Monday 1 December 2014

Color Journeys



Color Journeys – A Turquoise Adventure

Wherever I go, I search for beautiful colors.
They jump out at me from all kinds of places. From forests and oceans, infinite open skies and deserts at twilight to local markets full of mysterious fruits and strange vegetables, rich spices and playful people.
Sometimes I search for what I need. The color to calm me down or liven me up, to stimulate my mind or  touch my heart.
I am writing this for you, to give you the color you need.
So, I will begin with turquoise, just because it’s special. It’s a blend. An exotic mixture of emerald green and clear-sky blue.
Are you a turquoise person?
Turquoise people are communicative, well-adjusted and optimistic. They are capable, child-like and dreamy. Turquoise people have awareness. They are calm, introspective and self-reliant. Turquoise people say what they feel and place most of their energies on personal relationships.
When do we need turquoise?
We need turquoise when we are feeling stressed or suffering from tension and anxiety. Turquoise supports us, refreshes and stimulates. Turquoise revives our soul and reconnects us with nature.
So, on my search for turquoise the most beautiful I found on my travels was the deep turquoise of the coral reef lagoons in the Pacific and Indian Ocean.
On a voyage in a small (and I mean tiny) fishing vessel in the vast, open Pacific, the mesmerizing color helps me to ignore the fact that we have no GPS, no mobile phone, possibly not enough diesel, not enough drinking water and no food at all.
‘Oh look, flying fish!’ leaping out of the blue. No land in site. I wonder, how does this nonchalant Fijian fisherman know where he is?
I ask him and he replies with a grin ‘the color of the water’. I nod, as though I understand and it explains everything. We continue, slowly, very slowly. The sun is approaching the horizon.
‘How much longer to the island’? I ask, trying not to look concerned.
‘No worries’ he shouts. ‘Senganalenga.’
Well, OK then. I stare at the colors and they comfort me. Then the engine cuts. Silence.
‘What happened?’ I ask calmly.
‘Oh nothing’ he says, ‘there are Wahloo over there’.
‘Wahloo?’
‘Yes Wahloo’ he says. ‘Very good fish – for dinner – we do some fishing’.
‘Ahh’ I sigh. ‘No rush’?
‘No rush’ he answers.
I focus on the turquoise and try to shut out the voice in my head.
They are fishing. They are content. They are totally in the present.
I decide that the best thing for me would be to join them in the now.
So I stare at the blue eternity, watch the sun touch the horizon and smile.
We all need a little healing. We are all a little battered and bruised by life and while we are on this incredible journey we need a little help from the rainbow – it’s a free gift from the never-ending cosmos.

The Last Tree



The Last Tree

I dreamed about a pirate ship
Sailing the turquoise sea
The pirates, wild and crazy women
One of them was me

I looked up at the mast so high
And saw it was a tree
A gentle swaying tree of life
Escaped catastrophe

My instincts whispered “keep it safe,
Nurture, love and feed”
Protect it from all human harm
Sail away from greed

That night I heard a subtle cry
I touched the leafy mast
A seed pod dropped into the ocean
The tree said “that’s my last”

A poem by Maiyan Karidi @ Mystica Art & Design





Tuesday 11 November 2014

Omada dance show at Beau Plan

On Saturday evening we were super inspired by the magnificent dance show at Beau Plan ........Cecile Gonzales' creation.
Her personal power just blows me away every time and I feel privileged to know such a talented and dedicated artist. She is a master of her craft and the artist I most admire and appreciate. Her energy and vibration really touches my heart.

The dancers showed us their personal styles, their individuality and their versatility in a short space of magnificent time.  Here are a few pics just to get an idea.









Then, on Sunday evening after Torin's violin lesson, Tovi and Skander piled a bunch of Udu's into the car and went to join a little jam session at Le Phare Kiltir Loft. Skander enjoyed joining in with the violin. Thank you Menwar, Eddy and friends for the special jazzy evening of improvisation and chilled out musical magic. Sorry I don't have pics to share yet, but in the meantime, here is a picture of Torin and Skander at her violin lesson at Mystica Art studio and Tovi's  latest crazy Udu.......'The Pipe Dream'.......






So, it was a weekend full of beautiful and creative people just doing their thing, with great passion!








Monday 3 November 2014

The Art of living in our Environment - the natural man

Today, I just have to share this beautiful story.
A simple man and his family are living so directly with their resources.
With our modern life-style we have moved so far away from the essence, so far away from the simple things that sustain us. We have no idea where most of the food on our table comes from, or the furniture in our houses, or virtually anything we own. Imagine if we could trace each one of our possessions to where they originate? Who made them, harvested them, cut, sewed, sorted, picked, built them? What do their lives look like?
The coffee we drink each morning, the clothes we put on, the toothpaste, the cereal, the medications, the shoes? We have absolutely no connection with the source of anything we use anymore.

But maybe I am a little off the subject.......although it is all connected.

What I really want to share is this little story, or BIG story I should say.
A simple man, who did not need to go to university and earn a degree, attend conferences and summits, to know what the environment needs.

Watch for yourself and let me know what you think. To me, it is SUPER inspiring. It makes me happy and sad at the same time. Why can't we all be busy with nurturing rather than destroying?
We are mostly unaware of the destruction we are supporting by feeding our every day habits.

Take a look:


Monday 27 October 2014

Ceramic drums continued......music, art, sounds from clay

Here is a picture of one of the 'Musical Mud' series - Bells.


