Transformed, As If By a Spell

 

Morning magic at Ravenseyrie

The mutable character of each day always has an effect on all that is.

The character of dawn lends something different to one's psyche than the personality of midday, or midnight.  The capricious mien of a dawn in spring is different than that of wintertime and a cloudy dawn provokes a different sensation than does one emerging from a clear sky.

Balsam Poplar Buds on a Winter's Morning

These primordial dispositions seem exceptionally variable and I am unceasingly informed by and responsive to their permeable moods.

Ousado

 

Not a one of us has not been affected by the dynamic qualities of the elemental world...no matter how deeply preoccupied with the hectic happenings humans hurry after in both urban and rural environments.

A view of our home, beyond the open grassland

Some of us live more insulated lives than others - whether by preference or circumstance, but wherever a warming shaft of sunlight reaches through a window or a rain-scented wind pierces a drafty door, the potential for our mood to be "transformed, as if by a spell" (a phrase I borrow from David Abram's book, Becoming Animal) is inherent.

Deep fissures of an aged Poplar tree

Winter holidays offer up delightful opportunities for long, luxurious strolls on (within!) the Ravenseyrie landscape with no time pressures or obligations that might have me cutting short an otherwise magical meander.  It is at these times, especially, when the temperament of the season and time of day modify and enhance my own mood.

Would you like to join in?  Photos and words cannot convey the full experience, yet they can serve as a pause, a hush, and induce a welling up of the sensory experience so essential to our well being. Come along, come along, let the alchemy of the rarified, transformative constituents of this island wilderness work their magic on you..

Ready to do some winter foraging,
come along, come along.

Say hello to Jerry

The Zen Elm, a sentinel in the open grassland and sky

Ice art by hoof

View from the Top of the World at Ravenseyrie

Floating Ice art at the edge of the shore

Foraging at the edge of the bluff

Time for a break and a nip

A fitting flask for foraging on the
Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve

Ousado with Silvestre and Interessado

Legado

My Ravenseyrie woodsman 

Bringing dead timbers back to the dwelling place,
firewood to keep us warm

Silvestre, Interessado and Ousado
There's a story about these guys...for another time...

Spruce

Red Osier Dogwood

Pine

 For this author, 2018 was a year of difficulties, but also growth and a greater understanding that is sure to serve me well in 2019.  I am thankful and transformed.

Thank you for coming along.  All the best in the New Year for you and yours!

Home Sweet Home

Mushing to a Song

In the dim dawn

In the dim dawn,

Mushing to a song in my mind from bygone times -

 -Loving that flute!

And the limbs of Poplar at the edge of the forest

And the grullo forms of Altamiro and Fidalgo

On this beautifully bleak Winter's day at Ravenseyrie.

"Didn't it feel good?"

Yes, it did!

     ---L. Gerard

The grullo forms of Altamiro and Fidalgo

Limbs of Poplar

At the edge of the forest

On a beautifully bleak Winter's day

At Ravenseyrie

Special thanks to Joni Mitchell for her song Help Me

Confluence / Painting, Poetry & Calligraphy

There is one month left for viewing my exhibition at the Gore Bay Museum.  For those who are not able to make it to the island, this blog entry will provide a virtual tour.  First my YouTube preview, then photos of each painting and its accompanying verse.  I hope you enjoy the show!

 

Many thanks to Nicole Weppler of the Gore Bay Museum and the Ontario Arts Council's Exhibition Grant program for making the Confluence/Painting, Poetry & Calligraphy exhibit possible.

TOP OF THE WORLD AT RAVENSEYRIE
"Sometimes fly with the wind, sometimes against it."  -L. Gerard
42" x 56" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Chinese watercolour and sumi ink on Italian paper
$2,000

Top of the World at Ravenseyrie

THE SEASONED SKIPPER
"To age well we must continue to dream, for it is reaching for dreams that keeps us young at heart."  --L. Gerard
approx.  18 x 26  framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Chinese watercolour and sumi ink on Italian paper
$1,000 SOLD

The Seasoned Skipper

BLANDING'S  TURTLE

"Take a break, make a pause, let the rest of the world go by."  --L. Gerard

30 1/4" x 37 1/4" framed

Original Mixed Media Painting

Original Verse and Calligraphy

Chinese watercolour and sumi ink on Italian paper

$1,500  SOLD

Blanding's Turtle 

GREAT BLUE HERON
"Every path is meant to take you where you need to be."  --L. Gerard
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink and Chinese watercolour on Italian paper
$1,500 SOLD

Great Blue Heron

I RAVEN
From the place far beyond temporal reality,
From the place with no beginning
And no end,
From there, I Raven, have come.
--L. Gerard
38" x 52" framed, the full poem is on the back
I oversee the affairs of the earth,
I dance on the wind
With the sun and the moon.
I sing the poems of the mountains.
I play the rhythms of the seas.

