ARTISTS TALKING
Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Project blogs
Trees and the sub conscious mind.
By: Donna Southern
I am on a journey investigating the sub conscious mind and a primordial relationship with trees. This project does link in with Heritage and Psychology. I am particularly interested in developing healthy pathway's for people that do not feel competent or confident.
I am now beginning workshops helping people with a psychological disability to grow in confidence through the medium of painting.
Donna Southern
I am an artist working in the South Of England. I am interested in people, nature and nurture . My main focus currently is in how people feel and think.
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Donna Southern, 'Light through the trees'. This is just a study, an observation of how much light is absorbed within the trees.
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Donna Southern, 'Untitled 1', Oil Pastels, August 08. Photo: Donna Southern. Every day there is something different going on, a different mood, the ambience is felt by me and absorbed. I generally feel content although the wind and rain may have something to say about that. I find trees calming in general, although I am petrified to climb higher than 20 feet: under 20feet it is an amazing feeling, rather like being carried at birth, this is a giant holding you, as the branches support you, swaying!
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Donna Southern, 'Untitled 2', Oil Pastels, August 08. Photo: Donna Southern. Beuaaaaaatiful Day.
# 4 [14 November 2008]
Sometimes I wonder 'why' am I doing this, is there another career inside me?
I have researched and studied trees and the subconscious: the book list is now enormous, the information is gigantic, the practical work is massive and my time is precious and limited. I am not isolated in this project, quite the opposite, I am never alone, I am not an I, this project is so Zen. This project is integrated with nature and the spirit of the trees, it creates itself, I am just a passenger on this ride. Who is coming on this journey with me? War of the trees, yes it is! My most recent attribute is Roger Deakin's Wildwood, a journey through the trees, and I have just gone through a heartfelt week of revisiting 18,ooo Tides , by David Nash at the old Towner Art Gallery site, Eastbourne. This beautiful sculpture came about when I was studying 'The Sea' at Eastbourne, Hastings, Worthing and Hove (all different). I so closely identified with the concept it put me into a quantum spin. Now I read about Wooden Bolder, I understand Nash, it is and does belong to itself, assisted and borne from Nash and nature. I will be looking for 'Wooden Boulder' at sea forever too! I now need to visit Ash Dome to feel my way further. Each tree has a character, this is my story. Each tree has a role in creation and survival of Earth. I joke you not.
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Donna Southern, 'Green Light in trees', Pastels, Aug 08. Amazing bright lime light on the trees.
# 3 [1 September 2008]
Walking in the trees most days now, and I feel that I am becomming privaledged, as if they are beginning to show me there inner beauty. I mentioned last time how much pink was visable, ofcourse this is brought out by the tremendous amount of green at this time of year and will change as the season changes. For now I will embrace the colourists vision as this seems dominant this week, I will be open to the burgeoning instincts, I still maintain zen qualities: 'As I work, the work will appear to me'. Some more pastel sketches, trying to get raw marks and scribbles, these are recordings of the woods and will probably finish with a selection of exhibition works in a multi media format, this is my prefered method of working: source raw material and convert by using modern day plastics and recycled rubbish, then exhibit. Please rotate image. Got some problems with images and loading programmes, so frustration reigns, really thwarted by my own network, will get a techie in unless can resume working without, part of the artistic tapestry!Soz got all ready to load 5 images, try tomorrow.
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Donna Southern, 'Tree 1', Photograph, Aug 2008. I'm calling this Tree 1. I know what I think, it is immense, it seems so solid. It is knarled and bobbly.
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Donna Southern, 't =s un7', Oil Pastels, August 08.
# 2 [27 August 2008]
Some days the more I look the more pink I see, I didn't realize that there was so much pink in natures spectrum, I know flowers are pink, but soil and barks are alive with rich colour. Please rotate the image to portrait, I cannot adjust it .
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Hi Donna, Yeh trees.....well ride my mountain bike over extensive woodland near where I live. I have done this most weekends for over 4 years, so I know them well. I did map the area from memory to see if I could do it, all the paths in the woods. My map was about 6x3feet big if I recall. I also walk my dog in these woods regularly. We still get lost sometimes, but I know I will come out somewhere I recognise in the end. These woodlands have become a special place which is my point!
posted on 2008-08-28 by Rob Turner
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Donna Southern, 'Donna Southern', Oil Pastels, August 08. Photo: Donna Southern. So Much light
# 1 [27 August 2008]
Do you feel that you have any relationship with trees? I like to walk in the trees as often as possible and feel that this affects me in a miraid of ways. Just walking lifts my spirits but this is about specific relationship that man has had in the past, and my theory is, that it still goes on?
Please join in with this blog as I will be learning as this blog grows in content : happy for stories poems, images to be posted, just respond and enjoy the journey with me. Donna
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