BLOG: Life Under the Ocean.
Even if you never have
The chance to see or touch the ocean:
The ocean touches you with every breath you take:
Every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume.
Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to
And utterly dependent upon
The existence
Of the sea.
~Sylvia A. Earle: The World Is Blue.
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Life Under the Ocean brings together my work with ephemeral art and photography with digital montage imagery. A piece of the puzzle that I've been seeking for a long long time: A theme that I feel is worthy of spending time/energy developing for my drawing and painting.
Using images and symbols of life and beauty, love and joy, I attempted to bring my interest in the ecology of our marine world and the Seed of Life together.
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Boomerang Beach.
A few years ago I traveled about 400 kms north of Sydney with a good friend. The last few day spent relaxing and exploring Boomerang Beach, home to natural beauty lovers, surfers and swimmers, dolphins and whales.
Walking to the very end of the beach early one morning, I came upon the reef rockpools. And there, in the low tide, I caught a glimpse of my very first starfish.
Gradually I began to see that there was not just one, but whole tribes of starfish. Sheltering in the shallows of the crevices and along the edges of the rocks. Many half buried in the sand.
Their muted grey, decorated with different markings: Dusty pinks and pale blues, punctuated with bright aqua.
Water flowing into the Rockpools.
This image combines a photograph taken looking down into one of the rockpools as the ocean tide was coming in, with images of 6 different starfish that were photographed in the rockpool. As the water receded, the surface of the water was so still, for just a few split seconds.
I move
Imperceptibly.
Beneath waves. Over sand.
Holding the energy of earthly time.
I am receptive to the light of the stars. ~Starfish.
By itself, water does not produce the dimethyl sulfide molecules
Around which water gathers to form vapor ~ That becomes clouds
That in turn, become rain, sleet and snow.
Microscopic photosynthetic organisms in the sea
Do all of these things and much more.
~Sylvia A. Earle.
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The dream.
I went to bed asking for guidance on the direction my art needed to take.
The dream: I was overlooking an expansive landscape of undulating green fields
As I looked down onto an area of vibrant green grass, I noticed a bare patch in it that was starting to spread out. I felt a ripple of disconcertedness.
As I looked closer I could see that this browned area was formed by the earth being pushed up by something that was below the earth. Apprehension turned to curiosity.
Closer again and I could see that the earth was being shaped into fine lines forming a pattern. I could then see that the earth 'pushers' were hundreds of bees.
The form the bees were making was a PERFECT Seed of Life.
For me now there's a connection between the Seed of Life and the life of the bees.
Orchids and the Seed of Life.
The Crimson Seed of Life was a design based on the Seed of Life. It was made by cutting out the individual segments from a Japanese wrapping paper and carefully pasting them into position.
A friend had given me a set of pure beeswax tea light candles wrapped in this paper. Inspiration struck a chord the moment I saw it.
Prochlorococcus is just one blue-green bacteria
That is so abundant: That it alone is responsible
For about 20 % of the oxygen in the atmosphere.
~Sylvia A. Earle.
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Final Image for Life Under the Ocean.
Merging of these two images using Photoshop.
Put another way:
This nearly invisible form of life
Generates the oxygen in one of every five breaths
You take. No matter where on the planet you live.
~Sylvia A. Earle.
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A heart that is holding infinite possibilities.
A creative who is learning to trust the mystery of what will be.
A spirit that is willing to fly into new creative realms and share the journey. ~Ally.
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Art and Photography: ©Alison Lee Cousland.
#digitalart #art #photography #ecology #nature