More land art on Gordon's Bay beach

Small elongated pieces of rock that seems to 'sliver' off from large rocks, planted into the sand, and washed away by the tide

These are the rocks where I found the long pieces of rock. There are several yellow rocks lying around, which I used to accentuate a natural cleft between the rocks.

2014 Cape Town Eco Film Festival

Join me at the inaugural Cape Town Eco Film Festival, which will take place at the Labia Theatre on Orange Street in Cape Town from Thursday the 27th of March to Monday the 31st of March.

Among the 25 short and feature-length films to be on show, are 10 movies that have never been seen in South Africa. Highlights of the lineup include:

• Gasland Part II – the explosive follow-up to the 2011 Oscar-nominated film Gasland about fracking.
• Blackfish – an astonishing eco-thriller about the plight of killer whales in captivity and the danger that comes with it.
• Bringing It Home – a film about industrial hemp cultivation featuring Cape Town’s own hemp expert Tony Budden of Hemporium fame.
• More Than Honey – a beautiful Swiss masterpiece that compares old-fashioned beekeeping with its modern industrial counterpart.

The complete programme and information about all of the films, including trailers, can be found on the Festival website: www.capetownecofilmfestival.com.

Tickets will sell for R45, of which R5 will go towards Festival sponsor Greenpop’s tree planting efforts. “Festival goers will also be able to buy ‘Tree Tickets’, which will cost R160 and each of which will allow Greenpop to plant a tree!” explains Wilson-Späth. Online ticket sales will become available on the Festival website within the next few weeks. For now, tickets may be reserved by calling the Labia box office at 021 424 5927.

For more information, visit www.capetownecofilmfestival.com and www.facebook.com/whileyouweresleepingSA and follow While You Were Sleeping on Twitter (@WYWS_SA).

"Kinship"

"Kinship" by Janet Botes

Created in support of the House of Love and Hope

Go and view the Booom!Baby Exhibition at

Upstairs, 202a Florida Road, Durban

27 February 2014

Facebook Event page

Wild & Still

I am having my first solo exhibition!

WILD & STILL

expressions of the landscape

by Janet Botes

"Wildness ~ the sheer power and awe of waves crashing onto the beach, or a storm raging in the sky. Stillness ~ in the silent beauty of mist, the curve of a shell, and the fine details of an insect's wing."

This exhibition of artworks aims to achieve a tension between the raw power of the wilderness and tranquillity in a natural landscape. The artworks include still snapshots of wildness, in the form of paintings, drawings, mixed media work, and original limited edition prints.

Opening 5 June 2014 at 6pm
Introduction by Strijdom van der Merwe
Performance Art at 7pm
Artist Walkabout 14 June at 11am
Exhibition on view until 30 June 2014

Hosted by www.StateoftheArt.co.za, located in the heart of Cape Town, between Loop and Bree street, and known for selling affordable original art by South African emerging artists.

New work: February 2014

More information on this work and two other new Nuances works:

Spirit of the Desert: janetbotes.com/spiritofthedesert

Sinai Mountains: janetbotes.com/sinaimountains

Oludeniz: janetbotes.com/oludeniz

I am also doing some interesting 'experiments', drying kelp and sea lettuce:

See more

And... this morning I spent my early morning on Gordon's Bay beach to create land art. View photographs on my website or facebook page.

Work in Progress: African rock in Plaster-of-paris shape

Hartland Swartland

landskap hartland

vlaktes van gister se son, wind en weer

oopgevlek vir die toekoms se woeker en weet

van wild leef. 

stilwees.

hartland sandland

oggendwasem wat wegsmelt voor die son

terwyl ons langsaam voorstloer

en uitreik na verre horison

strandland swartskaap

wegvee van my spore deur wind se wieg

en wegdraai en hardloop

na horisonsbedrieg

moederland swartland

my hart lê begrawe

in die sand van Afrika

met mynskag se sweepslag

in die doodstil oggendmis

- janet botes, 2013

Stilness

"Stillness"

Janet Botes

Gips, staal en gevonde hout | Plaster of Paris, steel and found wood

154mm high

2014

This small sculpture is a reworking of a carving made for the Scapes & Scrapes exhibition held at Bodutu Gallery in 2011:

Sketchbook Snapshot: leaves, seeds & foliage

"Everything in Nature carries significance; one simply has to know how to read the signs" - Linda Tucker, Saving the White Lions

Local Event: the Craft of Ubuntu at D-Street Gallery

I am not participating in this exhibition, but will be attending and thought it worthwhile to share. As part of a 2014 World Design Capital initiative of SHIFT and in collaboration with the University of the Arts London Central Saint Martins and the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography D-Street Gallery will present this jewellery, ceramics and craft exhibition:

The CRAFT of UBUNTU - An exploration of Collaboration through Making.
D-Street Gallery, 112 Dorp Street Stellenbosch.
Opening 21 February 2014 at 18:30.

Showing until 3 March 2014.

Riebeeck Kasteel

I took a trip to Riebeeck Kasteel in the Western Cape, about an hour's drive (depending on how many trucks are on the road, and how many times you stop to take photographs) from Cape Town, to spend an evening with the very talented artists Stefanie Schoeman and Loni Dräger. I didn't take a lot of photos, but here is some of them and you might see traces of them in some new artworks I'm currently working on.

