Vivian Bonder

It's been so long in between blog posts that I could not even remember how to actually start... "Typepad please! where is the 'compose' button?"  Life has been beautiful, with ups and downs, internal chaos, external chaos, planets moving in wonderful ways, lunar eclipses, solar eclipses you name it.. life being lived. 

 

I haven't felt the need to type or update my blog, because not much was happening art wise or otherwise that I have been wanting to share. About a month ago I decided to take up studying Transpersonal Art Therapy, everything was pointing towards this direction and furthermore, there was this strong internal push to do it which has not left me since. I am enjoying it immensely and I can see this as an extension of where I have always headed within my own Art Journals and also the workshops. Maybe I will finally pick up teaching workshops again, it has been a while.. A couple of ideas are brewing inside of me and if they all come together it might actually happen ;)

 

I uploaded some new silk bunches to Etsy, quite a few of them have sold already. Other than that the little shop is very bare. Talking about shops ;) I would like to give a shout out to Lisa & Tony at ZoaArt they are having a wonderful 30% off sale.. 

Time to go & have dinner.. Rice, dhal, coriander chutney.. and a yummie apple & mixed berry pie in the oven.. 

new stuff.. ah so beautiful..

if i say so myself.. :)

 

i would really like to keep some of these - they are just so soft and beautiful and lush.. but i would also really like someone else to enjoy a journal like this.. 

 

My favorite is definitely this one below..

 

All to be found on Etsy..

(does anyone actually still read my blog? i know some dear, dear friends do.. not that there is all that much to read, but does anyone actually come here out of curiosity to see if anything happens?)

kraft paper, felt and silk stitches..

stitches and some more stitches.. deep red, soft felt.. somehow brings peace of mind..

 

taken back to days spent in solitude..

 

lots of plain brown kraft pages to pour out any thoughts, feelings, epiphanies.. 

listed on etsy - although i feel very tempted to keep it myself.. i could do with a little bit of this solitude and peaceful feeling it oozes right now.. 

texture textile

 
 I have really been enjoying these stitched surfaces, incorporating some found rusty bits and lots of treads.. This piece is roughly 25x25cm and I kept it kind of aside for the exhibition. Unfortunately this is not going ahead for now and I am happy to now share it here! (for sale in Etsy shop)

 

Another something I have worked on lately is soft woollen felt journals using thick watercolour papers..like this one pictures above.. yum.. (Also up in Etsy)

Enjoy your weekend

muslin and plastercloth union :)

Just sharing some of what i have been upto. A quick post with some pictures before I head out to school and do the afternoon pick-up ;)  

Totally and completely inspired by Lynne. Sweet Lynne. Thank you..

 

She has a wonderful link on her blog somewhere on how to make muslin cloth journals and yes! i am working on mine.. pictures to follow really soon.

 

Sorry about this blurry picture but am in kind of a rush ;)

As I was digging through a box out in the shed this morning, looking for some walnut ink I came across some (tile) albums and other stuff I have made a while ago for a customer but she cancelled and now I don't really know what to do with them. I have so much and I really don't need all of it. I am thinking of holding a garage sale here on my blog :) Email me if you're interested please.

More soon. Enjoy the Sun Light!

consciousness

 

 let me lie with you

on the surface of the Earth 

 let me touch your cheek

and feel the Light shine through 

let us allow these waves 

of Consciousness

wash away this intense Separation 

and simply BE - you and me - as one 

sometimes an image is all you need..

as a subtle reminder of dreams and visions of old and to reignite the fire to keep dreaming and keep working towards higher goals..

 

(wishing i could properly credit the photographer but cannot find a name.. image from Leonie who got it through Pixie)

This image works like that for me..  

Reminders.. don't you find we all need them? I find they come in lots of different forms, sometimes through friends or family, or an image in a book or magazine. It could be the paragraph I read when opening  up  a random page in a random book or the expression on the face of the lady in front of me in the aisle of the supermarket. More often than not they come through when expressing myself in any art form, mostly journaling and painting.

