Expressive Figurative Art

Empty-handed I entered the world. Barefoot I leave it. My coming, my going -- Two simple happenings that got entangled.
~ Kozan Ichikyo

And between coming and going? Make art!




Continuing with the blog post series featuring figurative art I present here life drawings by Australian artist Noela Mills. Noela’s blog is called wabisabiart. Her blog features creative experimentation and a whole spectrum of her own art from jewelry to collage and from paintings to textile art.




Noela’s life drawings are oh so exquisite, using sensitive line, powerful shape and a splendid color palette. These drawings were part of the International Collage Exchange this year, but unfortunately I didn’t get one of them! Noela has also used life drawings to construct a most intriguing artist book. Oh, how I would love to hold that book and turn the pages! Noela is an innovative artist, who loves textures, color and shapes, so of course I feel we are kindred spirits. Noela tells us about her long time love affair with textures here.




When I was about eight years old, I went on a school camp. I borrowed my mother's bellows camera and took photos of rocks, bark, patterns in the sand, reflections, and only one or two of people. My love affair with texture had begun. Over the next fifty years, I explored all avenues of life and the visual arts, becoming an art teacher, a traveller, a ski instructor, a mother and eventually a professional artist. My art is now almost entirely consumed by the concept of 'wabi sabi' - the Zen Buddhist philosophy of finding beauty in things old, worn, incomplete, imperfect and common place. I work with rust paint on canvas, barbed wire in jewellery, antique kimono silks in scarves and teabags in almost everything. My personal mantra is HONEST, SIMPLE and NOBLE. I still take photos of rocks, bark and reflections.























I am a devoted fan of artist Robyn Gordon. You probably know her blog, Art Propelled. Robyn curates delicious on line art exhibits of all kinds including collage, paintings, textiles and anything else that strikes her keen artistic eye. Opening a new blog post at Art Propelled is like opening a birthday present in beautiful kuba cloth wrapping tied with native grasses and decorated with seed pods. But Robyn is best known for her own wood carvings. Robyn takes figurative art and totems to a whole new level. I am fortunate enough to have one of Robyn’s small goddess carvings. It has a place of honor on my windowsill alter of inspirational Very Cool and Arty Things.










Robyn’s carvings make statements about her love for her native Africa and art and her deep sense of compassion. Robyn’s reply to the question “What story are you telling with your art?” follows.



I suppose I am telling the story of my life in South Africa. The niche carvings hold objects that are of the land (pebbles, bones, cowries, driftwood etc.), symbols of Africa (beadwork, arrowheads, tiny stone carvings), symbols of my British ancestry (silver teaspoons, Minton china shards). The totems "speak" of the legends that have been passed down from one generation to the next. The patterns, objects, symbols are all of this land. No matter what tribe we belong to we who were born in this country belong here and make South Africa what it is.




















I am so thankful for the art blogging world. From my little town in the Pacific Northwest of the US I can experience the art, the creative explorations, musings and processes of artists from around the world. Thank you Noela and Robyn.

Atelier Robyn Gordon!

Robyn Gordon is a wood carving artist and enthusiastic creative explorer who creates totems and panels and writes the blog Art Propelled. Robyn’s blog is rich and diverse. She features her own carvings reflecting her love of nature and the land of South Africa where she lives. Robyn also blogs about the creative process and her influences. As well, she introduces her readers to art work of other artists she discovers. Robyn’s blog is like a fabulous university course in art appreciation focused on contemporary art in many mediums. Robyn graciously agreed to be interviewed for this post of Textures Shapes and Color.



When and how did you first know you were an artist?

My earliest memory is of my mom teaching me to make a crazy patchwork "quilt" with her dressmaking scraps. I was almost 3 and the woman next door was expecting a baby and this was to be my gift to the new baby. It was the most wondrous feeling handing over this rudimentary piece of patchwork which I had stitched from the scraps on the sewing room floor.




What sustains your artistic practice? What activity renews you and your art practice so you return to your work with renewed enthusiasm?

At the top of my list, being out in nature renews me for everything in life. Spending 3 or 4 days near the ocean or walking in the mountains, exploring forests and streams will replenish me for months on end. Even sitting in my garden listening to the sighing of the stream will energize me. Books, especially art books have always inspired me and renewed my enthusiasm and now the internet is boosting my enthusiasm too.... though I really do have to find the balance. Too much time spent on the internet can drain one of every ounce of energy.




What is it about your medium of wood that calls your name?

I often think of this and can't quite put my finger on it. As a child on the farm I loved the outdoors. I loved to touch and feel nature in my hands. The smoothness of acorns and pebbles, the roughness of bark, the hollowness of a birds nest, the graininess of river sand.....anything tactile under my hands. When I was allowed to use my mom’s carving chisels at a young age I found that I could create many tactile qualities in the wood myself. Magic!




And what is this about your Mom carving? What did she make?

Nothing! Poor Mom hated carving. Tried it once and put the chisels aside ... and there they were winking at me.

Robyn, did you go to art school, or are you self taught?

I'm self taught.... a process of trial and error.




If you could visit and learn at the studio of one artist, past or present, who would it be and why?

Cecil Skotnes, because he was the first sculptor I admired. He is one of the reasons my wood carving turned into a passion.

Is there one art book you would recommend to other artists?

At the risk of repeating myself over and over, I always recommend 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin.






What story are you telling with your art?

I suppose I am telling the story of my life in South Africa. The niche carvings hold objects that are of the land (pebbles, bones, cowries, driftwood etc.), symbols of Africa (beadwork, arrowheads, tiny stone carvings), symbols of my British ancestry (silver teaspoons, Minton china shards). The totems "speak" of the legends that have been passed down from one generation to the next. The patterns, objects, symbols are all of this land. No matter what tribe we belong to we who were born in this country belong here and make South Africa what it is.

How has blogging helped you grow as an artist?

Blogging has been like an epiphany! It feeds my art and my art feeds my blogging. It has opened my world and suddenly I know that hundreds, thousands.... millions of artists go through all the emotions that I do. The anxieties, insecurities, challenges, transitions, blocks, issues, moodlings ...... and the euphoria. It's comforting to know that I'm normal ....relatively speaking.





Thank you Robyn! If you would like to see more of Robyn’s work, images are at her photo stream here on Flicker. And if you enjoy the art work she “curates” for her blog, you might enjoy her Flicker Favorites here.