This is a more decorative piece.....rather than a real instrument, it is a ceramic design piece.

Below is so far the largest of all. I pictured it with a coffee cup to give an idea of the size.

We named it the 'Dwong' - it has a lovely hollow sound, almost an under water beat.






Congratulations to Eddy on a wonderful night at Le Phar.
Happy birthday to Menwar, our favorite singer and percussionist.
Here is a picture of a little jamming at Le Phar.......may there be many more musical evenings like this one!




Sunday 26 October 2014

Ceramic drums and mosaic fish!

Well, we have been away........not really.
Away from cyberspace and busy on the ground!
Tovi has been creating some crazy Africa drums. A Nigerian ceramic drum called an 'Udu'.
He seems to love the process and is continuing to make another and another. Each one has it's own sound.

We call this series 'Musical Mud'.
 Lets give names to them, to make them easier to remember: This one is the 'Bubble'.

The 'Menwar' - because Menwar liked it so Tovi gave it to him as a gift on his birthday. Menwar, our much loved percussionist and singer.

The 'neck' has a special sound and is larger than it looks on the picture.

The 'double-doo' is a two- in -one with copper glaze.

Than there is the 'wugnu' and the 'dwong', which I will have to post tomorrow, as I have no pictures yet. But, you get the idea......they are fun. We will experiment with a drum circle........or Udu circle jam and see what happens.

Also, we completed the 'fish' mosaic motif mosaic for a private client's beach villa in the West.


It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I think its a happy mosaic and the feel is more simple than our usual work.........although it is quite complex to create.

So, more tomorrow, and news of the next workshops for November.........









Tuesday 12 August 2014

Collective madness                                        12/08/14

So, the 6th Raku workshop and its just getting crazier and more beautiful.

We coincided with a mega full moon (yes it was intentional), which made everything even more magical. 

We started at 2pm, with finishing and glazing while listening to good music to get us into the groove.

 The atmosphere was really good and positive with vibrations of excitement and anticipation. We are aware that the result is unknown and always unexpected and we need to be prepared for cracks, breaks and explosions!

As the twilight entered, so did some friends, who made the evening extra special with their presence.

Thank you Eva and Thabo, Diego and Matisse for participating and contributing to the harmonious ambience.

Then came the fire.....or fires I should say as we managed to complete 4 firings with the amount of work the students produced. You were all so prolific!

We made pizza and I think we succeeded in devouring about twenty between all of us...... the woman in the kitchen shifting between grating, slicing, cutting, mixing, talking, laughing, nibbling and spreading. 

As the creations were lifted out of the fire, glowing hot at 1000 degrees, with the huge moon staring down at us, I really think one could sense the magic and mysterious all around us.

The results were extraordinary. But we will have to wait for some good pictures (thanks to Stephanie), to show you all. In the meantime, I have one close up of a beautiful effect on Natacha's piece.



The next workshop starts on the 27th August...........
 
 


Saturday 28 June 2014

A Raku fire and a rainbow                                                           28/06/14

                                                                                                          

So, it's Saturday evening and I look back at the week which passed so fast.

I think it was Thursday night Tovi did a Raku fire:





and this is what came out:




On Saturday evening I saw a lovely rainbow which felt like a symbolic ending of a relaxing day, the one day we purposely do absolutely nothing except eat, sleep and contemplate the universe:

Monday 23 June 2014

Dear friends of Mystica                                                                          23/06/14
                                     
We decided to start a blog so we can share with you all the happenings at Mystica.

For some reason, we feel that time is going faster than usual, like some cosmic turbo boost and we are getting confused because it feels like we just start the week and then its already the next Monday.  Does anyone feel the same way? It also seems like we just begin planning the week and its over......it kind of happens on its own......and then we begin a new week with a new plan which falls away while we are creating.

So, let me share some of the plans and maybe you could help us to make them happen!
As those of you who are with us every week know by now........we love experimenting.

Tovi is into the alchemy of glazes and loves to improvise just like with his cooking (a little of this and a little of that and a lot of spices and piment)! The best part of the firing process is to open the kiln after an all night firing session and see the surprises. The most unexpected results are the most enjoyed and appreciated. Of course, we have to find the balance - it takes years of experience and knowledge to be able to get a beautiful surprise! A paradox maybe?

Anyway, so we were thinking about another way to experiment so we can enjoy unexpected results. 

So, we are thinking about glass. We have collected hundreds of bottles and we begin experimenting with re-cycled glass. Our first attempt was interesting:







Shown here together with a ceramic goblet called 'Pisa', the effect was rather funky!
So, our plan is to take this further and experiment together with crushed glass, broken glass, colored glass, glass and clay together, slumping, inlay and more. 

Here are two pictures of a lovely result which Tovi succeeded to get from a wood-fire series in Africa:




That said, our aim is to carefully create a special environment, taking all the elements into account, which will bring out the best results for the melted materials. 


  Other than this, I thought I would post a picture of last week Wednesday's session, which was kind of magical and we all got so carried away we continued till 10 pm. 














Lets see what surprises we get from this project called 'The Joints Project '. The objective is to show the Joint, rather than to hide it. Thank you to Natacha for bringing her box of car parts........you are such a good sport. Stephanie's table was filled with work as she took the challenge to its fullest and Lynn, showing her skills, working around a cone with as many joints as she can create. 

Thank you for a beautiful evening.