Thursday, August 18, 2011

CERAMIC WALLPIECE/ 'Polychrome Fish' by Eric Whollem, 2003/ Contemporary Figurative Ceramic Sculpture




Polychrome Fish
2003
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white clay
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Photo by M. Spielmann

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Readers interested in my CERAMIC SCULPTURE may wish to view these posts:


Ceramic sculpture on stamps/video.                         

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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

HORSE AND RIDER/ A figurative ceramic sculpture by Eric Whollem, 2003/ Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture/ ARCHETYPES




Horse and  Rider
2003
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white clay
with leather cord and beads
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Photo by M. Spielmann

The horse and rider motif is a an ancient archetype that is widespread
across Europe and the Mediterranean. The horse in this sculpture is small,
not unlike ponies used in Tibet. Horses, of course, are not found in the
ceramics of Mexico and South America before the Spanish and other
Europeans settled there.

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See more posts of my CERAMIC SCULPTURE on this link:



Ceramic Sculpture video.    

Readers may find of interest some of my other posts on ARCHETYPES:

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FAIRYLAND FAUX POSTAGE/ 'The Naiad' by Eric Whollem/ Virtual Artistamps/ Including a video entitled 'FAIRY STAMPS The Naiad by Eric Whollem'/ Fairy micronation stamps



The Naiad
FAIRYLAND POST
2011
by Eric Whollem
copyright by the artist


The Fairyland Post
2011 



A video of my Naiad fairy stamps.                                                                                                              




The Naiad
FAIRYLAND POST
2011
by Eric Whollem
copyright by the artist



The Naiad
FAIRYLAND POST
2011
by Eric Whollem
copyright by the artist



The Naiad
FAIRYLAND POST
2011
by Eric Whollem
copyright by the artist





The Naiad
FAIRYLAND POST
2011
by Eric Whollem
copyright by the artist

See my posts of FAIRYLAND STAMPS:

See more posts about FAIRIES:

Read more about NAIADS:

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Monday, August 15, 2011

'Faux Postage Stamps from GONDWANALAND by Eric Whollem'/ An artistamp video/ CINDERELLA STAMPS BY ERIC WHOLLEM




Gwog First Postmaster of Gondwanaland
GONDWANALAND
2001
by Eric Whollem
Copyright by the artist

The Stamps of Gondwanaland

Below you can view my recent Youtube video of my fantasy
stamps from the lost continent of Gondwanaland.



Gondwanaland stamp video.

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See my previous post about GONDWANALAND on this link:

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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Friday, August 12, 2011

FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM/ 'The Plant Devas' by Eric Whollem 1984/ Contemporary Figurative Abstraction/ NOTES ON THE FINDHORN MOVEMENT & FAIRIES




The Plant Devas
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
9" x 6'
COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST
Copyright by the artist

Plant Devas

The term 'plant devas' became popularized in the 1970's when
the Findhorn movement from Scotland was set in the public eye.

A plant deva is said to be a nature spirit, which guides the growth
of vegetation. It is a fairy. The word 'deva' is Sanskrit, and properly
means 'god,' the plural 'devi' meaning 'goddess.'

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See more of my ART on these posts:


Whimsical Abstractions Video.                             


See more of my art that relates to the topic of FAIRIES on these posts:

Metaphysical Art
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Thursday, August 11, 2011

WHIMSICAL IDEOGRAMS/ 'Characters With Tonal Polarities' by Eric Whollem 1983/ A color drawing based on Asian shamanic calligraphy and prehistoric California pictographs




Characters With Tonal Polarities
1983
by Eric Whollem
India ink and gouache on paper
9" X 6"
COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST
Copyright by the artist

This drawing represents my studies of calligraphic art.
Both Asian shamanic calligraphy and California rock art
stylizations are reflected in the images above.

The references to tonal polarities, of course, indicates the
ideology of Yin and Yang found in Chinese calligraphy.
The author Lazlo Lageza, a Hungarian, wrote an interesting
book some time ago on Taoist and Confucian shamanic
drawings traditional in China: 'Tao Magic.'

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See more of my DRAWINGS on these posts:



A video about pictographic art.                    

See my posts on SHAMANISM:

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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

CERAMIC GODDESS SCULPTURE/ 'The Shrine of Uma Devi' by Eric Whollem, 2003/ Figurative Ceramic Sculpture




The Shrine of Uma Devi
2003
by Eric Whollem
oxides and earth pigments in polymer emulsion 
on white clay with lichen
Private Collection
photo by M. Spielmann

This sculptural assemblage incorporates natural objects
such as lichen. The clay is high grog content Laguna
sculpture mix.

