Up close and Personal on the Mountain!

Connecting with the Energy of Trees 

at

Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden

This fabulous mountain, site of the Wild at Art, Autumn Retreats, is truly one of my favourite places in Hong Kong.In case you have never been there, take a look at this amazing map:

http://www.kfbg.org/wwwroot/images/upload/place_visit/NatureWalks_2012Jul.pdf

This last weekend, local artist  Roz Keep and myself spent time halfway up a large mountain, with French Ecologist Claire Elouard learning to fine tune our intuitive powers by engaging with the powerful energy of trees. 

The trees in this location are spectacular and we were based on the Fern Walk and travelled into pine ridges, woodland walks and the upper stream getting to know the energy of young and ancient trees along the way.

Shinrin – yoku

Don’t you think just being among trees is good for our wellbeing ?? walks in the woods are actually shown to reduce stress and illness. Well, I’m a tree hugger and proud of it !!!! I know that being up the mountain at Kadoorie this last few days, my breathing becomes softer and calmer, I feel peaceful and grounded.

Well would you believe Japanese even have a word for this feeling - shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing and surveys in Japan have revealed that a forest stroll can have beneficial effects on blood pressure, heart rate and the immune system. …….

Not surprising is it.

Have you heard of the field of “eco-psychology”? Based on the notion that our disconnection with nature is a central factor in many modern emotional woes.  Walks in the woods are recommended to bridge our human/nature disconnect and helps to clear the mind as we breathe in fresh oxygen being emitted from the leaves.

In a dense city like Hong Kong its very important for people to be awake to and aware of the fabulous city Banyans and the benefits that just even noticing and walking by such a tree can bring to us all in a crazy city day……

Just saying!

Thats all from this weeks Wild Warblings !

Make sure you notice your nearby tree friends this week!

Katie xxx

Dragons and a little spot of Heaven !

T A P

This year I participated in the Travelling Art Project created and hosted by the lovely Joyce Van der Lily who is down under on the Southside of the world, situated along a gorgeous beach in New Zealand. Joyce sent out 3 semi prepared artist canvases last January and they made their way around the world along a pathway of mixed media artists. Each artist responded to the surface in their own personal style and image on the canvas shifted and changed along the way......

This is as the canvas left Joyce

Then the canvas was added to around the world, interesting that even before it arrived with me in Hong Kong there was a distinctly Chinese flavour dictated by the red theme and then the dragon!

I was handed the canvas in England Catherine Mason who added part four, I then added part 5 ( last picture above).

This is how the canvas is currently looking.........and I wonder what will occur next!

Heres the facebook page of you feel like joining! 

https://www.facebook.com/TravelingArtProject?fref=ts

Garden Angels

A little bit of heaven in Yung Shue Wan....

Last Saturday found a few of us making  angels at Flowers Towers, with Fern, Vicky and Panda...they are all now flying in Yuletide readiness in the Xmas Party House, some inside and some flying in the breeze! 

Till next week's Wild Warbings

keep warm!

Katie 

Wild at Art Weekly Warblings

Fabulous News!

We advertised our third Fabulous Hong Kong Art Retreat last Sunday and by this Sunday we only have 2 places left!!

Situated at the Wonderful Tao Fong Shan Retreat Centre, a truly magical venue up in the hills overlooking the Temple of 1,000 Buddha's.

Two and a half days of lovely Creative Escapism....walking the labyrinth, scrumptious food, dawn sketchwalks, lots of cake, collage, stencilling and even stitching! With a fabulous group of artistes! Can't wait, do get in touch if you would like to snap up one of those last 2 places for a weekend with Katie and Claire.

Lots of Creative Activity took place in my other world : 
Land of the Magic Dot, do take a peek.........

http://lpmagicdot.blogspot.hk

and lastly since it is the Season to be jolly!

I will be posting up some

"Gorgeous Goddess Angels "

 to be created at Flowers Towers this weekend....

More Wild Warblings later this week

from

Katie xx

Another busy week in the life of Wild at Art.....

The Aberdeen Sketchsnoop

Arriving in Aberdeen fish market at 7.00 am is lively and smelly with loads to see! Funny thing is, that whilst the market and the people are a wonderful novelty for us....oddly, we were also a fairly fascinating novelty to them ! 

Great mutual people watching!

Its a hive of activity, of people occupied in selling fish from stalls and boats, others engaged in tai chi, dance and many other kinds of exercise and a small group of random sketchers!

Boats of every shape and size, kaido's, sampans, fishing boats, pleasure junks, various ferry's and shuttle services!

Sketch-snooping accomplished, it was time for Lamma Funday and my card selling stall!

its a week of stalls and sales, and the excitement of everybody getting the Mulled Spice Girls in the Christmas post!

Loving all the dialogue around them and really enjoy how people are enchanted by the Asian Spice Girls !

so from me, and my small art table in the South China Sea!

more next week!

Katie xxx

Wild at Art news right in your mailbox !

At last Wild at Art news.....

At last you can receive your Wild at Art blog posts weekly, bringing you updates on what is going on here and whats available for YOU! 

October has been extraordinarily busy in my world, with the wonderful Ararte Conference that we hosted at HKIS for 100 x Art Teachers in the Asian Region. This was 3 days of workshops and arty visits hosted by our wonderful art team designed to have all those like-minds mingle and share their fabulous ideas and techniques!

Followed by the fabulous Wild at Art weekend Retreat at Kadoorie with Claire and I, where we made gorgeous handmade books, wrote poetry, sketched at dawn, we stencilled, we created mandalas, ate cake, laughed a lot and didn't want to stop!!! Our 2013 Retreats have been so popular that we will be bringing you two more fabulous weekends in 2014. See Retreat page for details.

Our found poetry

Launching into further artistic ventures this November, I started my month attending an intriguing Mandala workshop at Hong Kong University Art Therapy Unit. We learned about how Carl Jung used Mandalas as a tool for understanding the journey of the ego and the self. Intriguing to experience the reading of artworks through an entirely new lense.

Mandalas created by Claire and myself during the course.

Stone paper Scissors

Lastly I was part of the Stone Paper Scissors group of artists exhibiting at the Banyan Cafe, Yung Shue Wan on Lamma Island last week. Which was a privilege to be part of such a fabulous community group.The exhibit will run until Christmas and is open every day except Monday.

Work by Mary Ann Lebas

My own artworks

Work by Debra Morris

Work by Dina B Knight

Work by Roz Keep

coming up soon............

Sketch-Snooping in Hong Kong on Saturday Nov 23rd

Join us in Aberdeen this Saturday at 7.30am for casual Sketch Snoop bring your sketchbook and camera, watch the hustle and bustle of a working harbour wake up and get going for the day. Join us by the Tsui Wah Ferry pier.

That's all the arts news from me at Wild at Art! 

Till next week.

Katie xxx