keeping out

A large lock, made in London, seen in Nepal

Seeing the photo again, I thought about how many ways

we devise to keep others out

with physical barriers, that is

sometimes they become great works of art. like the 

wall around Istanbul

or even this old door in Nepal.

Keeping the 'others' out takes so much energy!

chasing ice - hope the movie comes to Byron

dancing

It was said to be sufi dancing, one night in Cappadocia,

am not sure how authentic, though it looked good.

Am reading 'the Brain that changes itself' some very

interesting pages on neuro plasticity, & the work of

Paul Bach y Rita

see also the work of Hossein Valamanesh

The Lover Circles his own Heart is mesmerising.

ceilings

The beautiful painted ceilings caught my attention too,

while looking through a few thousand shots. 

The light was not ideal, & I think I'd inadvertently 

changed the setting on my camera.

They are in Topkapi also

ottoman painted ceiling at christies

fireplace

As I was searching for a particular photo from my

2010 trip to Turkey, I realised I was cold, (looking
through more than 10,000 shots) so noticed these two

elegant ottoman fireplaces that are in Istanbul's Topkapi 

palace. Such a design needs a vast room.

turkish fairy tales 

ferry

Photos from an Istanbul ferry ride across to the Asian side,

love playing around with moving the camera, it's so

unpredictable. No posts for a few days.

Amazing what can be found on You Tube:

one of my favourite sounds, Zoviet France interview

& another They're eating the Passengers

storied

While looking for a particular photo from the end of

my stay in Istanbul, I was reminded of the fantastic

old buildings in that part of the city; the arch is dated 1904,

& a lot appear to be from that era, though the

decoration top left resembles an Assyrian Vampire palace..

Of course 1904 is relatively new, for Istanbul.

turbine free wind power

sounds like a great idea

seal

Bought this old seal in Istanbul, but could not discover

the meaning of the calligraphy.

If you have a clue, please let me know?

peter beard

hidden

Found some extra photos on a memory card today, from
Istanbul, maybe the last day there. Top left is beside the
oldest church, which is being restored I think, amazing to
think how its been hidden, partly below ground level.
The others also around Topkapi palace, including the model.

katemccguire

echoes 2

The sandcastle is at Byron Bay, didn't see it's maker.
Other shots are from Hasankeyf, in Turkey; it's hard to
separate how I feel about it from the fact that it will be
fully underwater when the proposed dam is completed.
It is a beautiful & ancient & sad place.

Totally futuristic, clever, gorgeous:
computational architecture by Michael Hansmeyer

echoes

Left are sand patterns at Tallows beach, here in Byron Bay
~ quite reminiscent of these formations in Cappadocia. It was
supposedly under an ocean, eons ago.

On the generation of the previously unseen WOW

hoard

Have been hours finding the photos of people from Turkey
who I said I'd send prints to -at last- & printing them.
Above from Mardin, because it's a Leo full moon.

& gold because I read an interesting piece about the
'hill of gold' hoard currently exhibited at the British Museum.
Imagine what we might be missing because of looting.
Left from a small museum in Van.
Though I don't look much at jewelery these days,
the average store probably wouldn't excite
any archeologists 1000 yrs from now.. if there are any.
What do you think?

still there

Still in Turkey, in a way: making new pictures from
the photos I took there. Took the twin sphinx (what's the
plural?) to night at the museum. I've made 20 or so
new images, which are available as limited edition prints.
Most are about A4 size, not expensive.
(email me for details)

the WAFA collective has some interesting works

gold

A gold brooch left, passed down on my mother's
side, probably from our great grandfather. I'd realised
it was an Islamic design, but only on my last trip did I see
that it must be Turkish. Lots of gold was used there
in manuscripts & many forms of decoration, especially in
Ottoman times, usually with a master's restraint.

gildedplanet looks useful if you want to try it

happy 2011 !

In Turkey I was seeing the vast landscape, & feeling quite small
in it; later, on the screen, I saw how someone here
had used stones to make a message on the hill,
or perhaps their name, then most had been scattered.
It now reads 'I am'.
~~ aiming for less I in the am ~~

arcane information : hittite scripts

flying

I made some carpet birds & have them flying over a series
of Cappadocian landscapes. They almost disappear, in the
larger versions, I amped them up for this size.
There are cave houses at the base of the cliffs.

This is the picture I made for my email christmas cards.
Many of the others I've posted are also available in
limited edition prints, about A4 size.
Write a comment if you are interested, I'll give more details.
Or email me. 

the past year at the big picture

acanthus

Scanned the leaves top left, photographed in Germany,
I think it's the acanthus family: looking at some of the photos
from Istanbul, of architectural details, it's hard to be sure.
The pillar top centre is closer to Greek times.

the snakebox odyssey

dig

Am playing with a few strands of thoughts/images to do with
memory/myth/tradition. Maybe I'll find a better
device than the almost-calligraphy that connects the sky
& patterns. It looks like an Arabic letter?

Ernst Fuchs

myth

I incorporated one of these Persian(?) dragons in a painting
long ago, she felt very at home by the volcanic lake.
Not sure of the provenance of the winged eagle lion; only when
I zoomed in to adjust it did I see the several flocks of
nervous sheep, nearby.
Yes I know they are small photos, however I'd like to
profit from them before anyone else tries to..
Available as prints, more details via email.
Not expensive

Jeremiah Maddock

the works

The fountains before the Blue Mosque seemed to come
with music, a trippy sky, the works.
I'll do more like the manuscript birds, right.
(available as limited edition prints)

Surendran Nair

cave dreams

Imagine the kinds of dreams you might have
in a cave room 7 floors underground, where for centuries
people had hidden during times of invasion.
In the city, the old trees looked down on us, the new invaders.

Gabriel Dawe