Uma Devi is a Hindu Goddess. I have taken the artistic
liberty of incorporating her in a shrine with guardian dogs.
The dog is a traditional helper of the Goddess in eastern
European culture, which is linked linguistically through
Lithuanian dialect to the Sanskrit.

Artemis, the Greek Goddess, is typically depicted with
dogs. Marija Gimbutas and other feminist authors relate
that the household dog, as protector of the hearth, became
idealized as a sacred adjunct to the Goddess.

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See more posts on the GODDESS on these links:


Ceramic sculpture video.                                  

See more of my posts about my CERAMIC SCULPTURE:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

DAUGHTER OF THE MOUNTAIN
ceramic sculpture
by Eric Whollem
                                 

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Saturday, August 6, 2011

FIGURATIVE CERAMIC SCULPTURE/ 'Reclining Mermaid' by Eric Whollem, 2003/ Oxides on white clay



Reclining Mermaid
2003
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white clay
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Photo by M. Spielmann

MERMAID SCULPTURE

This sculpture is a roughly textured work, executed in
white clay with a high grog content. The stylized rounded
'fish' eyes are found in the mermaid and merman oriented clay
arts of ancient Mesopotamia, where such aquatic divinities
as Ea, Derceto, Nammu, Tihamat, and Anu, etc. were
worshipped.

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See my posts on the topic of MERMAIDS on this link:



A ceramic sculpture video.                                      

See more CERAMIC SCULPTURE on these posts:

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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

PICTOGRAPHIC EXPRESSIONISM/ 'Dreams of Love' by Eric Whollem 1984/ A painting based on pictographic rock art stylization




Dreams of Love
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST
Copyright by the artist


See my posts on FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM on this link:

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Whimsical Figurative Pictographs/ 'The Dog of the Cross' by Eric Whollem



Dog of the Cross
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST
Copyright by the artist

This painting portrays Chris, a dog who had a cross shape on his forehead,
a pet of my friend, Doug Mallory.


See my posts of FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTIONS on this link:


Whimsical abstractions video.                          


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Monday, August 1, 2011

THE SWAN BOAT/ A figurative sculpture by Eric Whollem/ OXIDES ON TERRACOTTA/ Ceramic Boat Sculpture/ A mythopoetic archetype




The Swan Boat
2003
by Eric Whollem
oxides on terracotta
PRIVATE COLLECTION
photo by M. Spielmann

THE SWAN BOAT

Historically the 'Swan Boat' concept has been with us for a long
time. There is a tradition in European ceramics of clay boats.

The Swan Boat represents the flight of the soul in the afterlife.
It is a symbol of immortality.

The Swan Boat concept appeared in Wagner's opera Lohengrin,
wherein the knight Lohengrin utilizes the swan boat on his search
for the Grail.

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Readers interested in more of my posts of CERAMIC SCULPTURE should see:


Ceramic sculpture video.                                  



See my previous post of a CERAMIC BOAT SCULPTURE on this link:

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Sunday, July 31, 2011

MYTHOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTION/ 'The Hero' by Eric Whollem/ A figurative mixed media painting




The Hero
1998
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST
Copyright by the artist

For an interesting account of the lore of the HERO as a demigod and a protagonist see:

See more posts on FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION on this link:

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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

BIRD WOMAN/ A figurative abstraction by Eric Whollem/ CONTEMPORARY GODDESS ART



Bird Woman
1984
by Eric Whollem
mixed media on paper
COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST
Copyright by the artist


BIRD WOMAN

Bird Woman is a shamanic paleolithic Goddess concept.
She was made famous in the 1980's with the book, 'Clan
of Cave Bear.'




See more of my posts of GODDESS ART:


This video presents samples of my Goddess sculptures.   

See more of my blog posts of FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTIONS on this link:


      'Figurative Abstractions' video.                   

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Bird Woman is a paleolithic shamanic Goddess concept.
She was made famous in the 1980's with the book, 'Clan of
Cave Bear.'

Sunday, July 24, 2011

'PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTIONS Paintings Based on Prehistoric Petroglyphs'/ An art video from Eric Whollem's Youtube Channel/ MYTHIC DRAWINGS by Eric Whollem/ 'The Sacred Grove' 1983




The Sacred Grove
1983
by Eric Whollem
India inks on paper
Collection of the artist
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST

The drawing above illustrates my interest in pictographs
and petroglyphs, showing engraved stones in a sacred grove.
The video below presents a variety of my works that have
images based on prehistoric art forms.




'PICTOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTIONS
Paintings Based on Preshistoric Petroglyphs'


See more of my posts that deal with PETROGLYPHS on this link:

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