Such Joy & Easeful Wisdom--for Sandra46 by anahata.c
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
I give this little sequence to illustrate that almost anything can be related, if we seek the connections. (Yes, that last image is a combination of the above. I'm not too sure it's apparent lol, but I tried...) But the difference between this & Sandra's gallery (here) is that she finds these connections at the core. Look: New Year's came, and Sandra did a series on the ancient Celtic ceremonies of massive Bonfires to burn-away our past. (That's glibly stated, but stay with me here...) She travels to a city? She comes back with a series on it (remember Prague?), and she'll see places that others don't think about, and put her cornucopia-like mind to work on those places, so we wind up thinking about not just those places but the whole world... She shows us ceremonies that most of us rarely see; she finds the 'spectacle of the heart' everywhere; she captures the gathering---even collision---of so many histories in places that could be our very homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces. Nothing's taken for granted in Sandra's daily-path: She shares everything from pagan to contemporary, professional to amateur, the "fine art" and the "primitive," Western & Eastern & everyplace else; she shows art you'd have to look in scores of books to find (trust me on this!), and writes their tales & strange beginnings & outrages & magics right alongside. And---here's the thing---there's no artifice in this, it's just what she 'does': She's a professional anthropologist who's taught & studied these things for years, yet she shares them as if she invited us to coffee & to share the jewels of her modest home. There's great passion behind her work (& a world of experience); but she shares it like telling tales on an afternoon walk...Her recent Autumn series helped me heal; her series on Art---spurred when a few of us asked "what is art"---was one of the finest series I've seen on the topic anywhere. She even does images with few words (yes, sometimes she just posts images): But even they mix the new with the old, culture with culture, etc. Her images & words are a cornucopia to me. That's why I love what she does. Sandra, thank you for pouring so much of what you love into wine glasses for us; for making scrumptious confections of so many tales & histories & visions; and for reminding us all that all of us---all---are connected by an inextricable bond, something hard to describe but clear as the sun, and a bond you seem to deeply adore. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you give here, and in the most unassuming ways; and for that I am deeply grateful & humbled. Thank you Sandra! It's been a wondrous & sumptuous feast.
Comments (21)
dragonmuse
Looks like you had fun with these. :) Thank you for directing us to Sandra's gallery.. it is a delight!
bmac62
Six frames...each one knocks me out. Love the idea of capturing a historic building and placing it behind the skyline of the city where it resides. I can imagine doing this in NYC with the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty (etc., etc.) Will have to consider what buildings I'd use in Seattle. Like the preponderance of blue in the last five frames...the color sets a tone of reverance and a retrospective mood for me. Like your use of light and your trademark dazzling orb. There is a BIG feeling to this for me...probably comes from the overshadowing church structure...which BTW reminds me of the original former church building where the Grand Old Opry began in Nashville, TN...years ago (now that is trivia I bet you never thought you'd have rear-up in this posting):) Great job for Sandra46...she does have a wide ranging, fascinating gallery.
auntietk
Technically speaking, I was with you every step of the way, right up until the last frame. That's fabulous! Click click click ... and then a miracle occurs. Sheesh! Artistically speaking, I'l still with you. Wow. What a superb progression! The relationships between the images are obvious to me, your image choices fantastic. The church could have been any city image, but the composition, juxtaposed against the skyline, is exactly what it needs to be. You are amazing, my friend. You've done with photography what you've already done with your 2-D art, and the result is quite different, yet wholly the same, wholly Mark. This is gorgeous, and your dedication is beautifully done. Excellent presentation all the way around!
beachzz
Each one of these just knocks my socks off, or would if I were wearing any. I'd recognize your work anywhere; your light and detail are just YOU. Then you take one foto and have it become a part of another. And it all works. Wow. Just plain WOW!! Your dedi to Sandra is moving and heartfelt. I've seen her work and will now go back and look again. You remind me how good she is, Great stuff here, Mark!!
