Nature
I saw it all in the world of nature around me - in the stones, the shells, the veining of the rocks of the Matopos forever changing colour as the sun rises and sets; in the bark of trees - twisted in Africa, struggling in the dry bush looking very bare and stark, then blooming when the rains come - and raging with time. Here was the essential substance of creative thought, the interaction of objective and subjective elements.
The outside of a mother-of-pearl shell with light on it 1981
Two trees in autumn 1985
Winelands 1989
Young owl
Iridescence on the inside of a mother-of-pearl shell 1981
Landscape with vines 1989
Owl
Owl family by light of the moon
Owls 1980s
Peaches 1987
Doves ascending and descending 1980s
Doves feeding 1990s
Doves III 1970
Family tree (detail 1) 1990
Family tree (detail 2) 1990
Grapes on a vine 1989
Flowers and fruit
In weaving flowers and fruit, my approach as innovator broadened for I wove on my canvas large flowers, usually a single one such as a protea, enlarging the stamens to create another world while working into the very heart of it in close focus. To this series, I added a tulip of red and gold, its curled large leaf creating a spacial effect through which I looked into another landscape. Also, a near focus, a large tiger lily, and roses climbing a red brick wall, in the shadow of which emerged figures as I worked unconsciously. It was only when I stepped back and saw the flowers from afar in a landscape that I gained a new perspective of more objectivity in relation to size and they became smaller.
Waterlilies 1982
Waterlilies in landscape 1982
Waterlilies receding 1982
Wisteria 1984
Lemons 1987
Protea 1990s
Protea (woven in Cape Town) 1996
Rose opening 1995
Summer flowers and fruit 1994
Daisies 1981
Grapes 1987
Hydrangea
Blue waterlilies 1980s
Daffodils 1980s
Daisies 1974
Climbing roses on bricks 1986
Trees
We learn much about mathematics from trees, especially about branching structures, balance and proportion. From its trunk with branches growing into smaller and smaller branches with twigs and leaves, we recognize certain principles of growth and inter-spacial relationships. The real nature of a tree lies in its organic development and relationships of all its parts to the whole, so that the essential nature of a tree is neither confined to its roots, nor its trunk, its branches, twigs, leaves, blossoms or fruit. From its structure of growing rings, we learn, as in stone, about durability and can see patterns of life in layers of space and time.
Baobab 1990s
Baobab against blue sky 1992
Branches against an autumn sky 1980
Evening falling in the African bush 1997
Jerusalem cypresses
Tree of life 1970
African tree at sunset 1980
African tree with light 1975
Ancient tree 1982