Waarom verandering goed is vir jou

Weet jy, gewoonlik is ek mal daaroor om nuwe dinge te sien, te leer of te ervaar. Verandering in jou lewe kan wondere verrig vir hoe jy die wêreld rondom jou ervaar en daartoe reageer. 'n Verandering kan so klein wees soos om 'n ander tandepaste te begin gebruik, 'n ander pad werk toe te ry of om 'n appel eerder as 'n peisang as jou wakker-word snack te eet. Of dit kan so groot wees soos na 'n nuwe dorp toe verhuis, trou of besluit om jou hele persoonlike styl te hernu.

Ek het al 'n massa groot en klein veranderinge gemaak in my lewe, wat trek, trou en my werk los om voltyds kuns te doen, insluit. Ek het ook groot en klein veranderinge gemaak in my leefstyl, die produkte wat ek gebruik en die kos wat ek eet. Hier is 'n paar van hulle:

• Ek gebruik nie seep, sjampoe, tandepaste of ander lyfprodukte wat chemikalieë bevat nie. Hoe kry ek dit reg? Ek gebruik hierdie outjies:
  
  
  
  Earthsap tandepasta |  NatureFresh se Deodorant Body Wash (ek was ook my hare hiermee!) | Hemporium se deodorant roll-on | Ek gebruik ook dikwels Bloublommetjieskloof se produkte, en is mal oor hulle koekies seep met fynbos.
• Ek eet nie suiker nie, slegs heuning elke nou en dan. Ek sit geen suiker in my koffie, tee, ontbytpap of enige ander kosse nie. So nee, ek het nie 'commercial sweets' en tjoklits nie. Ek eet nou en dan 85% donker sjokolade.
• Ek eet oorwegend groente, vrugte, neute, sade, slaaie, vis, en eiers.
• As gevolg van allergieë MOES ek 'n verandering maak in terme van graankosse en suiwelprodukte. Instede van brood, pasta, koekies, en ander koring-of-rog produkte, eet ek rys, aartappel, en deegkosse gemaak met rysmeel, amandelmeel (sjoe, baie duur! net vir verjaarsdae!) en chickpea-meel. In plaas van kaas, melk en jogurt, drink ek sojamelk of rysmelk saam met my glutenvrye muesli. Mens kry ongelooflike lekker neutbotters, en ek het verlief geraak op coconut olie - in slaai, met stirfry, sommer 'n lepelvol terwyl ek kosmaak....
• Soos jy kan sien, baie natuurlik, baie gesond. So hoe bederf ek myself? Deur dinge te doen wat ek geniet - lees, skryf, movies kyk, stap op die strand, swem in bergpoele, kamp-vakansies. En dan is daar daardie amandelmeel-koek wat mens kry....

So... Ek weet van verandering. Al hierdie bogenoemde veranderinge is dinge wat ek vir myself besluit het - niemand het my so geleer of gedwing nie. En dit voel fantasties. Waarom? As gevolg van die veranderinge wat ek in my lewe gemaak het:

• Ek voel fisies goed en gesond
• Ek voel selfversekerd en trots daarop dat ek soveel beheer oor my leefstyl geneem het en soveel verbeteringe aangebring het
• Omdat ek nie meer 'n werk doen wat my frustreer nie, het ek meer tyd en geduld met my geliefdes. Ek maak minder geld, maar ek is meer gelukkig.
• Jy leer baie oor jouself
• Jy leer waarvan jy hou en nie hou  nie (soms maak jy 'n verandering, hou niks van die uiteinde nie, en keer terug na die vorige manier van dinge doen - les geleer!)
• Jy word meer oop vir nuwe geleenthede en moontlikhede
• Jy voel meer en makliker vervuld

Watter veranderinge kan jy in jou lewe aanbring wat jou sal gelukkiger laat voel?

A belated HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I have been spending the past few weeks recovering my motivation to work. I spent about 5 weeks just absorbing, exploring, enjoying, relaxing, spending time with the people I love. Now I need to start expressing my experiences and how they have changed or influenced me - it is a time to reflect and represent feelings and meanings of my now broader sense of environment - I have traveled overseas for the first, and definitively not the last, time in my life!

Here is a small(ish) selection of the many photographs I took:

This year also starts with some exciting new changes and news:

• I'm (finally) having my first solo exhibition. It will be hosted by State of the ART gallery in Cape Town. The exhibition opens on 5 June. Keep an eye on this blog, or subscribe to my newsletter for updates.
• I now offer commission work in the style and techniques that I use to create the Nuances series of works - read more.
• I am planning to do more land art, as well as environmentally-conscious or 'green' art this year.
• I am consolidating all my different work and services, thus focusing my efforts and resources. What does this mean? I am rebranding within the next few weeks (hopefully) or months (if weeks fail). Keep an eye on my website, newsletter and this blog to see what I mean!
• I am creating new Nuances works, inspired by my Turkey and Egypt trip. The first of these show the Mountains of Egypt's Sinai desert, close to Dahab and Sharm El Sheikh. 
• Before I make too many promises, let's stop right here...

Sandboarding down a dune in Egypt!