My Crane Dance necklace, made of precious gemstones and recycled silver, has got off to a flying start this summer!
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| The Crane Dance necklace |
Firstly, I was delighted to have the Crane Dance necklace selected to be in the finals of the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2014. The competition was open to artists world-wide and I was lucky enough to have two pieces reach the finals in London! My Crane Dance necklace, which was selected for the 'Wildlife in 3D' category, plus my 'Choughs above Morvah' watercolour painting. Both pieces were exhibited in the Mall Galleries in London, which was full to bursting on the day of the exhibition.
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| Choughs above Morvah |
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| The Mall Galleries, Wildlife Artist of the Year 2014 finals |
On top of its success in the Wildlife Artist of the Year, my Crane Dance necklace has also been chosen, along with 'Gentle Mirror' my watercolour painting of the River Brue, to appear at the Real Somerset Exhibition at the A2 Gallery in Wells, more details of this can be found on my website www.ericasharpe.co.uk or at www.a2gallery.co.uk
In addition to this my good friend, artist and sculptor Ian Marlow ARBS was inspired by the necklace to write his poem 'The Dance':
The Dance
I leaned my back against the willow tree,
And through the swaying curtain of its leaves,
I watched them as they moved upon the water’s edge.
Their snow white plumage sparkled in the waves,
As if a thousand cameras flashed to catch the magic of
The show - and yet, I knew that no one watched but me.
And there I stayed, unable yet to move or take my eyes
Beyond the stage on which they played.
They, like perfect actors, saw no audience there;
Performed for no one but themselves, while I saw
Nothing but their dance. Nor did I hear the sounds
That must have touched my ears: the wind among
The leaves, the lapping of the water on the shore,
It was as if my soul had heard their call and fled
To join them there. And so it was.
There I was, white-feathered on the stage,
My wings outstretched, I danced.
My body rising in the air above the white-splashed floor
On which we stepped. On which we swayed.
On which we swept our heads, and bowed, and leapt,
And spun around, and hopped and bopped, and
Pranced and danced to ancient primal rhythms -
Heartbeats of the Earth - that echo from the dawn of time.
And every single flash of white upon the water’s edge
Became a paper square that folded to the image of a bird.
And soon a thousand paper cranes took to the air,
And as I watched them fly away I made a wish:
A wish that humankind might once again return
To dance unto the rhythm of the earth.
Ian Marlow 2014
Due to its popularity so far this summer, I will be reproducing the Crane Dance necklace for sale at my gallery in Wedmore and designing earrings, also in recycled silver, to match the necklace.
