sparrowchaser

Offerings

2011-12-30T23:11:00.000-08:00

An ode to mama ocean.... I've been envisioning these clam shell book sculptures for over a year. I finally coaxed myself into sitching one that I had found on a nearby beach for an art show last fall. I am so happy I did it! The combination of shell and paper is so tactile-- each shell fits in the nook of an adult sized hand and is satisfying to cradle in the palm... the smooth, almost sensual feel of the butter clam shell in contrast to the paper is surprisingly curious. And the shells retain a hint of the faint smell of salt and seaweed.

Oh and in the end (as if I needed a side perk), I inadvertently discovered the way to get myself outside on the coolest of pnw winter days... the sea, she calls me to the hunt... I am acquainting myself with the rhythym of her tides, how to delicately skirt in and out with the waves, all the while, my eyes on the body of the ocean floor, seeking out the native pearled beauty she offers up... and now they've began mingling with my dreams... and I think I even heard her whisper my name once.... so yes, we've bonded, mama ocean and I. I might even convince myself I am her long lost daughter, sigh.

You can find more clam shell books in my Odelae shop.

...........
Recently I was asked about my source for the clam shells.....
As with all my books and artistic projects, I take into account the affect my work has on nature and Earth. I have a deep respect for life. This shell (and any other I may work with) is never take alive. I find shells that are cast up on the beach that are often broken halves that I put together. The intent of this book is to inspire others to think of what is offered to them by Earth, nature, animal/plant life, etc.

Home

2011-07-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

An ode to home.... this is where I grew up. A little farm in rural South Dakota passed down from my Norwegian great-grandfather. The rainbow arcs over a small lake called Crystal Waters and casts into an abandoned barn where raccoons held congregation. This special land has a piece of my heart forever.

Plenty

2011-07-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

photo by Odelae

An Invocation

you that create the diversity of the forms,
open to my words
you that divide and multiply it,
hear my sounds
I make yield league to you
ancient associates
and fellow wanderers
you that move the heart
in fur and scale
I join with you
you that sing bright and subtle
making shapes that my throat cannot tell
you that harden the horn
and make quick the eye
you that run the fast fox and the zigzag fly
you sizeless makers of the mole and of the whale
aid me and I will aid you
I make a blood pact with you
you that lift the blossom and the green branch
you who make symmetries more true
you who consider the angle of your limbs
who dance in slower time
who watch the patterns
you rough coated who eat water
who stretch deep and high
with your green blood
my red blood let it be mingled
aid me and I will aid you
I call upon you
you who are unconfined
who have no shape
who are not seen
but only in your action
I will call upon you
you who have no depth
but choose direction
who bring what is willed
that you blow love upon the summers of my loved ones
that you blow summers upon those loves of my love
aid me and I will aid you
I make a pact with you
you who are the liquidness of the waters
and the spark of the flame
I call upon you
you who make fertile the soft earth
and guard the growth of the growing things
I make peace with you
you who are the blueness of the blue sky
and the wrath of the storm
I take the cup of deepness with you
earthshakers
and with you the sharp and the hollow hills
I make reverence to you
round wakefulness we
call the earth
I make wide eyes to you
you who are awake
every created thing both solid and sleepy
or airy light
I weave colours round you
you who will come with me
I will consider it beauty

- R. Williamsom
Poem via Penabranca

Brandi Strickland

2011-07-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

- shared with permission -

Brandi Strickland is a collage and mixed-media artist based out of Richmond, VA. Visit her shop for a glimpse of more amazingness.

"She creates small-scale works of art using techniques of hand-cut collage, painting, and drawing. Her compositions range from simple and impactful to sweepingly ambitious and hyper-detailed. Even while manipulating found images, she manages to create enveloping, otherworldly landscapes. Although collage often lends itself to a certain cleverness, her pieces remain heartfelt and revelatory.

There is a narrative quality to her work that explores the human condition. She assimilates myth and metaphor with the mundane and everyday to create images which depict incarnation, ascension, love, struggle, disasters, initiations, illuminations, transitions, celebrations, separations, epic journeys, and long-awaited arrivals."

Tea and love

2011-07-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Photographed lovingly by Denise Thomasin

For the love of You, my dear friends.... We landed on a quiet island in the Salish Sea in the golden hours of late afternoon, then nestled into a grove of Madrona and began a forest tea ceremony. I read "Night on the Island" by Pablo Neruda; they enjoyed mochi tea sweets and exchanged their vows, followed by bowls of matcha tea. We bowed to one another in gratitude, then sipped honeywine and shared stories. I love this sea, and those who I share it with. All my thanks.

