All the best for 2014

Catching up with things a few days ago I got to hear the Festival of Lessons and Carols from Kings College. I look forward to what carols they will sing, what arrangements they will use, what new descants will they sing, and especially how they will put the service together. The gem this year was John Tavener's The Lamb followed by Britten's A New Years Carol. I had forgotten how beautiful the words were for the Britten

Here we bring new water from the well so clear
For to worship God with, this happy New Year
Sing levy dew, sing levy dew, the water and the wine;
The seven bright gold wires and the bugles that do shine.

Sing reign of Fair Maid, with gold upon her toe,
Open you the West Door, and turn the Old Year go.
Sing levy dew, sing levy dew, the water and the wine;
The seven bright gold wires and the bugles that do shine.

Sing reign of Fair Maid, with gold upon her chin,
Open you the East Door, and let the New Year in.
Sing levy dew, sing levy dew, the water and the wine;
The seven bright gold wires and the bugles that do shine.

About levy dew, there are 2 ways of looking at this, "Levez a Dieu" ("raise to God") or treat it as a corruption of "levedy" ("lady"). It seems, as so many of our customs, to be based in ancient rituals of using water to cleanse and purify, along with song and dance. 

Wishing you all the very best for the New Year; love, health, hope and much creativity, and thanks for all your lovely comments throughout the year.

7 bright gold wires, 2013

To listen to A New Years Carol [link here], 

To listen to Kings sing John Tavener's The Lamb [link here]

or The Sixteen do a great job of it here [link here]

Lethal Beauty

We have power! It's been quite the storm, so much more ice than the ice storm of 1998 when we lost power over a 3 week period, so there has been much singing of the Hallelujah Chorus around this house and grateful thanks to all the Hydo workers, firemen and all the workers who have just plain been amazing and wonderful. The sun is shining, well intermittently, and I'm almost ready. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone, however you celebrate!

Trying to Figure This Out

A few days ago I mentioned that I was dreaming of Florence and the colors of the early renaissance. And for the past 6 months or so I have been intrigued with the perspective of that time. The figures all seem to be on one flat plane, almost like an old fashioned movie set, or stage set, with the painted back drop using one point perspective. Before this I can't say I paid to much attention to the background as I thought it was a dream world. And then when we were in Florence and I realized the landscapes were true; it's what we saw out of our hotel windows and as we walked the streets and churches and museums. And then I started to pay more attention to buildings, and columns, the actual space within the paintings. And I wondered, what about using this dream like perspective.

For the rose boat, 2013

pink sky, 2013

Altered Book

About a month ago I started reading Andrew Solomon's book Far from the Tree, and while I loved it, I wasn't making much progress. This book is thick and heavy and impossible to read in bed, where I get most of my reading done. So it sat languishing on the bedside table until I had that eureka moment. Cut it in half. Sounds simple but it took more that a few days to get up the courage to desecrate a book;  you never harm a book was how I was brought up. Loved the book, I highly recommend it; and the above method if you, like me, like to read in bed.

doing the dastardly deed

finished, and now held together with one of those great X elastics

It's Been Cold!

The last couple of mornings we have woken up to -28C which is about -20 F. [and this is only December she wails].  When it is this cold and windy the bottoms of the windows frost over and captured in the frost is another world, one that has always entranced me. Sometimes the frost reminds me of cross sections of the earth from old geography books, and sometimes they make me dream of distant galaxies.

layers

Looking back from the edge of space

More Boats

For the last few months I been thinking about the wonderful colours of the early renaissance and dreaming of time spent in Florence; and learning how to draw shapes in photoshop, small things and immensely enjoyable.

prow of the rose boat, 2013

deck , of the rose boat, 2013

Happy Accidents

Needing a break from working in the web site I would go back and play with the boat plans my brother had sent. The lines are beautiful with long and elegant curves. This piece was unexpected as I seldom mirror my images. I'm glad I did!

Dome, 2013

Short Days

Less than 2 weeks to the solstice and it hard to believe the sun can move any further south. It casts long lines of tree shadow over the land while it fills the studios with light. The pond with it lack of snow has been particularly beautiful in the slanted soft light.

The glint of the late [3 pm] afternoon light

long shadows on the pond

The New Website

Finished, uploaded, and it seems to work! Yeah! Now I can go back to the studio. Please take a visit www.lizdavidsonartist.com  And don't forget that you can click on any photo to enlarge it.

The new website

2 for Jazz

I am loving the shapes and lines from these boat plans that my brother sent me last week. After working on the web site [which is coming along thanks to some great suggestions from friends, especially the words archive and responsive ] it is a total pleasure to play with shape, line and colour.

Jazz1, 2013

Jazz 2c, 2013