Monday, September 6, 2010

Whispered Stories of Wombs and Caves


About to walk down the spiral staircase, 
I pause, and notice a knot in the window frame. 
I haven't looked closely before.  
Now I SEE it. 
It reminds me of a drawing done today. 


I begin to look around the house, at the 
wood grain in the floor, at circular, 
spinning lines in a bird's nest on a shelf.
Everything is reduced to line and pattern. 


I see an omphalos in a piece of wood,  
and another in a drawing nearby, 
and understand the elegance of math, 
orbiting electrons and spinning galaxies,  
though I can't explain them, 
except like this, 
in pen and ink and blurring lines. 






I notice the little bits of things picked up 
along paths - ordinary yet miraculous things - 
   whispering stories of wombs and caves and
small creatures hiding in trees. 




I marvel at a tiny spiral relic of shell. 


Again and again I carve a spiral path 
with ink -
as if  spinning around 
the navel 
of a tiny universe.





27 comments:

ArtPropelled said...

Mesmerizing spirals ... like mandalas ... and labyrinthes. Your photos are captivating. Love the way the snake pops up in your photos.

renilde said...

It's so nice to visit and wonder through your world,it's magical.
I can see the beauty and mystery.
And your right they are telling stories.

Emily's Moose - Karolina Kubikowska said...

all of this is wonderfully inspiring. I find myself wondering about galaxies as well.

<3
K

Julia said...

I love the spirals.

Valerianna said...

ArtPropelled- that snake does pop up quite a bit in my photos, doesn't she? She sits on my work table... where I put things to photograph 'cause the light is better, and she obviously is an outgoing kind of rubber snake.

renilde - Do we all hear the same stories? I wonder what stories they are telling you?

Karolina - Its a bit of an obsession as of late.. I'm glad its also inspiring!

Julia - There is just something so compelling to me about spirals. I've carried that little shell fragment around for years, putting it somewhere where I will see it often.

Umā said...

I love these and your latest pieces of art have been making me look at the things I find in the woods with new eyes!

Gail said...

I found you through 'threads of the spiderwoman.' I enjoy visioning the world through your eyes. Gail

(Karen) Lisa Daley said...

Enchanting and comforting - thank you for sharing :>)

Valerianna said...

m- its a lovely thing if artwork can inspire a way of seeing with fresh eyes... cool!

Gail - thanks for visiting, I love Lauren's blog and creations... she's amazing.

Lisa - thanks!

mycuriousteaparty said...

Hi Valerianna

I love the 6th picture from the top... Round but square...Soft but hard...Pale and dark...Tight but at the same time loose... I love it's stucture and soft colours... If I could reach out and take it I would.

It's not often that a piece of work grabs me like this... Oh! I missed one.. Warm and cool..

Have you guessed, I like this piece.

~ Julie

steven said...

valerianna i'm drawn to the little matrices of dots that make up the spaces between the whorls and swirls you contain in your work. steven

Valerianna said...

Julie - I like that one a lot myself. The photo is a detail of the one above it. Lovely list of descriptions.... I hope I can produce more that speak to people, or maybe there might just be one or two that really sing. Its the nature of this work, I think..... so much to chance.

steven- interesting observation. I must go back and look at them!

layers said...

it is amazing how many examples of spirals and circles one can find in nature and you have found some beautiful ones to go with your own spirals.

Acornmoon said...

There are spirals in maths also, not that I am in any way a mathematician but I did hear a lecture about it once. This is how I remember it - spirals in nature are based on a mathematical sequence called the Fibonacci numbers. You can see this in pine cones, unfurling ferns, etc. I love the purity of that, nature as designer.

Jasmine said...

I love these shapes, patterns and forms that occur so often in nature. I agree there is a wonderful sense of movement and transition to them. A finger print or blue print...

illustration poetry said...

Hello Valerianna, thank you very much for the link!
i discovered the shop, they have a lot of pretty things!!!!

i really like the pic of the bird nest, i dont know why but somehow i see an old man staring at me...

xxoo

Valerianna said...

layers - yes, isn't it so, spirals & circles everywhere... right now my students are looking closely at the structures of flowers, lots of good circular and spiral patterns there for me to oogle at!

acornmoon - I talk about that in my drawing nature class, right now we are looking at fibonacci, golden mean, sacred geometry and even crop circles.... its a mesmerizing study for me and I do hope some of my students as well!

Jasmine - I've been very much enjoying what people are seeing in these drawings... hadn't gotten blue print yet, interesting thought!

Sympathy - I always see faces in everything, so, not surprising to me, though I can't find the old man in the nest, I'll keep looking! Glad you liked the shop link.... its fun.

Tammie Lee said...

I still think of your art as treasures found... in the wild. How wonderful!

Valerianna said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Valerianna said...

Tammie Lee - I love that!

stephanie dosen said...

im so glad the spirals are drawing you in
because now you have drawn them out
and now i have been drawn in.
its moving in all directions
and we all travel at our
own speed around.
i love love love it

ramona said...

These are just beautiful! Magical!

grace Forrest~Maestas said...

valerianna, i am with Julie..
the fifth photograph down, the
drawing is exquisite...for me, it
has a sound/vibration.
i look on your side bar and see
something about a shop
if a print of this particular one
would ever be available there, i
would very much like to have it
in my life....

Valerianna said...

faerie finder - nice to have you visit, and, as always, bringing your lovely enthusiasm with you!

ramona - thanks!

grace - yes, opening a shop is on the list of things to do.... its getting closer to the top! And I will make a few prints of that particular drawing, I, too am liking that one a lot.....

Gail said...

After following your spirals, I'm seeing articles about light spirals in the sky in Norway and Australia. Are we experiencing a 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' event here?

grace Forrest~Maestas said...

thank you. it's a Teacher.

rivergardenstudio said...

Beautiful, ageless "whispered stories." I have missed much these days, life going by too fast and I have had little time to catch up! I hope your weekend is lovely. roxanne