Unwavering Light

2011-07-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a collection of items inspired by the heat of summer and the adventures underfoot. So many spirited artists and crafters can be found on Etsy... Hooray to all who I've connected with along the way. You've inspired and helped me to evolve my perspective of online communities into one of positivity and light. I thank you.

Magic maker.

2011-06-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Light warriorette of the Golden Age.

Woven One

2011-06-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Inspired by spider, this hand-sized journal is woven together and serves as a beautiful reminder that we all (human, plants, minerals, creepers, crawlers, 4-leggeds, feather-ones...) are related. Together, we live and love, and weave in and out of each others worlds in many ways during our time on Earth.

The original journal was handstitched for my dear friend, Piper... you can also purchase your very own from Odelae.

Measuring 3.5 x 4 x 1.75", this journal may easily accompany you on your journeys

Wadi Rum

2011-06-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Wadi Rum Resort is a concept created by Oppenheim Architecture + Design for an 80,000-square-foot restort in Wadi Rum, Jordan. Wadi Rum is a desert where there are rock formations and ancient rock paintings and carvings. With this resort, Oppenheim suggests a harmonious unity between nature and man, working with the native materials and formations to guide their design. It is further elaborated upon by the architects:

Here, where desert sand meets desert stone, we see a singular opportunity to devise a new contract between man and nature. Reinterpreting the way we have dealt with the earth, our proposal establishes a new benchmark for design, quality and sustainability in the natural environment. To live in harmony with the natural world, we must learn how to re-engage the land. Earnest and timeless, the architecture is simultaneously powerful, yet comfortable; primitive, yet innovative; casual, yet elegant; raw, yet refined. The built form merges silently with its wondrous setting, exploiting and enhancing the natural beauty of the site to establish luxury lodge accommodations – that are uniquely beautiful and luxurious. The resulting experience is sensual and sensitive, intentionally reduced to what is essential, establishing an ancient connection with the universe through simple, elemental forms, sincere materiality/detailing, and the use of bountiful natural resources both physical and ethereal. Nature accelerated, enhanced and embraced; nature nurtured.
The architecture we will humbly create within the realm of the Wadi is intended to miraculously and meticulously add another sound in a perfect symphony, another ingredient in a perfect dish. The conceptual point of departure has its roots in the tectonic and geological histories of the region. Through an engagement of the existing natural faults and fissures, the architecture is inserted in the landscape with nominal impact and primal elegance-synchronizing with the topography. Symbiotically and sensitively attuned to the rhythms of the area – a responsible stewardship of the environment. The boundaries between man-made and nature, interior and exterior are deliberately blurred establishing maximum effect with minimum affect. The lodges are nestled across the landscape — enhancing rather than distorting an awareness of the context. An enlightened new approach to living with the land and not simply upon it; learning anew how to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. Beauty, power and humility is achieved through a profound understanding of flow, light and orientation with the topography-fermenting a relationship with the surrounding desert. Simplicity and functionality are inherent to the entire design– so that nothing distracts the eye. The lodges and villas in their various incarnations; rock lodge, spa lodge, tent lodge and reserve villa are all designed as spatial responses towards establishing a connection, not dislocation with the awe-inspiring planet we inhabit. Their architectonic form responds directly to the rich regional cues: an evolutionary process that has established, over millennia, a clear and appropriate type that is in resonance with nature.

So beautifully designed and conceived, I have no doubt it would be an awe-inspiring resort to experience. But would it be all that it really promises? 'Sustainable', 'establishing an ancient connection with the universe', and 'inserted in the landscape with nominal impact'... This is my wonder as I imagine the reality of transportation to the site, the cutting and drilling of rock, the displacement of other life forms, the altering of a sacred site, etc... all of this and more to sell an "authentic" experience of nature to those who can afford it. Or is this a design solution where the crossroads of nature & human technology soundly meet?

Embracing the Waste

2010-01-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT © Tod Seelie

- shared with permission -

I'm newly inspired by the creative use of salvaged material in the art installation Distance Don't Matter. New York based Swoon and collaborators Ben Wolf, Greg Henderson, Conrad Carlson, Monica Canilao and Ryan Doyle constructed the installation of found materials, wheatpasted prints, paintings and more. The installation was featured in the SPACE Gallery from mid November - December '09. The raw materials were recycled from dumpsters, waste piles and thrift stores then transformed into a 3-dimensional world that allowed the audience a direct experience of the brilliant color, texture, symbolism, intricate pattern work, and themed imagery. Swoon's work involves the transformation of abandoned buildings, rundown warehouses, and broken walls into new and urban landscapes - a beautiful way to revitalize and ignite life in otherwise broken spaces.

