Today's paintings from the Barn

Unexpected Joy 2

 

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A Tale of Expansive Energy at the Art Barn

Walt Pascoe (@waltpascoe) came up north to Mont-Tremblant to visit our Art Barn and left his beautiful energy behind as a gift in the forest behind the barn. He quietly created this cool "earth spiral" out in the woods.

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He began with the twigs in the centre and slowly spiraled outward with mounds of pine needles...he continued with larger twigs and sticks arranged around the spiral as rays of energy shooting outwards!

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A few weeks and several storms have started to fill in the path but you can still see the outline, I love the morning shadows of the pine trees falling horizontally over the spiral! Difficult to photograph but this is taken from above.
The photos do not begin to communicate the effect that this has on the whole forest! It is profoundly energizing and peaceful at the same time. I have eaten my lunch there, cried with my daughter and laughed with friends. I have sat with great stillness beside it and felt Walt's energy emanating from it, just as from the painting of his that lives in my Montreal apt. Now the expansion begins. This structure of Walt's led to one of the sculptor's at the barn, Luis Paniagua, cutting several dead pines and creating this piece the next day:

Then Bruno Dufour, another sculptor from the barn was inspired to create his own piece, "Earth to Earth" beside the Earth Spiral. Bruno dug and sculpted earth all day. The photos definitely don't capture the mystic silence
that surrounds this beautiful negative/positive rendition of a figure in the fetal position. The trees seems to become even more alive as these artworks are created within their sacred presence.

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Finally today, I added my small contribution to all the delicious energy swirling throughout the forest. A hand-drawn tree on linen, an addition to the poetry walk that winds it's way through the forest with images and words:

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Holly Friesen, la lumière du silence - Activités culturelles - Culture - Laurentides Express - Point de vue Mont-Tremblant

Holly Friesen, la lumière du silence - Activités culturelles - Culture - Laurentides Express - Point de vue Mont-Tremblant

Art Barn Poetry Walk Book

Behind the Art Barn where I work and exhibit for the summer have been various "Poetry Walks" that I have collaborated on with different poets over the years. This year's version of the walk is a combination of poets whose work deeply inspires me as I feel an increasingly profound love and respect for the earth, which intensifies with each painting that releases itself from within. Below are several photos of the walk which really don't don't compare with the experience of walking it. The swaying pines click and whisper above, the wind caresses you, and the scent of pine needles washes over you to awaken your senses in a flood of memories, reminding us of who we are to each other and all living beings. The images included in the book are mostly of one painting, "Weaving Roots of Time" as it progressed in my studio from day to day and week to week. The layers and stories beneath the painting and the woven roots of all of us, so interconnected at times it is difficult to tell where one begins and another ends. The poets are Susan Griffin, who expresses with words what I feel with paint. I end the walk with a poem by Barbara Deming, "Spirit of Love" a poem that I made copies to hand out at one of my first exhibitions over 25 years ago. And finally a joyful poem of recognition by Joy Harjo.

The Poetry Walk has been made into a book which anyone can preview and/or order a copy by clicking on the link below:

Art Barn Poetr...

By Paintings by: Holl...

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"Wild Earth" paintings

Wild Earth

I am so excited about this new body of work that is emerging from my own body and encompassing the earth's body. These paintings seem to be using me to paint themselves into existence. The flow is on and the work just keeps coming, such a joy to have the earth reveal her stories to me through color, texture and shape.

Below is the next sketch that I have begun translating into paint.

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Connecting across Time and Space

I love all the artistic connections that are made on twitter and thought I would acknowledge a couple that have blossomed for me!

@carlicastellani wrote a inspiring piece featuring my work in the cool Artzine for writers, artists and musicians entitled "Status Hat"
http://bit.ly/9TLq08 for which I am most grateful. Definitely a zine worth checking out!
@semaphore wrote an insightful and moving poem inspired by one of my paintings entitled: "River Solitude" which I have posted
on my blog: http://theroaringinside.blogspot.com/2009/07/river-solitude.html

Just like the giant net of Indra, spreading it's webbing and each connection resulting in multifaceted jewels that we all contribute to,
a positively scintillating experience!

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Artzine ~ Status Hat ~

Cool artzine publishes a feature on my paintings in their July issue themed "Water"