Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Concertina Eggcup Song and the Button Mouse

As some of my friends and family know, I have a wanderlust that is only restricted by my upbringing and common sense.... and  (if I'm honest) too many animals and "stuff". There are many times when I have wanted to move just for the sake of seeing life from a different point of view. I have moved eight times in the last 40 years and still think that there must be a thousand places that I have to see before I die. I don't like to vacation much because you don't really get the essence of a place if you don't stay for a while.... and I don't like to fly.
  Most of this desire is inside of me and under control as long as I'm living in a beautiful environment. I think that a lot of this gypsiness, this nomadic DNA, came from my father who loved to travel and, if not for my mother, would have lived in many different places. He always wanted to travel and I suspect that if he had stayed in the Navy after WW2, we would have gone to many places and seen many parts of the world. I would have love this. I would have made a great "Army brat". My mother and sister... not so much.
My point in telling you this is because I have found a blog that helps me weather the attacks of wanderlust that hit me frequently. The name of the blog is The Hermitage and the author is a young woman named Rima. She is an artist and she travels with her husband, around the English countryside, in an old bus that has been made into a home. Please take a look at this blog and, if you have any wanderlust in you at all, you'll love the stories of this couple's way of life and the people they meet.
I have sent for her prints and she always includes a small extra print and a card with a note thanking me for my purchase.
This is one that I had framed. Beware of having prints professionally framed. The framing was more expensive than the print. But I love the results.
Please notice the goat.... It's name must be Brownie because it is on top.

This was my last order. Two of Rima's mice. Her critters are different and a bit strange. So it is with her humans. There is a unique vision in the alteration of life in her work. I love looking at the details...like buttons for wheels and framing the drawing in what appears to be an old torn card. Something about her drawings bring the weight of life into focus. This "weight" never overpowers her drawings, but adds a quiet, fragile grace to her visions and produces a world of wit and creativity.
Please visit her website and enjoy the last story about "Outsider Art". It's an amazing post about some older woman artists who live their art. 
How many of us have a lifestyle that reflects our artist vision? How many of us live what we feel inside?

7 comments:

  1. I went to Rima's blog and found it very interesting. She is quite an artist and storyteller. I admire people you can do such things. Have a blessed day. Madeline

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  2. This is a great post. Me too, I love change. I feel like I have been here long enough and I'm ready for a new beginning. I think I would have liked to travel too, but like you have said, "where you can stay awhile."
    I know I'll enjoy her art it's very whimsical. I have a whole pile of gourds to start working on one of these days.

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  3. That art is adorable - great images! I've gotten things professionally framed before, and the cost is generally a surprise! Makes me go "oopsie!" but usually the result, as you say, is worth it.

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  4. Thanks for sharing! I haven't been too active on blogger lately, but with the end of work in sight, I plan on scheduling a lot more "me" time - and doing some serious catching up!

    I love the little mice, and your framed print is absolutely adorable!
    I know how expensive professional framing can be, because I have an obession with prints (I have very eclectic tastes, I'm afraid) and I've decided to forego ANY more framing until I get home! ;)

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  5. What a great blog, I'll have to check her out. Thanks for posting about her. I love to travel too Connie. Love it. Wonder what our next adventures will be?? Hugs, Riki

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  6. Wow, thank you so much for this lovely post! It is always a delight to see my work in other places: on your computer screen, just out of the envelope after a long flight across the sea!
    I am happy that you enjoy my blog ramblings so :)
    Sending good wishes and sincere thanks from Dartmoor :)
    Rima

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  7. Another kindred spirit moment with you! I also follow Rima's blog and the rat playing the concertina has been on my wish list for quite some time. Thanks for reminding me that I simply MUST order it. What an interesting life she has, although I don't think she lives in her motor home anymore but a pretty little thatch house in a picturesque English village...

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