Dreaming with Hypnos

Hypnos - Ancient Greek God of Sleep : Painted plaster,life size.
This is the origin of the word hypnosis.


I made this sculpture (or rather he made himself known to me!)  in the 90s while attending a dream sharing group.Wings sprout from his head,and in my depiction the dream bird actually flies through his head.He sends people to sleep by touching their forehead with his wand or fanning them with his dark wings.

For some years he has lived in our guest room. During this time only one person has said they found him scary,and everyone remarks on having slept soundly.

In northern countries the natural world is winding down for the winter months.
Plants are asleep beneath a carpet of decomposing vegetation.

Photo by Margaret

Leaves have left the trees and we can now admire the beauty of spidery dark branches.

Photo by Margaret

Photo by Margaret

Photo by Margaret


Cock Pheasant in a suburban garden.

My Winter Flowering Jasmine has other ideas!



Thank you for visiting.

Circe's Wand

Assorted fabrics entwined around an Ash branch and pointed with a quartz clear crystal.



Following my previous post Circe's Island ................here is Circe's completed wand.

This one is for healing purposes!


You can see the making of the wand    HERE

Circe's Island

In ancient Greek mythology,the warrior king Odysseus,on his ten year journey home from the
Trojan War to his homeland of Ithaca,landed on the Island of Aiaia.

Unknown to Odysseus and his crew this was the home of the enchantress
and sorceress Circe,and her nymph attendants.

Drawn towards the centre of the island by the sight of smoke rising across
the dense forest and undergrowth,they set out to investigate.

Eventually they reached a clearing in the heart of the forest.

Here stood Circe's palace,where docile wild animals prowled around the house and grounds.
With the use of magic potions and a wand Circe transformed her enemies and those who upset her
into wild animals. The men obviously appeared a threat to her so she set about changing them into
 wild boar,however with the  help of the God Hermes,Odysseus persuaded 
her to release them from the spell.
Renowned for her knowledge of herbs and drugs it seems that she had
excellent protection against unwelcome invaders.

Odysseus remained on the island for a year before continuing his journey.

Painting by John William Waterhouse  - 1891


Goddess Circe,daughter of Sun God Helios,offering a potion to Odysseus.

I always think this beautiful vase by Siddy Langley looks like a potion bottle.When I bought it,sometime
in the 90s, I remember being told something about an ancient Roman technique incorporating
 gold being used in it's design. The colours glow as the light changes
throughout the day.

Poseidon blowing on the waters !

I'm making a wand for Circe.

 Hopefully the completed work will be shown in my next post.

Starry Universe

Starry Universe  -  Wall hanging : acrylic paints,sequins and quartz crystal beads on calico.

Detail

Artwork photos by Zoe Alexander.

Andromeda

Perseus

Stellar birth


Images   -   Wikipedia,Galaxy groups and clusters.

Master of the Universe and The Virgin of Alsace

Master of the Universe : Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005)

Scottish Gallery of Modern Art,Modern Two began life as the Dean Orphanage.
Designed in 1830 by architect Thomas Hamilton,the building entered it's present incarnation when it
as acquired by the Scottish National Galleries,opening in 1999 as the Dean Gallery.

The gallery houses a collection of Dada and Surrealist works including a large body of work gifted
by Edinburgh born Sir Eduardo Paolozzi,before his death.

Unfortunately the galleries operate a no photos policy indoors.

This is one of my favourite buildings in the city,probably because it looks and feels like an Italian palazzo. 
I can't begin to imagine the orphans' thoughts when they arrived here!

Ornate chimney construction.

Edinburgh skyline from the front terrace.

Foil :  Anthony Caro

Stone circle by Richard Long.

Behind this sculpture is the old Dean Cemetery which contains many elaborate
memorials to prominent city figures.

The Virgin of Alsace : Emile-Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929)

Land Forms and Earth Angels

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh consists of two Neo-classical buildings,
Modern One and Modern Two.

Modern One above,originally a school,was built in the 1820s and designed by architect William Burn.
Burn designed many churches,private houses and public buildings including 
Dawyck House and St.Johns Church.

Reclining Figure by Henry Moore (1898-1986)

The neon sculpture above the columns is by Martin Creed.

 

Landform by American landscape architect CHARLES JENCKS.

Soni Heights,  Nara Perfecture, Japan.

When I saw this photo (HERE) by my blog friend Cosmos,I was struck by the similarity to Charles Jenck's sculpture at the Gallery of Modern Art. This is Mother Nature's land art!

The building behind the land form and trees is gallery Modern Two.
I'll show this in my next post.

Earth Angels : by Meg Watson (1950-2002) : Oil on canvas.