Tag: new beginings

Art

~ Des ~ Leave a comment

Three and a half years ago, when I gave up a living for a life, I chose this place and this time, by design. The reasons behind the move may not be explained here, but what I wanted for this new life of mine was clear. One of the tangible reasons was to become a full-time artist. I had worked and owned an art gallery for the last 20 years in my previous life and now it was time for me to create daily. I have worked in radically different careers and in different countries; occupations as diverse as the artwork I now create.
My diversity comes, from not only wanting to try it all, but more importantly, to express my thoughts, feelings and experiences in a manner or material that feels right, without words. I paint; semi realistically and abstractly, in acrylic and oil, sculpt in ceramic, wood and bronze, love conceptual creations, do assemblage, and have dabbled in photography. Every unconfined, creative day is a joy and a surprise!

Creative expression is a wonderful way to navigate trauma. It is a way to process without words.

If I had one wish for the world it would be to have every person, create something.
In order to grow, to learn, to express, to heal, to understand, to respect and to value, we need to create.

Prince Albert

~ Des

When you arrive as a new resident in this quaint Karoo town, you are often asked what brought you here?
The first time I drove down Prince Albert Road, to visit a friend – I felt like I was coming home. I turned off the busy N1 highway and slowed onto the dirt road, crossed the railway line and headed towards the very distant hills that are the Swartberg Mountains.


It was late afternoon, and the setting sun was due west. As I drove east toward the edge of the Groot Karoo the sun shone beneath the body of my car and long shadows elevated me, in the sparse veld. Windows open and warm dry air blew my hair with a sense of belonging. A broken windmill and reservoir just off to the left begged for a photo, I pulled over and climbed through the slack fence with camera in hand. Perfect light, warm air, and peace all around me I took the shot then just stood and breathed it in…..it represented everything good from my childhood. Warmth, freedom, safety, big sky, sand between my toes and an endless open honest landscape…. A sense of complete peace with gratitude for just that moment and everything that was good in my life….it was meaningful enough to draw me back many years later. And it is where I chose to begin again and have lived since 2019:)

Prince Albert

Prince Albert https://princealbert.org.za/history/

5 days in….

~ Des

A last-minute change of schedule by the moving company forced me to leave the city a night ahead of schedule. I arrived at my new home at 8pm in the dark! What that did, was disallow me 24 hours in which to stay in my empty apartment and mull and contemplate leaving the city and my home of the last 18 years. I was gone before I knew it! It was a good thing.

I made my way into the empty house, found the mains switch unpacked my few belongings, ‘camped’ in the spare room – and surprisingly, slept very well. These weeks running up to my departure date have been a bit hectic!

With nothing to do in the morning, I left before sunrise up to the walking trail behind my home to watch the new day dawn on my new town and my new life:) It was beautiful!

There is one early morning coffee shop in the village, and I was greeted there with an excellent coffee and a roaring fire in the hearth on a very chilly morning:) It is winter here. I chatted to the waitress and later another customer who comes from 80 kms away so her young daughter can go to playschool twice a week! I walked home and shortly after arriving, the entire contents of my life arrived in a large moving truck and trailer…. And so, the fun began! In the last month or two, I have done not much else besides pack boxes and boxes and more boxes! And now I am doing not much else besides unpacking boxes and boxes and boxes.  So much cardboard and plastic…. But all going to recycling on Friday:)

David, my ‘inherited’ gardener has been, the honeysucker has been (sucks out the sewerage from a septic tank!) The gas man has connected my new gas stove and I have been to the one supermarket to buy some supplies. No traffic, free parking right outside the places I need to go. Friendly smiling faces. Children walking home from school, and a general feeling of calm and happiness:)

I have not cleaned so much ever before….

I am settling in well, going slowly and enjoying every minute. Each morning I am out at dawn and greet the sunrise – walking or cycling in a quiet, still, barren, beautiful landscape feeling happy and safe:) I am going to love it here:)

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The beacon on the walking trail at dawn
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Looking west
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My regular trail running path:)
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Walking the Labyrinth at dawn:)

And so it begins….

~ Des

Business closed; work stuff packed ✓ 

House packed up and cleaned ✓

Removal company collected all ✓

Belongings delivered to new home ✓

Unpacking begun ✓

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Love my new life already, CHECK ✓

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Going nowhere slowly:)
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My town

Retirement! Day 1:)

~ Des ~ Leave a comment

I don’t like any of the definitions of retirement… And these days there seem to be many. Being in my mid-sixties it feels like I can use the word, but the definition is my own…….my retirement will be defined by –  not being constrained to earning an income in a formal setting – no rent to pay, limited overheads, no defined hours, no one else’s expectations to conform, no need to be politically correct or to follow the dictates of the industry. Not to be constrained by the bureaucracy, tax and time-consuming practices of owning and managing a small  (micro)  business – I look forward to learning, creating and hopefully selling my own artwork from a new studio that I have always longed for.

I want to learn, work, and play with a balance between the physical, the mental, the thoughtful and the impulsive, full days and contemplating days, trusted ways, and new discoveries. Doing what I feel compelled to do on my terms:)

I started this journey today, by picking up one of my many unfinished art pieces – I am incredibly happy with what I achieved today.

It is a panoramic landscape, representative of what is soon to be my unique environment, a monochromatic barren, but spectacular place! A dirt road running through it – which represents leaving one life and traveling to a new one. The light bright on mountain peaks, that I am most pleased with, could be a sun setting or rising, representative of ‘from and to’ or ‘to and from’ :) New direction. New place. New Life