Which makes me think of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way I worked with a few years ago. I got up early every morning and wrote the 'Morning Pages' and it sure did me a lot of good! First of all my mind started losing a lot of useless chatter and because of that it was a lot easier to create without having voices. 

Secondly I was loving the Artist's Dates. Not that I actually did many, but still loved them.

A piece I have been working on this week. Loving the combination of machine and hand stitching, attaching found items as I go. I would love to take a workshop with India Flint, her work is so very very inspiring to me. Learning about using natural pigments to dye cloth.. I dropped a hint for Mothersday..

 

I have been busy sewing this week, I re-used one of Buddy's old hoodies by cutting it apart, then turned it inside-out. Using one of my jumpers as a guide I redid the panels and sleeves, made them longer, funkier and have been wearing it for 3 days straight now. Yesterday I made this little meditation pillow (picture above) and today? Nothing yet, but the day has still got a few hours..

What have you been up to? Feel free to share a link in the comments section so I can check out your inspiring projects! 

Works in Progress

Sharing some works in progress.. hibernating in my own little world.. and working on pieces for an exhibition.. a what? yes indeed. 

Caves and burrows to rest and recharge.. while Summer is on her way, to light the Earth in other places..

 

While I was working on the above painting the other day my girl said to me: wow! an entrance to a fairy forest! the beauty seen through her eyes means so much to me..

  

The exhibit will be mixed media works on canvas and fabric, and held at The Sandcastle in Fremantle. They serve awesome organic food, offer a fab atmosphere plus they still have Rae's 'Sandy Feet' up their walls till the 18th of April. Make sure to check them out when you're near!

 

At this stage nothing has come together yet :) But one thing is for certain, the colours and vibrancy will be quite something.. 

..different but very interesting route..

Recently I have been aligning myself "(finally!" my Soul is screaming out..) more and more with the path I have been called to follow for a while now.. I have spent a lot more time in both meditation practice and meditative states lately, like I used to be and 'do' years and years ago. A lot of things are falling into place and even more events and happenings are starting to completely make sense to me. 

There may be a change to this blog as I haven't felt the need or desire to upload much for about a year, and have not had that much to share mainly because of the nature of my blog thus far. I may start sharing more about this next phase of my life and hence you may or may not want to come back to check on 'what Viv's been up to' and know that that is totally fine with me. I will definitely not be offended.. 

Some exciting things are happening.. and I will definitely start up running some workshops again. In general the nature of these will be a lot more spiritual and/or 'insightful' in combination with some techniques but techniques will not be the most important part of the journey. I have ideas for journaling workshops, writing and re-birthing stories, and of course Art Journals will stay part of my thing, but with a deeper connection to ourselves! Again; this may or may not be your thing and that is totally cool. 

The first upcoming workshop I'm running together with my dear friend Nilanthi Dayananda. How about a picture *insert* here? ;)

 

If you'd like to know more about this workshop find more info here, and let me know asap if you'd like to join us. We are starting next Tuesday 2nd of March, for 5 weeks and places are strictly limited. 

I will update more of the happenings later this week, if I get a chance to sit behind the computer ;) 

Whether you decide to keep following my journey or not, please know I truly appreciate all the comments and emails you have left me over time and friendships we have co-created. Thank you all for being YOU.

self contained

Finished another part of Steph's Cube the other day. The "Self-Contained" collaboration with Seth and Steph (can't get the link to work sorry) is about half way now and the pieces are looking and feeling better every time. I can't wait for the next round to arrive on my doorstep. 

 
 

This is the second time I have contributed to the Cube, one more round to go around!

These weeks have been quite busy.. I don't know if you remember I said a while ago something big was going to happen this year and I would announce soon? Well.. 

Together with Sharon I started organising a pretty cool Art Retreat, the concept being quite different, grungy and out there, we thought it would be great. Some pretty amazing teachers were going to be involved, (Judy and Seth) and we were in the final stages of our planning when we came across some hard to overcome difficulties and decided not to run it (yet). Bummer. 

So no other big news to come.. I am still thinking about the coolness of our concept but am also accepting the way it is. And who knows what will happen next!

Too hot to sit here any longer, my arms are starting to stick to the desk.. Argh.. Bye!