I intercede on behalf of humans
Whose prideful preoccupation with their own creations
Provokes destruction.

For them, I Raven, make powerful medicine.
I show humans the Way--
The Way that is not back,
And the Way that is not forward,
The Way that is beyond temporal reality,
For Humans come
From where I come--
We are one.

Original Sumi-e
Yasutomo Silver Black Traditional Chinese ink on Steel Blue Construction paper
$1,875  SOLD

I RAVEN

LA LOUCHE de l'ABSINTHE
"Life is a creative urge, live yours beautifully."  --L. Gerard
38" x 52" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink and Chinese watercolour on Antique Grey Classic Crest paper
$1,875

La Louche de l'Absinthe

LEGADO
"Sometimes insulate yourself from the elements, sometimes dance in the rain."  --L. Gerard
38" x 52" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink and Chinese watercolour on Steel Blue Construction paper
$1,875 SOLD

Legado

THE BIG WIDE OPEN AT RAVENSEYRIE
"Let real life seduce you, embrace the sensuous touch of wind and sky."  --L. Gerard
38" x 52" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink with touches of Chinese white on Italian paper
$1,875

The Big Wide Open at Ravenseyrie

THE BLACK PEARL
"Once upon a blue wind, your wondrous, peculiar soul touched mine."  --L. Gerard
42" x 56" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Chinese watercolour and sumi ink on Italian paper
$2,000 SOLD

The Black Pearl

TWINRAVENS / A 60's SCOOP SURVIVOR
Often the paths we travel are not by choice,
For Destiny has her say,
But with mindful awareness,
We CAN choose the manner in which
We follow them.
Find a way that is right for you,
And then boldly carry on.
--L. Gerard
38" x 48" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Chinese watercolour and sumi ink on Antique Grey Classic Crest paper
$1,500 SOLD

Twinravens / a 60's Scoop Survivor

THE SICILIAN / SIGNORA MISTRETTA
"A flower in bloom is a sign of goodness prevailing."
--L. Gerard
32" x 40" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse & Calligraphy
Sumi ink and Chinese watercolour on Italian paper
$1,650

The Sicilian / Signora Mistretta

SCOTLAND ROAD / ALMOST HOME
Fear finds no place to linger
When your heart is devoted 
To love and beauty.
Look for a road that inspires you,
Then boldly follow it.
--L. Gerard
23 3/4" x 36" framed
Original Sumi-e
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink on Italian paper
$850 SOLD

Scotland Road / Almost Home

NORTHERN EXPOSURE
"Sometimes turn off the modern world, let the wind bring the evening news."  --L. Gerard
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
30" x 30" framed
$1,575  SOLD

Northern Exposure

WHITEFISH
"Make a bend in time, leave manic routine behind."  --L. Gerard
24" x 24" framed
Original Mixed Media Painting
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Yasutomo Golden Black traditional Chinese ink and Chinese watercolours on Italian paper
$890 SOLD

Whitefish

KILLDEER
"Beauty is better for the soul than perfection."  --L. Gerard
16" x 20" framed
Original Sumi-e
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink and Old Gold iron gall ink on Italian paper in antique frame
$850  SOLD •

Killdeer

OUSADO
"Exhale unfulfilled longings, breathe in new possibilities." --L. Gerard
20" x 24" framed
Original Sumi-e
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink on Italian paper, mounted on Japanese paper
$775 SOLD

Ousado

DESTEMIDO
"Savour the moment, be in the Now."  --L. Gerard
20" x 24" framed
Original Sumi-e
Original Verse and Calligraphy
Sumi ink on Italian paper, mounted on Japanese paper
$775

Destemido