JazWorks

Jill Zaheer's JAZWORKS: A Tapestry of Mixed Media, Painting, Collaborations, Photography, and Poetry

Monday, March 8, 2010

Gifts of the Sea Meets Designs in Nature!

This is the fifth of my six postings on our InnerWorks altered book pages. Today, I am paired up with Rita Vindedzis, an extraordinary  and versatile artist in Canada - talented in so many areas of the art world.  Rita's pages in my Designs in Nature book below are stunning- and are actually representative of some of her own paintings outside of our Innerworks Collaboration which you can see  here.


 Rita also included a gift of this beautiful bookmark 
seen below.



     Thank you Rita for these gorgeous pages
 filled with such a touching  journey through nature at its most beautiful! 
                                                                  
                                                                       ##########

Below are my pages in Rita's book Gifts of the Sea. These pages were  my "first  ever" pages created in an altered book collaboration.  I was so excited and yet so uncertain about how to work in Rita's book "correctly",  not to get paint on any of her own beautiful pages, and had to figure out what and how I was going to do this-prevously painting only on canvas. I had such an exciting time connecting with all my senses to" the sea" while having an amazing learning experience and new challenge to embark on!  I've added netting, real beach sand and shells for texture and some authenticity,  pearls and created paper mache fish with words on them to capture some of the highlights of what the sea's gifts are to me.















The sea triggers all of my senses in a way few other surroundings do. I hear the waves flowing in and out with the tides, the sea gulls noisily chirping with their wide strong wings fluttering away, and the air gracing my face against my skin. The salty sea air is so strong I can almost sense the taste of it- while feeling the sun's rays beating down  - feeling its heat making that special "contact moment" when you sense that it’s on you. And with my eyes- it's always a feast to look at the sky with its pattern of clouds,  different textures and   shades of  sand, the moving water sectioned in all different colors of blues and greens shimmering and glittering, the white and beige frothy foam and all of the shells and sea life left along the water's edge.

Looking out at the sea- where the sky's horizon meets the water- sometimes with the very tiny mark of a ship in front, it just makes me think of all the things I want to create- what I dream of and am inspired to think about. It’s a humbling experience to think of  the speck that you are within the planet- but what an immense impact you can have on the lives of people around you.

Remember to let those you love
 know how you feel about them.
It will bring that magical flicker to their eyes.

                                                                             

8 comments:

Seth said...

Stunning pages from both of you. I love Rita's interpretation of the theme and her use of trees and branches as symbols of nature is breathtaking. And your pages are extraordinary. Having seen them in person I know the incredible depth and texture you achieved. Hard to believe it was your first set of altered pages!!!

Steen said...

Yes, these images really take us back to some of your first beautiful creations in March last year. I still have the one image with the sun in the horizon on my wall. Now your words are giving new life to your images and now they make them even more marvellous. Again thanks for your thoughts, for sharing with us what you sense, and for the ending. Also praise to Rita for these “cool” and beautiful images. Steen.

Rita Vindedzis said...

Jill, thanks so much for the lovely photos and kind words.

I so love the work you did in my book. It's hard to imagine you being as nervous as I when this project began. A collaboration of this sort was the "first time" for both of us and I think we both handled it quite well (pat on back for both of us. :-)

Your pages in my book fill me with such emotion and wakes up my senses. It's as if I'm right there and can feel the sun, smell the salt air, feel the sand between my toes, hear the sea birds. And thank you for sharing how the sea and all it's gifts makes you feel, the connection you have to it. Thanks for being in the group and sharing your beautiful art with us all.

Caterina Giglio said...

absolutely gorgeous work! I adore the snow page with the tree and the ripped page that folds back to reveal the leaf... Lucky you!!!

rivergardenstudio said...

Oh Jill, this is a stunning post. I love the ocean as well, and how you describe the feeling of being a speck on the earth, but so influential to those around us is beautiful. Creating art is so exciting, and I can feel this from this post (all your posts!). Sending blessings... I hope you got the river book? roxanne

Four Seasons in a Life said...

Dear Jill,

The work you share and that of your own is just wonderful and though I wish not to distract from your achievements, please allow me to share a moment that I experienced the day you posted this.

I was at the ocean and nature had given me the most spectacular day, from sunshine, strong winds, rain and hail and I loved every moment of it.

I found beautiful shaped pebbled, even a stone in the shape of a heart. because the ocean's waters had ebbed, the seas revealed her treasures and I collected seas shells and some ocean glass I am going to send to a friend in Germany.

For me this was one of the best days I had in many years.

Warmest regards,
Egmont

Renee Howell said...

Jill - these pages are wonderful. And I can so identify with your concern about "not messing up pages" in someone else's book. I KNOW that feeling when "my art" was in the quilting world. What if I MESS UP HER quilt!

I have some new ideas....thanks for sharing! Have a great day!

~*~Patty Szymkowicz said...

Pure delight to gaze upon these pages!!! You have both taken bits of nature and created magic!
oxo

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