taking flight

taking flight

is not a given

all though not always right

all is not lost

Thirty-odd nests have made their way to me over the years. They are not ‘stolen’ as I know birds like to return year after year to the same spot and use the existing structure and build on it-the less work for them the better!

No, they are nests that have been blown down by the fierce winds or abandoned, like the cardinals’ nest in this image.

 

July

 a summer day

 8x10in, oil & cold wax on canvas 

words/image copyright Jan Yates 2014

available

The cardinals were nesting in a vine structure on the porch and one day the mother did not come back.

The heartbreak was in the Father. For weeks and weeks he would call for her, over and over through out the day, his frantic whistles painfully pleading for her return.

So I thought it fitting to make this on the porch. I’ve highlighted the nest, on the lower left, in the image below.

For Every Bird a Nest

For every bird a nest
Wherefore in timid quest
Some little Wren goes seeking round

Wherefore when boughs are free
Households in every tree
Pilgrim be found?

Perhaps a home too high
Ah Aristocracy!
The little Wren desires

Perhaps of twig so fine
Of twine e’en superfine,
Her pride aspires

The Lark is not ashamed
To build upon the ground
Her modest house

Yet who of all the throng
Dancing around the sun
Does so rejoice?

Emily Dickinson

 

June, a summer day

 encaustic on panel, 12x30in

copyright Jan Yates 2014 

 

This is the painting in progress. It's lovely to receive & incorporate  'gifts' into art-kind of like exchanging seeds or plants for your garden-share, nurture, grow...thanks Olga for the feathers!
My July teaching schedule has just been updated, so if you would like to grow your own work of art, please visit
http://www.janyates.com/teaching.html

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver

 Images copyright Jan Yates,  2014, sold

special plein air workshop

In the Orchard

The vibrant spring colours are here for a very short time-let’s get outdoors and paint them! We will work on location Monet style-‘en plein air’- among  orchards, lush fields and big open sky. For those preferring  to paint structures, there are barns, fences and wonderful fallen down sheds for inspiration This afternoon workshop is enjoyable for those with minimal art-making experience as well as more seasoned artists. In inclement weather, painting will progress in the studio with fresh spring cuttings as inspiration. Sessions are in oil or acrylic. Participants are responsible for their own supplies, paints etc. and a suggested colour pallet and list will be provided upon registration. Some outdoor easels are available.

Saturday, May 10 1:30-4:30PM *this workshop will make a lovely Mother’s Day Gift! REGISTRATION:     Grimsby Public Art Gallery 18 Carnegie Lane, Grimsby,    Ontario, L3M 1Y1 phone: 905-945-3246 e-mail: gpag@town.grimsby.on.ca webpage: www.town.grimsby.on.ca/ArtGallery/Main/