Tuesday 23 February 2010

Fragments of Time

On my walk along the Bridle way I found this large piece of china. It was half buried in the rich dark brown soil and I loved all the crackled patterns formed over time.
Over the Winter months the weather has almost seen an end to the Autumns leaves. I picked up this delicate pale oak leaf, now full of holes. The sycamore seeds are so thin as the wings reveal their skeleton lacy patterns. And what remains of the rose hip berry is wrinkled and turning black. The little acorn branches and cups are also thin and fragile and easily collapse.
I put them together as a record of my day. The little blue and white triangle of china and the interesting shapes of my natural finds placed on a page in my square book.
As I started to draw them interesting little connections appear. Nature formed a pattern on the china, patterns I had seen before, on the wings of a dragonfly. The more I looked at the crackled lines the more it reminded me of those wings that I have drawn before. The colours faded over time, different objects all with the same pale yellow ochre and brown shades.
It occurred to me that all these objects have done their job, served their purpose and then slowly they become nothing more than small fragments of dust and return to the earth.
I captured them, a record of their existence.
Painted in acrylic paint, press as usual for close up.

12 comments:

Michelle Palmer said...

So beautiful! I love how you compare the lines in the china to those found in the dragonfly wings. That is one of my favorite joys of being an artist... when I'm so deep into my work~ and small details like that pop in my mind.
You're work is always so very inspiring!
Best wishes~
Michelle

Acornmoon said...

I have just returned from London and saw Leonardo's notebooks and thought of you!

The drawing below looked like a beautiful ball gown when I first saw it! Do you remember the book "Butterfly Ball"? It was very popular when I was a student, bearing in mind that I am now a granny!

Pondside said...

What is it about elegant decay? The leaves, the berries, an antebellum mansion in the deep south - all beautiful as they fade.
Wrinkles and history are so much more interesting than smooth and empty of experience!

Susan Scheid (Raining Acorns) said...

Just lovely, and so beautifully arrayed on the page. The pottery reminds me of kookaburra's #250, her "ancient road map." Here, you give us a map of the season as it comes to a close (though where I am, it's snowing; the change in seasons is yet a while off).

Ann said...

Your drawings are amazing! I love reading about your walks and discoveries of treasure and then your process for drawing them.

The butterfly below is gorgeous too!

Frances said...

Milly, you have done it again with this display from your book. What you see in nature's beauty and organization and style, and use to create your art, leads viewers to find those connections themselves.

We might not have seen these without your trained, sensitive eye.

Thank you.

The china triangle could also be a heart found by someone who appreciates what her eyes discover.

xo

Carolina said...

I almost shed a tear when I finished to read your post... omg, that was touching. (Sorry, that's me being myself)
Lovely drawing as usual, Milly, with those little differences caused by the different time of the year you collected them. It would be nice to see your paintings, as a collection on a wall, showing the evolution of the time of the year on them. I'd love to see that...
Lots of hugs,
Carolina

Tammie Lee said...

I love seeing bits of old china. Your art is a wonderful record of time passing and lovely to look at.

Lucille said...

I think it is lovely that you value things even on the point of complete disintegration and immortalise them with your pen and paints.

bubblemunch said...

I just love, love, LOVE your blog and your work.
You share your thoughts so eloquently and I'm astounding how you handle acrylics so delicately.
It's a joy to see nature through your eyes :-)

Pomona said...

I love the connections you make between the objects, and the way you write about them, too.

Pomona x

Dean Grey said...

Milly!

This is brillaint!

The leaves are brittle and worn yet colorful and detailed!

Great job on these!

-Dean