helanker
OH MY!! Mark, I am glad I am not asked which of these wonders is the best. I wouldnt be able to answer that. Its like a symphony with many sequences. Each sequence has its own character, even though it is made with same three elements. One majestic, one elegant, one playful, a peaceful, a sparkling and the last is exploding and crispy like the sound of Cymbals. Great finale of this parade of wonderful art. Sandra will be very happy for this, I am sure :-)
durleybeachbum
A visual crescendo!! WOW! And what you say about Sandra is so true..Thankyou for crystallizing what she does. A brilliant set of pics!!
magnus073
First of all Mark, it is so nice to see you put together this marvelous dedi for Sandra. She is a wonderful lady and one of the most gifted people one could ever hope to meet. Your point about Sandra finding the connections through her art is well made, and she never ceases to amaze me with the things she uncovers. To make it complete she always provides a wealth of background info on her work as well as her own thoughts behind it. She's going to love this beautiful collage Mark, and all of the thought and care that went into it.
MrsRatbag
Wow, this is a brilliantly beautiful outpouring of art and joy...well done Mark!
romanceworks
A beautiful collage of some of man's and Mother Nature's finest creations. Your dedication to Sandra is as beautiful, and you always connect your words, your photos, your creations, directly to my heart. CC
Campo-Diaz
Simply fantastic.
flavia49
awesome artwork!! Sandra is truly thrilled by your dedication. To say that she's happy and proud of it, is an understatement!
lyron
Fantastic work!!!!
sandra46
may I say I'm knocked out? actually I felt a bit light in the head after reading all these wonderful words on my gallery. You have perceived a lot of things I wanted to say and even more I did'nt know I was thinking! LOL this is a critic's job, on the other hand. And I believe that your sequence of images is working a tranformation act like a shaman (er.. a bit of professional aberration). The effect is powerful magic. A perfect gift at this time of the year! ;D
npauling
I think you have had a lot of fun creating these wonderful scenes and that is what it is all about really. I love how you have combined these captures into such interesting images, and the beautiful church capture at the top you have given a unique finish. Excellent work with a lovely mysterious feel.
goodoleboy
I wish I had the time to contribute appropriate commentary to this gem, such as those preceding mine, especially the the profound analyses and plaudits that have already been stated above, Mark, so I'll just add my humble description of: exquisite, stunning, mind-blowing, awesome manipulation, ambiance, clarity, composition, and imagination to this magnifique dedication to your friend, who I'm unfamiliar with. And how were you able to squeeze six frames into one collage posting? We are limited to 512kb you know.
amota99517
These are absolutely fantastic and play on one another so well. I love each one of them. Awesome work!
myrrhluz
I love Sandra's gallery! Beautiful and richly deserved dedication of her work. I am continually intrigued, enchanted, and delighted by her art and words. I love her Autumn collection. I was totally blown away by "Tears of Autumn" Wonderful images and dedication. I found my responses as I moved from one image to the next, a combination of linear progression with wildly random thoughts mixed in. The POV, age, and massiveness of the building in the first image made me think of the weight of history, tomes of words telling of deeds and of the march of man across time. When I looked at the second, It seemed as though the building was looking at the current world and wondering, "Where am I in all of this? Do you see me in you?" So often we don't think about how deeply interwoven our past is in our present. (This, of course, made me think of Sandra, who regularly shows these interweavings in her work and words.) The third sent an errant thought into my head. It seemed like an advertisement for the wonderful modern world. History being covered by bright balls of the NOW. Modernity's answer to history's question. The first thing I thought of when I saw number four was Shangri-La. Peace, light, quiet, and reflection. An answer to both the present and the past. The next image see the moment of infusion of this answer into the riddle. In the last image, an answer. A representation of the jigsaw puzzle of past deeds, current action and future hope, too deeply entwined to ever be untangled, but with careful examination able to be better understood. A rich soup of flavors ever fascinating, ever complicated, and ever changing while remaining the same. Beautiful images and wonderful sequence!
