait to see more of the creations from this new leg of your journey...

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  17. leslie, there is incredible excitement, a little fear, a little resignation, a little letting go and a lot of trust coming through here. go with it! the piece up top is so quiet and huge, rich. i am excited FOR you!

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  18. I fel as though you are being re-born Leslie. There is so much hope and vitality in this post, it is practically shooting through the computer screen. I will wait with eager eyes to see where the path leads you and what treasures you begin to create!

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  19. "Oh The Places You Will Go" seems appropriate here! This is a beautiful collection of natural things to take on your new journey!

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  20. We are always moving on as artists. How exciting to sense all the new possibilities in your work here!

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  21. your gatherings are a garden of delights! joyful weaving!

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  22. oh, my.....a shift more than a change. a breath. walking. gathering and bundling.
    "a beautiful crack" in everything, "that's how the light gets in"...shared anthem, yes?

    thank you

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  23. wonderful, just allow it to happen

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  24. you paint so well still,
    with your gathering eyes
    and looking, looking....each look
    a brushstroke.
    that poem....swoon.
    thank you for this delicious inspire,
    Jennifer

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  25. An exciting journey ahead of you.....a leaf on the water.....

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  26. I am absolutely squealing in delight at your bundle. I'm thinking security/ a gift (to yourself perhaps?) and by the sound of it a 'coming home' Love your 'stash' shots- what fine inspiration in those tones and textures.

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  27. I am excited to have discovered your work. It has been some time I have been away from my blog but I am always finding inspiration through others. I wanted to say thank you for sharing your daily blessings. I enjoy your blog that I just discovered through a link from Robyn and wanted to let you know YOU INSPIRE ME!

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  28. I wanted to let you know that I discovered your blog today through Robyn's blog today. I myself haven't blogged in a while but find inspiration through others sites. Thank you for sharing your daily blessings and wanted to let you know YOU INSPIRE ME!
    Your bundles are mesmerizing
    Thank you for being you
    Dawn Wilson

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