Itsy Bitsy Love

2010-01-26T02:11:00.000-08:00

Here's the series of handstitched journals I've posted in my shop Odelae Studio... all portraying vintage imagery with hearts of metallic gold. I found these images from a rough and tumble set of vintage encyclopedias, black and white with beautiful antique print quality, then added the hearts and stitching. The fun part is that these journals are itsy bitsy-- wonderful to clutch in your hand or to slip into a front shirt pocket in that cozy warm nook above your heart...

The Designer Bird

2010-01-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

A bower adorned with shells and hatching

... built by the Bowerbird to attract his mate

A treasury for his lady

A shrine built for "love"

Hello Bowerbird... I discovered him while watching David Attenborough's The Life of Birds. The male of this species builds intricate sculptures to attract his mate. He goes to great lengths building treasuries of shells, twigs, flowers, fruits, insect shells, stones and more which he elaborately arranges around and within a thatched bower in hope of winning his lady's attention. If ever there was a bird for a designer, this is him. Sheds some light on my passion for spacial layout and makes me think that its more than the driving expression of the ego. Maybe an innate trait to attract love and beauty into our lives? See a video of this inspiring designer here.

Chasing the Perfect

2010-01-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading the book Chasing the Perfect: Thoughts on Modernist Design in Our Time by design critic Natalia Ilyin. For years I have been attempting to reason with myself (and my family members) for not having entered into a professional career as graphic designer after completing my 4+ year degree. Easily I could have erased my academic debt and have secured a nice and tidy nest for myself and family... instead I chose a more organic path and have found myself leading (or being lead by) a more simple existence graced with imperfection-- I live paycheck to paycheck but enjoy the freedom of a loose work schedule; I drive an '86 Toyota 4Runner without a radio and get plenty of fresh air via the window that doesn't fully roll up; and have lived in several rustic cabins with (my mother is grimacing now) outdoor peeing "accommodations". While not perfect, this life is rewarding. I feel healthy, alive and in sync with the seasons. My ears indulge in the croaking of frogs and the lapping of the waves. My mind stretches out into the silent open spaces as I walk the island's trails. My body feels rested, yet full with life... To me, the wholeness of all this is worth saying "nay" to a job in the city and all that might have come with it--a sense of accomplishment at having pursued an acceptable career, the comfort of an abundant salary, a general sense of societal approval from an economic viewpoint and finally, the sense of belonging one might feel living within a community of like-minded artists and designers. Ilyin's perspective on modern design has helped me to clearly understand why I (subconsciously at the time) chose a more holistic lifestyle and has allowed me come to terms at fully accepting my choice to do this. Check out her book if you find yourself questioning your role as a designer. PLUS, she answers the question of why, even though I'm an experienced (freelance) graphic designer, I really don't draw all that well... and all along I thought it was a personality flaw.

Love wearing wings

2010-01-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

wishing she may, wishing she might, have her wish...

thank you to her papa who captured these images.

sparkly toed & sweetcheeked- my favorite combination

i chase them, she catches them. we work it like that.

Meet Eden... she's 2 and lovely fun. When I'm not stitching up books or tending other odds and ends of the studio, I'm all hers. Our new favorite reads are the oversized Dr. Suess books, like On Beyond Zebra... I always leave Suess land with my imagination sparked. I'd like to stitch up some of these odd creatures and their big stripey bobble tails. Anyone want to have a plushy trading circle inspired by Suess?!

Through the gate...

2010-01-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

A rearranged gate that I discovered on a californian bluff...

"Preserving the good life"

My first posting-- like crossing a threshhold or entering through a gate. I live on an island in the Salish Sea--one of the most ridiculously beautiful, magical places on earth off the lush coast of Washington state. It's quiet here, especially during the winter season before the sun rises-- where often I've found myself wide awake with an arsenal of ideas and, currently, a bellyfull of baby... bebe numbero dos will be born this month and is the reality that's sparked this blog.

Ahead of me lies one of the most amazing, humbling experiences... my body, mind and general life perspective will be immensely altered by the intense experience of BIRTH, I'll then discover a heroic dosage of LOVE for this new Being I will soon revolve my life around, and finally enter into the oft psychedelic land of sleep deprivation. Through this and into the unknown I intend to keep my creative expression alive and flowing, somehow. May this blog be the incentive to keep my positivity and creative mind stimulated. May here be a nurturing space for my raw, unpolished thought... a place for dreaming and waking and honoring the goodness I discover along the way.

A quote from William Blake--

He who binds to himself a joy

Doth the winged life destroy.

He who kisses the joy as it flies,

Lives in eternity's sunrise.

... now to spend the morning with my tousle-haired girl and her beautiful papa.