Category Archives: Folklore & Mythology

Eco Collography – A New Development – St John’s Wort

Posted on July 18, 2017 by AnnIsikArts

Looking like fossilised remains of some ancient creature, this is an eco collograph of St John’s Wort, including stems, leaves and luscious red berries. I made a couple of little chemical changes to the process to ‘see what would happen’. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Collage & Assemblage, Eco/Natural Dyeing and Printing, Folklore & Mythology, Nature Journal, Printmaking | Tagged Eco Collograph, Herbiarum Vocabularum, Herbiary, Hypericum, Revd Hilderic Friend, St John the Baptist, St John's Wort | Leave a comment

The Naked Hero and the Red Stones

Posted on June 20, 2015 by AnnIsikArts

I’ve been writing about stones in recent blogs. Stones I’ve found on my new allotment plot, that, while uniformly black (more or less) on the outside, those I found split in two, revealed a wonderful interior uniqueness, like these in the picture to the left. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Folklore & Mythology, Short Story Writing, spirituality, Writing | Tagged metaphysics, Naked Hero, short story, Short Story Writing, Spiritual, Stones, Supernatural Writing | 6 Comments

Jeni’s Tulip Petal – An Easter Greetings Card

Posted on April 1, 2015 by AnnIsikArts

I had an Easter greetings card in the post today, from a long-time friend in Ireland. It was handmade especially for my husband and included this gorgeous dried petal from a tulip that blossomed in her garden last year. Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore & Mythology, spirituality | Tagged Eco Printing, Flora, flower language, flower symbolism, friendship, tulip, tulip history, tulip symbolism, Turkey | 2 Comments

Knitting with Ivy: Jesus Puja

Posted on November 13, 2014 by AnnIsikArts

Yes, this is ivy and I’ve been knitting with it. On bamboo needles. It was a sudden urge. Some of it I did in the middle of the night. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Collage & Assemblage, Folklore & Mythology, Inspiration, spirituality | Tagged fairy story, Flora, Hans Christian Andersen, Jesus, Knitting, Knitting with ivy, lifeline, Puja, shirts of nettle, The Wild Swans | 16 Comments

Below the Line Project: Arrows Fields Grids and Forces

Posted on March 3, 2014 by AnnIsikArts

A pattern and texture is the outcome of an encounter between a force and a resistance (Ann Isik (me) 2014)

I’ve been a little quiet on the blog recently. I’ve been preoccupied with dreadful draining domestic drudgery. My creative cauldron has been crooning constantly in the background, however, awaiting my stirring spoon.

Arrows. (I’m struggling to set alliteration aside, as you see) – Arrows became a form in my Below the Line project, representing force. Especially what I’m going to call the ‘forceless force’, meaning the force that is the source of the forces of nature. The idea for the name came when I was looking at an exhibition catalogue authored by Australian art historian Michael Brand. The exhibition was called The Vision of Kings – Art and Experience in India. I wrote in a recent blog about how I came across this catalogue and how by sheer synchronicity I got to see many of the real art works illustrating the catalogue on a trip to Boston and Harvard. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Art Journal, Folklore & Mythology, Inspiration, spirituality, Writing | Tagged Art, Art Project Development, Bebrew, Bhagavata Purana, Brahma, Brigitte Riley, Charles Fillmore, Cosmic Ocean, creativity, Encaustic painting, Forces, grid, Harvard, Helen Parrott, Herod, Hindu creation myth, Indian Art, Indian Painting, Italian Primitives, Joachim Patinir, Joanne Mattera, Krishna, Mark Making, metaphysics, Mixed media, Moses, music notation, Op Art, patterns, pharaoh, Pre-Renaissance painters, quantum field, quantum theory, quilting, Sackler, Siennese painting, textile art, textures, unified field theory, Unity Church, Vishnu | Leave a comment

Hone Life Word of the Week: Play: The Eighth Bowl

Posted on February 9, 2014 by AnnIsikArts

“All the world’s a stage and men and women merely players upon it.”

The Hone Life word of the week is play, as in playfulness rather than stage play, but in letting this quote select me, I’m demonstrating playfulness in letting my right brain, intuition, serendipity, synchronicity, Higher Consciousness, whatever you want to call it, have dominion. I’m being playful in my contemplation of play. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Christian writing, Folklore & Mythology, Inspiration, Research, Science, spirituality, Writing | Tagged Adam, Ancient Sumeria, Anyu, Apocalypse, Artistic Playfulness, As You Like It, Augustine, cells, Christian Writing, Christianity, Early Fathers, Eden, End Times, Enki, Enlil, Eucharist, Freelance Writing, Genesis, God, Golden Age, Graal, Hesiod, HigherConsciousness, Intuition, John of Patmos, Manichaeism, Nephilim, NewTestament, Ovid, Play, Playfulness, Prometheus, Revelation, Ritual, Seed, Serendipity, Seven Angels, Seven Bowls, Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, Seventh Age, Shakespeare, Synchronicity, The Ages of Man, Theme, Triad, Trinity, Works and Days | Leave a comment

NaBloPoMo XI: Armistice Day and The Compleat Trespasser

Posted on November 11, 2013 by AnnIsikArts

“But then why shouldn’t the British people have free access to the best bits of our own countryside? Many of our parents and grandparents fought for this country in the world wars. Some of my readers may well have served in more recent conflicts. Why is it deemed okay to be prepared to die for your country, but not be allowed to walk across it?” Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore & Mythology, spirituality, Walking, Writing | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Book Reviews, NaBloPoMo, Remembrance Sunday, Rilla of Ingleside, Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest, Tony Curtis, Walking Guides & Books | 2 Comments

Walking the Earth

Posted on August 14, 2013 by AnnIsikArts

I’ve just had a newsletter drop into my email box from an artist whose work I admire: Bridgette Guerzon Mills. There was a lovely image in the newsletter of Walking the Earth, an artist book that includes encaustic, plaster gauze, sticks, leaves, bark, thread and oil stick. Bridgette, who suffered terrible artistic losses earlier this year in a flood that damaged her studio, is about to teach at The Red Thread Retreat. Red Thread Retreat is the vision of artist Lesley Riley. Continue reading →

Posted in Altered Books, Art, Art Journal, Collage & Assemblage, Encaustic Art, Folklore & Mythology, Inspiration, Mixed Media, Painting, Walking | Tagged Art Journal, artist retreat, Bridgette Guerzon Mills, The Red Shoes, The Red Thread Retreat, visual journal, Walking, Walking on Purpose, Walking the Earth, Web Site Reviews | Leave a comment

Playing the Cards You’re Dealt

Posted on May 11, 2013 by AnnIsikArts

During the recent repainting of my studio I found this incomplete art project and I’ve been pushing some of its elements around on the front cover of this erstwhile children’s board book. It’s become a maquette and I’ll be doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Altered Books, Art, Dreams, Folklore & Mythology, Mixed Media, Sculpture, spirituality | Tagged Fossil Form, Grand Cayman, Maquette, sculpture, song to the moon, there are no coincidences, water sprite | 11 Comments

What I’ve been singing this week: Rusalka: Song To The Moon

Posted on April 27, 2013 by AnnIsikArts

Rusalki, in Slavic Mythology, are unquietly dead and generally inhabit watery places such as lakes and rivers, but come ashore during the night to cause trouble, especially to bachelors, singing them to their doom, just like selkies and mermaids.

The opera is by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904). Song To The Moon is from Act 1 and is the opera’s most popular aria.

So far, my rendition has not attracted any bachelors. I’ll keep at it. Continue reading →