Religious Icon

 After watching the film Dead Man and seeing the scene on the left were the sherif is killed and falls on the fire pit, turning into a Religious icon, something clicked. It's a simple image  but says a lot about the religious relationship we have with nature, also touching upon Wicca.




Wicca: a religion influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices of western Europe that affirms the existence of supernatural power (as magic) and of both male and female deities who inhere in nature and that emphasises ritual observance of seasonal and life cycles
It also looks at death and how when we die nature claims us back.
Wiccan's share a belief in the importance of the feminine principle, a deep respect for nature, and a pantheistic and polytheistic worldview. They practice some form of ritual magic, almost always considered good or constructive. Some are solitary practitioners; others belong to covens.

These were taken with my Olympus and my Diana camera.

'The garden is my church, Nature is my Heaven.'

Two Silver Pennies

Another photo shoot I did with mum using Honesty, or the silver dollar plant. These works look at rituals, such as putting pennies on the eyes of the dead so they can cross the River Styx.

'Then place two silver pennies upon my eyes so I may gain access to Heaven.'

And When I Die…..

Some photos from a photo shoot I did with my mum a while ago the end result is the bottom photo.

'And when I die cover my face with beautiful flowers….'

Poetry In Between, Volume I.

So I have published my first book. Its self publishing, but still its published!
 You can follow the link and buy the book from Blurb. The preview below just shows the first 15 pages of the book, there are sixty-eight in all. I have ordered one for myself and I hope it is a success. I combined vintage photographs which I got while in America and my black out poetry. It's a fun play between pictures and text. With the large amount of blackout poetry I do and my new found love for the found photograph I plan to turn this in to a continuos series of books.

Poetry In Between Volume I by Emily Robards | Make Your Own Book

Pink

'I've never cared for pink.'


Its been a good while since I updated the blog, but with assessments coming up I assure you I will be updating it ten fold! This is a screen pint i did last week. Unfortunately I can't cut a straight line, a well known fact amongst my class, so the pink square is crooked. Oh well, I will be know as the crooked printmaker!

Swans

Another sew piece using image transfer. Not sure if I like the composition, maybe if I get time in the future I will redo it....

'I miss the days when we were first in love...'

Swans form monogamous pair bonds that last for many years, and in some cases these bonds can last for life. Their loyalty to their mates is so storied that the image of two swans swimming with their necks entwined in the shape of a heart has become a nearly universal symbol of love.......

 

This must get very boring........

Riitta Ikonen

In this photographic series the Finnish artist Riitta Ikonen and Norwegian photographer Karoline Hjorth decided to explore what happens when fairy tales end happily ever after, revisiting their favourite mythical characters post-retirement.

The result, the intriguing series "Eyes As Big As Plates," features elderly subjects enveloped in natural, scavenged material, both connecting the human subjects back to the Earth and creating a universal setting for the elegant images.
The first part of the series was produced in collaboration with local senior heroes, sailors, retired agronomies and 90-year old parachuters. Part two of Eyes as Big as Plates presents Pohjois-Karjala seniors through references of familiar characters and protagonists of Finnish folklore, infused with the participating local seniors’ own stories and personal relationship to folklore, myths and imagination.
Swallowed by their natural surroundings, the models turn into mythical creatures, connecting to the folklore of their homelands no matter how physically distant they may be.

The artists explain in a statement:

"This blending of figure and ground recalls the way in which folk narratives animate the natural world through a personification of nature. The slippage of elderly figures into the landscapes suggests a return to the earth, a celebration of lives lived, reinforcing the link between humanity and the natural world."

Masako Miki

Work By Masako Miki.

Cassandra Smith

Some beautiful sculpture work by Cassandra Smith. She takes objects from the natural world and turns them into her own unique works.

Myeongbeom Kim

Myeongbeom Kim creates surrela dream like scupltures inspired by nature and the everyday. He is one of those artists who instead of giving a big explanation about his work prefers it if the viewer takes away their own interpetation or meaning. I did manage to find an artist statement tho.

'My working concept is the story about the origin of our world. I think that all things have their own soul. For example, trees, rocks, water, soil and air have their own soul and life. When I see a rock in forest I think that it has its own reason for being. Through my art works I want to express that the origin of our world is nature and all things which we use are valuable. Especially I like to make my works with trees, animals, and water, and new images using daily stuffs. I always want to go back to nature from this mechanical world. However, I know it is impossible for even me, who is accustomed to this mechanical world, to return to nature. So, I would like to start showing how mother nature is great to others who cannot see it.
My concern about nature was expressed by setting a traffic signal light, a fish bowl, and a manhole cover, that are creatures of civilization, on the sea. This unexpected combination made it possible to create new time, space, and story.

By bringing the existence of nature into relief, I tried to make the audience to think themselves as aliens, who came from the external world, has to have an emergency landing on the earth.

In addition, I have still doing works with wood, animals, water, books, cars and daily objects which reflect human beings. Through my works I will talk about the origin of the world and the reason for being.'

 

Katie Eleanor

The dreamy photos of Katie Eleanor.

'Sky birthed a fawn from her womb, a skin of speckles, and ribs of petals, twisted tales fawn spoke to the moon, and left dear mama lying in nettles.'

Featured on Slow Art Day

A few weeks ago I entered one of my pieces for Slow Art Day's  Facebook Friday. They very kindly featured my work on their site. I just found out today! Woot! Its a start anyway. On their Facebook page they said, Emily Robards enchants with her textile work "Only in Fairytales." 

Thank you Slow Art Day! I'm so chuffed!

On their web-site

Their Facebook page.

Veterinary Notebooks

I have some of my grandpas old veterinary notebooks from college, I have been dying to use them for the longest time and finally I have been able to for this project.
I printed my photos onto acetate and stuck them onto various pages. I hope to fill the notebooks with photos eventually.