My Mother's favorite flower....Always think of her and my Dad this time of year. When we lived in Paris from from 1955-1958, my Dad would bring my mother tulips from the flower market. Tulips will always remind me of the romance in their relationship until the end. I was 10 years old when we arrived in Paris, a place I adore to this day...
A favorite meditation bowl....
Alice Ballard – Finding Your Form Through Nature
If you are interested in taking my workshop, "Finding Your Form Through Nature", June 28th through July 3rd, go to the above link to check my workshop description. There are still a few spots left!
Call or email me if you have questions. (864)414-0478 or aliceballard64@yahoo.com
Look for this image of my work on the list of instructors if you are interested in checking out my workshop.
Alice Ballard – Finding Your Form Through Nature
Alice Ballard - Finding Your Form Through Nature. June 28 — July 3, 2015. Medium: Ceramics Level: Open - All LevelsTuition: $525 | Lab Fee: $45.
Our newly planted weeping pussy willow. It is the new "Star" in our garden!
Further affirmation that spring is here. Sunlight through daffodils in Falls Park.
Lily and Charlie had their faces painted at the Celtic Festival in Charlotte yesterday. I am still smiling...
Passing through Beaufort County
First, I want to thank the Spring Island Trust for making this opportunity available to artists. It is a refuge where ideas can grow and creativity can flourish. In addition I want to give special thanks to my many old friends and to new friends whose hospitality, interest and moral support made my time on Spring Island a joy. All hugs, comments, great questions and smiles of encouragement were welcomed and appreciated along with snacks, visits and gifts of nature. Special thanks goes to a young woman who is a Spring Island security person who came to my rescue Friday morning when I discovered my phone was dead! At the golf house I could always count on a fabulous lunch, smiles from everyone and lots of laughter!
Accommodations were superb! The studio could not have been more perfect with its location, its lighting, sparse beauty and ambiance. The cottage was charming, comfortable and I loved seeing the moon most evenings through the oak tree outside my window festooned with Spanish moss. Of course marvelous dinner parties were scrumptious, the conversations inspiring and the warmth and kindness of the Spring Islanders who picked me up so I wouldn't get lost, just made my experience on Spring Island that much sweeter...
Now it is my turn to say - come see Roger, me, Jaz and Rosie and visit my studio and our home! Greenville is a fabulous city and It would be wonderful to see you all again.
Alice
A final wistful look at the studio and some of the smaller meditation pieces I started as demos for the two mini workshops...
last but not least - ideas for small projects for visiting grandchildren and a mini example of how I make my hosta leaf plates
One last look at the moon over Spring Island from my Cottage before calling it a night...
This day was all about bringing the essence of the natural environment around the Barn into the studio to create an interior space that would reflect something of my experience as an artist touched by the exquisite beauty of Spring Island's natural environment. In this case it was the long needled pine, the cones, the bark, branches and long straight needles that had touched me the most.
The magnolia leaves were a thoughtful gift from a special visitor. When I added them to my still-life of branches, pines, bark, etc, they became a connection to my home in Greenville, SC where the magnificent magnolia trees have become my symbol for place.
In this large charcoal drawing you can see the influence of those long needled pine branches I collected from the tree just outside the studio.
The finished drawing of the pine branches, along with the other drawing became the bookends for a still-life of my red earthenware crepe myrtle containers with branches, leaves, pine cones and a palmetto fan. This arrangement along the back wall became the central element of the installation I was trying to create inside the Barn studio where I was working.
Sometimes I love the details best of all!
The last addition to the still-life was the Palmetto leaf.
This was the final touch to my studio installation. On the two low tables, one for drawing and one set up for work in clay, I laid out the work I had done in clay, some of which was started in the two fun mini workshops I did the first two days. I especially wanted folks coming to my powerpoint, "My life as a Spiral" on Thursday night to see something of my process as an artist.
Although speaking always makes my heart flutter a bit, a warm and receptive audience calmed me immediately and I settled into my talk, knowing I was among friends, some old and some new.. I started weaving my life story by sharing how childhood experiences before the age of 6 had a profound effect on my life and on my art. The Spring Island audience deserve special thanks and recognition for making me feel so at home and appreciated. An intimate and low-country gourmet dinner party at the club afterwards was the icing on the cake! This was one of a multitude of acts of kindness and hospitality that any future visiting artist can expect...
Installation of an artist at work in studio 1, the Barn, Spring Island, SC
An enchanting look at Spring Island up close...
Just outside the Barn studio stand these gorgeous, straight and regal long needled pine trees. They remind me of my South Carolina roots. As a child, whenever I returned to Florence, SC to see grandparents and cousins, the sight of sandy soil and pine trees, reminded me we were getting close to my birth place and some of my earliest memories. Nostalgia had already set in on my drive down from Greenville, SC the day before.
Of course I could not resist collecting a branch or two to take into the studio as a constant reminder of their beauty, grace, color, texture and fragrance...even the elegant line quality was exciting!
As always, I start with clay sketches or meditation bowls, often with natural materials pressed into the surface. This was just the beginning....
A view at day's end of the watery and textural environment that encompasses Spring Island.
Home for the evening and a view of the moon and a lone stare were made special by the darkness of the island. Only a few lights glitter in the distance across the horse pastures near my cottage and the barn.
And I have a wondrous tale to tell! It is a story about the abundant Spring Island hospitality and generosity. Add to that, Spring Island's exquisite natural environment, became an incubator that offered me an opportunity for new growth. It doesn't get any better than that!
Each day this week I will post images that will share the special and memorable journey I had into a paradise like no other! Images from day one will follow.
Avenue of Oaks leading down to the historic ruins of a once thriving plantation, perhaps the symbol of the merging of past and present on Spring Island.
Set up for a show of my work in the studio next to studio where I was working, in "the Barn".
The first day, my goal was to create a comfortable environment within the space of a fabulous and well lit studio in the Barn. Setting up a few things to create a certain familiarity was the first step. I set up a 2 tall containers I had brought and almost immediately added something new, a brilliant green apple. It was a special gift from a Spring Islander wishing me the best for the week, one of the first of many acts friendship, hospitality and support. Then I did a large charcoal drawing, quickly and furiously, to loosen up. This would after all, become my "nest" for the rest of the week...
Look for more tomorrow!