Chipka
Like so many others here, I absolutely adore Sandra's gallery, and I always see something that resonates deeply or makes me pause. That is always the hallmark of great art--for me at least. I can see the mundane every day, so why look into a gallery for it? I'm always surprised, always on the verge of going "Ah-hA!" in recognition of something, or quite simply sitting back and feeling something that has as similar effect on me as music...a passacaglia, maybe, or one of those Czech folk songs sung around a bonfire by sweaty guys in sandals and black socks, or shirtless guys with dreads and dirty fingernails. THIS piece (series of pieces) does exactly the same thing. I love the juxtapositions and the whole organic and dream-like feel of these, when seen separately and together. There is a real dream-logic to this whole piece, as well as the individual components. There's a hyper-reality, or if I may, even a surreality that functions not according to the laws of the universe but the whole meaning of those laws. That's what I like about Sandra's work AND yours! Now, on to this gorgeous series. WOW! WOW!!! This really rocks. Pane #1: I think I know that place, I think I've been trying (and failing miserably) to get to it to photograph. But anyway...WOW! I love the fact that this appears as a straight photograph, and yet there's a burn and a contrast that really takes this out of the realm of straightforward, simple photography, but keeps the "entryway" visual. There's an attention to detail, and then a washed out sky, like a blank slate upon which you're free to write ANYTHING. Well, that's probably just me...I'll write just about ANYTHING on any blank surface I come across, and well...maybe I'm a graffiti artist who never happened, so that might explain something Panes 2 and 3 seem so interrelated to me...one is an extension of the other, but it's hard to tell which leads and which follows. It doesn't matter. The progression is fluid and multi-directional...I love the way these two panes/images seem to dance back and forth, rather like molecules oscillating and setting up resonance fields and all of those things they keep going on and on about in science fiction novels. Pane 4: Pure dream! I love it! WOW! I love all of these images, but this one really pops cool stuff into my head. It has a reflective quality, a depth, and a sense of inviting mystery that I just love. Pane 5: A very nice phase shift! I love the glowing orb, the approaching (or departing?) light. Well...departing in terms of POV...it's either coming towards or racing away from the observer...and I love the way that it's such an integral part of the composition. I also love the way that these all move away from simple straightforward photography to something more...ancient? This has a quality that seems drawn, painted, etched. Pane 6: The pasty resistance (yeah, my French sucks!) This makes me think of the actual chemistry of photography, of nitrates and whatever accumulating on a plate before they're rinsed off. In a way it closes off this series by referring BACK to photography, but not actually showing a "pretty" picture so much as the process of photographic plate development. I love that full circle motion: the opening photographic shot, and the closing photographic process, frozen right then and right there. I could go on and on, but as I've already written THIS much, I think I'm going to shut up and just say that I've really enjoyed this piece, as well as everything else you've been doing. WOW! This is also making a trip into my favorites.
faroutsider
Thank you Mark, for your outstanding photography, your consummate skill with filters, your wonderful observations (photographic and narrative), and for directing me to Sandra's superb gallery. And also for stimulating such wonderful responses from your legion of fans... there's not much I can add after Chip's missive. This posting encapsulates everything I love about your work - you're a gem, on all levels. Favourite? Of course!
three_grrr
I simply gasped when I the image opened .. the first panel .. the church .. is stunning to the point that if I saw the church in person, I think I might be disappointed. Your work does that to me. I reacted much the same way to the fourth panel. The colors swim into each other in the most magical way, the sky becomes the water, the water oozes up, spreads, magnifies into the sky. I think I love that one the best for the sky. How you've tied each part into the whole is in itself MAGIK .. there is a very clear smell of fairy dust here, grins.
Marinette
...Sandra, la vedo anch'io come te! Bellissimo lavoro e dedi. :)Awesome.