potential

That which is not yet but could be. A theme of the Prospective collection.

The world is falling apart

by Theo
The foundations of the earth are falling apart. Photographs of sculpture.

Just over a year ago, I created Non-flat earth (unpainted), a sculpture of a model of the earth that combined facts and legends of how the earth is supported.

The world is falling apart, photograph of a sculpture previously known as Non-flat earth (unpainted).

The foundations are crumbling and decaying which is kind of appropriate with the laws of thermodynamics and the current global pandemic.

However, there is hope.

‘They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. ‘

Isaiah 61:4 https://my.bible.com/bible/111/ISA.61.4

‘Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ‘

Revelation 21:1 https://my.bible.com/bible/111/REV.21.1

I could repair the sculpture. Or leave it to decay further. Or build a new one.

As the (unpainted) title of the original sculpture suggests the work is not finished. It was a prototype for further work and could have been painted to fit more with the ancient legends. My procrastination has given this sculpture an opportunity to express itself its own way.

Post about the creation of the original sculpture:

Non-flat earth (unpainted)

Ode to Summer

by Theo

Winter ray
Winter ray, photograph

Ode to Summer

Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?
Yes if you like, but ’tis winter now and
Summer hath long faded
Her days are a distant memory, a long forgotten hope
Gone is the sun with its passionate heat
Gone the joyful scent of flowers and their vibrant colours too
Where are the cool evening walks and the lovers in the park?
I am alone in the cold and the dark
All around is grey and dreary and gloomy as I await the dawn
How I long to embrace your light and be wrapped in the warmth of your touch
Return to me again 
Shine your smile on me and dry away my tears 

 

 
 
I’m looking forward to the end of this winter and fulfilment of this scripture:
“My beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.” – Song of Songs‬ ‭2:10-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Virgin and Child #1

by Theo

Virgin and child #1
A small canvas on a larger virgin canvas

Inspired by Ron Tekawa’s Madonna and Child (1990) and various historical images of the Virgin and Child. 

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Waiting for creation

by Theo

I occasionally try to imagine what it would have been like before everything. Prior to creation, there was no time, no space, no matter. No light. No dark. No past. But all of the future. It is hard to get my head around it. Even harder to express in a work of art.

What was it like waiting for the first sunrise?

I have black wooden desk where I spend most of my time.

It provides a lot of reflection.

It is waiting for creation.

Desk reflections - waiting for creation
Desk reflections – waiting for creation, digital photograph.

 

Horror vacui

by Theo

Horror vacui (physics) : Nature abhors a vacuum.

Horror vacui (art) : The fear of empty space.

Horror vacui, digital image.
Horror vacui, digital image.

Like a sculptor who sees the statue in a block of stone or the potter who sees the pot in the lump of clay, artists see the potential. Their fear of empty space and abhorrence of a vacuum compels them to create and turn their imagination into reality. Motivation to overcome procrastination.

A social media presence is essential and Theo has recently joined a few social networks. Most of them allow for customization of the profile. Often the color scheme, background images and sometimes fonts are changeable to suit the personality of user.

Because Theo has not created a volume of work yet, we needed to produce something quickly for the cover photo on the Facebook page. By default, Facebook has this image for cover photos:

Facebook default cover photo
Facebook default cover photo

It is rather dull and grey. It cries out “replace me with anything colorful!”.

Producing Horror vacui to answer this cry was rather quick and simple:

  1. Create an image 851 by 315 pixels in GIMP (OpenSource photo editing software).
  2. Capture an image of pencils and a paintbrush with my Macbook FaceTime HD camera and Photo Booth.

    Original image for Horror vacui
    Original image for Horror vacui
  3. Import the photo into GIMP and use various tools and effects to produce the art.
    1. Select the objects and move them to a new layer.
    2. Select the natural highlights and shadows of the background and render clouds/plasma and apply canvas and weave filters.
    3. Add a filters for coffee stain and torn border

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This work, Horror vacui, represents what the artist sees when they look at a blank canvas. The image hidden deep within the fabric is trying to break through the canvas and become visible.

Horror vacui is representative of theme of potential in Theo’s Prospective collection – art which is prophetic or predictive in nature and hints at what could be. Due to the urgency and speed of its creation, this work is not necessarily representative of the quality of the rest of the collection.