Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
{mermaid pearl hairpins}
. . . do you remember the mermaid pearl hairpins how-to at {this is glamorous}? . . . so love very lovely to see them worn another way . . .
[marloes horst by will davidson for harper's bazaar australia march 2012 via visual optimism]
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Renga Days with Guest Renga writer Alan Summers hosted by North Devon Arts Membership Secretary Jann Wirtz
 |
Host Jann Wirtz welcomes all renga writers! All renga enthusiasts, whether you are first-timers or experiencedCome and join us for a relaxed, enjoyable but informative day, or two for observing or composing renga verses at Broomhill Arts Hotel, an experience in itself. Jann Wirtz is the North Devon Arts Membership Secretary, and an experienced haiku, haibun, and renga writer. |
The renga (singular and plural name) will be published in highly regarded magazine Notes from the Gean:
Broomhill is just north of Barnstaple in North Devon, England.
Broomhill Art & Sculpture Foundation
images from: http://www.thegardeningwebsite.co.uk/sculpture-c9176.html
Where to find Broomhill Arts Hotel:
http://broomhillart.co.uk/information/findingus.html
The Sculpture Gardens:
http://broomhillart.co.uk/sculpturegardens/index.html
What they say about Broomhill Arts Hotel:
http://broomhillart.co.uk/information/what-they-say.html
Contact and information details for the Broomhill Arts Hotel:
http://broomhillart.co.uk/information/contactus.html
For any other information please don't hesitate to contact me at:
alan@withwords.org.uk
Alan Summers Honourable Mentions for haiku in the Best of Mainichi Shimbun, Japan
I didn't get round to submitting often to Mainichi Shimbun aka Mainichi Daily News in 2011 so it was a delightful surprise when I received two Honourable Mentions selected by the (Tokyo) Museum of Haiku Literature's Isamu Hashimoto:
April 30, 2011
rain clouds
conversations shift around
the train carriage
— Alan Summers (Bradford-on-Avon, England)
Isamu Hashimoto:
All the passengers must be afraid of a delay. The train continues to run along the steep precipices under the rain clouds.
May 28, 2011
netsuke...
the hare with amber eyes
jumps back in again
— Alan Summers (Bradford-on-Avon, England)
Isamu Hashimoto:
Netsuke (small Japanese art sculptures) are attached to purses as stoppers. They are valuable and are often made of ivory or chased gold.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Quest Contemporary Art Gallery Haiku Course
The Haiku Course in Poetry and Art:
- Wk 1. The Golden Ratio of Art through Haiku
- Wk 2. Hemingway's Shoes and Mono no Aware
- Wk 3. Wabi-Sabi and Haiku
- Wk 4. The Gentle Whispers of Haiku
- Wk 5. The Brightness of Balance in Haiku
The Quest Gallery Haiku Sessions:
The Haiku Course at The Quest Gallery
Japan Times award-winning writer Alan Summers has joined with Quest Gallery to develop a unique Haiku poetry course. Each session will be developed in response to the changing exhibitions at Quest Gallery, providing a unique and inspiring environment for learning. Over the course of 5 weeks, students will experience the fundamental principles that underpin haiku, and apply these to their own poetry that they will develop and refine throughout the course.
This is a unique opportunity to learn about Japanese poetry, and contemporary art, in the beautiful setting of one of Bath's most prestigious art galleries.
The course includes an event with special guest speakers where students can showcase their own work. There is also the opportunity to contribute haiku to the exhibition catalogue, producing a creative legacy for for both participants and for the gallery.
*Course Outline*
Wk 1. The Golden Ratio of Art through Haiku
Wk 2. Hemingway's Shoes and Mono no Aware
Wk 3. Wabi-Sabi and Haiku
Wk 4. The Gentle Whispers of Haiku
Wk 5. The Brightness of Balance in Haiku
Wednesdays 30 May - 4 July
(5 week course with one session off for half term)
Times: 6.30 - 8pm
Special Event Date: TBC (Week of 25 June)
Tutor: Alan Summers
Cost: £75 for 5 week course
Concessions: £70
Venue:
Quest Gallery, 7 Margaret's Building, Bath BA1 2LP
Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.
For more details about booking on any of these courses, please don't hesitate to email or contact Sarah at the Quest Gallery on 01225 444142 or email sarah@questgallery.co.uk
Sarah Jenkins
Projects Coordinator
Quest Gallery
{elle russia | perfectly pretty pastels}
[Skye Stracke by Kayt Jones for Elle Russia April 2012 /// Stylist: Daria Anichkina /// Hair: Patricia Morales /// Make-up: Sarai /// via studded hearts]
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
World Sparrow Day
little sparrow
I regret nothing
flowers in the wind
haiku by Alan Summers
Publications credits: haijinx volume IV, issue 1 (2011)
artwork: Dru Marland
World Sparrow Day: March 20, 2012
http://www.worldsparrowday.org
WSD theme: CHIRP FOR THE SPARROW! TWEET FOR THE SPARROW!
The World Sparrow Day (WSD) is not just a one-day celebration of the ubiquitous, but fast-disappearing sparrow, but an attempt by us to bring sparrow lovers and nature supporters on a common platform, and kick off a conservation movement to save the common flora and fauna of the world.
While commendable attention has been paid by experts as well as the government to conserve endangered and exotic wildlife species like the tigers and elephants, common animals, birds and plants suffer a bleak future due of general neglect and oversight.
The pace at which our immediate environment is degrading, our common species may find their way into the endangered list before we even know it. Spreading awareness about the significance of common birds, animals and plants at this juncture is very important.
Bearing this in mind, our theme for WSD this year is called ‘Chirp for the sparrow! Tweet for the sparrow!’ This is a call to you, our friends across the world – individuals, institutes, companies and experts – to spread the word to save the sparrow and other common species. You can do it easily, by using your everyday communication devices: your mobile phones, emails, telephones as well as sharing thought on websites, social networking sites, blogs and every other possible platform.
What you can do?* Make the WSD logo your profile picture and the WSD website your homepage.
We encourage you to make the WSD logo your profile picture on social networking sites (like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, etc.), as well as your messenger and chat accounts. Make the WSD website (www.worldsparrowday.org) your homepage on your personal computer.
You can also use our photos on social networking sites circulate them as emails and request people to participate in our cause. We request you to include our logos in all your WSD related messages, activities and information materials. You can download the logos and limited images free-of-charge from the Nature Forever Society website since they have been produced for the sole purpose of spreading awareness of the day.
You can also donate your own photographs to help us spread the message on the WSD event.
* Write blogs
We request you to write blogs on the need to conserve sparrows and other common species of birds, animals and plants! Saving common species of flora and fauna is as vital to the ecological balance of earth as conservation of endangered species. Or else, considering the pace of degradation of natural resources, it won't be long before the common species become endangered. (A case in point is the Indian Vulture: a once widespread species now on the brink of extinction).
Your blogs, highlighting this fact, will help and guide millions of like-minded people across the globe to join our movement.
Use your mobile phone to send SMS, informing people to join the worldwide WSD movement on March 20, 2011. You can also send emails to your friends, acquaintances and professional contacts, spreading awareness to join this cause by doing their bit. You can direct them to visit www.worldsparrowday.org for more information.
You can make short movies and documentaries and upload it on WSD’s Facebook page
* Tweet on WSD
Make your friendly-neighborhood sparrow an online celebrity! Tweet about them on Twitter!
* Share your story
Have a real life story, an essay, a fable, a fiction or a poem on the sparrows? You can post them on our Facebook group.
* Take out a sparrow procession
This may be one of the best ways to raise awareness on WSD. Take groups of school and college students, animal lovers, homemakers and general enthusiasts on sparrow processions. Kids are the future of our nation, and their involvement is vital in reviving the population of sparrows as well as conserving the ecology.
WSD activities can take place both indoors and outdoors. Schools, parks, town halls, education centres and nature reserves are all places where events can be hosted. Interesting outdoor activities like bird watching tours and educational workshops as well as indoor programmes like dramas, festivals, exhibitions, painting and photo competitions will raise awareness. Bird watching is a fun way of making children identify and relate with their natural habitats. It will help raise overall awareness on the issue and help us find possible solutions to reduce the threats facing sparrows.
For older students, indoor programmes like drawing and painting competition on the theme "Chirp for the Sparrow! Tweet for the Sparrow!" can be organised by housing societies, schools and colleges. Students can also be asked to make creative posters on sparrows and their habitats.
We request all nature lovers and mindful citizens to join with us and CHIRP FOR THE SPARROW! TWEET FOR THE SPARROW! A small step by you will go a long way in spreading the message on sparrows and the need to save them.
This year, our annual World Sparrow Day event will reinstate the significance not only of the sparrow, but all the common birds and biodiversity which are often overlooked and abused by virtue of being too commonplace.
Initially called the World House Sparrow Day, this international initiative was launched in 2010, by Nature Forever Society, in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France), Avon Wildlife Trust (UK) and some other national and international organisations.
In 2011, respecting the views of a large number of bird lovers and environment enthusiasts who wrote to us, we decided to expand our sphere to celebrate not only the house sparrow – but the 26 species of sparrows found across the globe.
Interestingly, in one of its firsts, Nature Forever Society will soon showcase exclusive photographs and information on as many as 22 of the 26 species of sparrows on its website www.natureforever.com and the dedicated interactive website www.worldsparrowday.org.
We are among the first organisations in the world to have collected such a wide range of photographs of the sparrow species – many of which are elusive and not as conspicuous as the house sparrow. We believe that this effort, in itself, is a feat worth celebration.
Monday, March 19, 2012
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