Featured

Blanket of Mould

“Covering oneself with a blanket of mould to evoke transformation”

And there a journey of conscious transformation started….with a blanket of mould. Mould reminding us that where one thing ends another is being born. In 2002 I took a picture of some milk in a glass gone mouldy and turned the inspiration into a jacquard woven blanket in 2007. The mixed media drawing pictured above was made in 2010.

A Leftover Universe was born right then and there. From this, using mould as a metaphor for transformation, a bunch of works came into being such as a design for a logo, fashion and interior accessories, a painting and a (temporary) mixed media installation.

Most left: The Beginning – A digital enhanced photo made in 2012 of the milk gone mouldy in the glass. Traces of this logo design are still visible in the Leftover Universe logo now.

Left: It Is A Pancake Universe – Tuft embroidery on old tea towel made in 2013. Merino wool on cotton. Cushion cover.

Brooch. Tuft embroidery. Merino wool on linen on metal base. Made in 2013.

In The Blink Of An Eye All Be Changed – Mixed media work. Stoneware spherical jar with woollen tuft embroidered lid. 11 cm diameter. Made in August 2014.

“Our tea towel waiting hanging there for you to help me drying gone all mouldy now shaped a pillow for me to rest my head on

Cushion. Tuft embroidery. Merino wool on old cotton tea towel with eucalyptus fibre filling. Made in 2013. Inspired by own life event and the song “Could that be you?” by Room Eleven.

Going To The Mountain

(Temporary) mixed media installation. Made in 2013

Featured

Daisy in a field of flowers, a garden within

Daisy in a field of flowers
Daisy in a field of flowers, a garden within
mixed media painting on paper
57 x 40 cm
August 2018

drawing made for my children’s book “Home-In-The-Woods”.
Daisy is no longer the only flower in the field and no longer mouth capped.
The painting on the right (2018) is a sequel to the painting on the left (2005).

Featured

Home Amidst Elegant Company

elegantcompany
Home Amidst Elegant Company
mixed media painting on paper
30 x 42 cm
August 2017

drawing made for my children’s book “Home-In-The-Woods”.
Featured

Standing Feather is my Name and I Am a Spiritual Warrior in Tree Pose

standingfeather
Standing Feather Is My Name And I Am A Spiritual Warrior In Tree Pose
hand painted and hand embroidery on leftover fabric stretched on wooden panel
22 x 28 cm
February 2017
standingfeatherintreepose
Standing Feather Is My Name And I Am A Spiritual Warrior In Tree Pose
acrylic paint on paper
31 x 40 cm
December 2016
Featured

SPIRIT CAT – ALONG THE WAY SOULS MEET

spirit cat watches out for me
Spirit Cat brooch
punch needle embroidery and free hand machine stitching
wool and cotton yarn, bamboo fabric, corn fiber filling and metal pin
10 x 12 x 3 cm
January 2015
spirit cat - along the way souls meet
Along The Way Souls Meet

poem
accompanying one of my textile designs and Spirit Cat and his eyes
written 2015
Featured

Flower of Mould

After not doing the dishes for two weeks, back in 2002, I found this beautiful blanket of mould in my kitchen.

The image I took/made of it, I used as an inspiration for a jacquard woven blanket in 2007.

Mould being a metaphor for when things ending or dying,
always something new comes alive. Transformation.

This was followed by a drawing/collage I made in 2010

– covering yourself with a Flower of Mould –

collage:
production date: January 2010
size: 30 x 30 cm
material: cutout digital print, pencil, acrylic paint on paper

jacquard woven blanket:
production date: 2007
size: queen size
material: mohair, cotton, acrylic, viscose, with embroidered edge

See also the ceramic jar IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE that I made in August 2014

Ode to time

Tapestry ‘Ode to Time’
Detail
Detail
Detail

Whether lightning fast or barely moving, things are in constant motion in an ever evolving landscape of time. Roaming this landscape we go deeper and deeper through spiralling cycles and open doorways in mountains to be climbed. Many new suns are born into a world where the rhythm of the process, the rhythm of creation is made visible in a tapestry woven with time, in time and about time. Swirling puddles in the sky and gateways without doors speak of jumping dimensions and crossovers. A universe held together by colourful handmade reverse wrapped cordage, shaped like the DNA double helix, transports us to a place where the sun is shining, the sandy shore pure and bright and the ocean deep and blue.

Using primitive techniques to create contemporary works is a way to connect time cycles. They often call these primitive, meditative techniques ‘time consuming’, a concept not valued in our throwaway culture. But the way I see it; time consumed is time bygone, time nonexistent. It manifests a still point from where the river of creation flows.

Finding Dhyana in a Leftover Universe where Tender Time Sighs.

While time consumes us, let us take some time.
‘Ode to Time’

 

Tapestry

Title Artwork: Ode to Time
Artwork size: 240 x 166 cm
Production time: 2010 – 2022
Material: acrylic, wool, cotton and bamboo yarn and cotton fabrics
Techniques: handmade reverse wrapped cordage and basketry weaving technique

 

Exhibition at NEXTDOOR 24/7 Art Venue

Home-In-The-Woods: Finding Dhyana in a Leftover Universe where Tender Time Sighs

NEXTDOOR 24/7 Art Venue is excited to announce Diana van der Harst as our featured artist for February 2021. 

 

In a realm of Magical Realism in a Leftover Universe, artist Diana van der Harst shares her experiences, thoughts and beings met along the way of this journey home; expressed in drawings, paintings, poetry, ceramics and textile art.Diana draws inspiration for her range of work from her own life experiences and from human, animal, plant, inanimate and invisible beings surrounding her. Her love of all of life in its richness and variety has blossomed into the body of work that continues to evolve. Her work is intuitive, contemplative, emotional, spiritual, whimsical, harmonious and poetic. 



“When nothing looked familiar; my surroundings, choices I made and the person staring back at me in the mirror, I started to ask myself the questions: “Who am I? What am I? Where am I?”. With those questions in my pocket I embarked on a creative and spiritual journey through a forest, this puzzling maze we call life. With little steps and big dreams I started walking. Walking my very own path to find my self, to find my way home”. NEXTDOOR’s featured artist space creates an opportunity for subscribers to showcase their practice with a focused or experimental series of works.

Diana’s exhibition will run from 30th January to 21st February 2021.

Please join us in celebrating its opening on:

Saturday 30th January, 6pm-8pm 

Hope to see you there.

NEXTDOOR | 391 Canning Hwy | PALMYRA, WA  6157Australia | http://www.nextdoorart.com.au | https://www.instagram.com/nextdoorart247/

Be The Light In The Dark – We Can All Be Heroes

Be The Light In The Dark – We Can All Be Heroes

pen, paint and paper cut on paper | 57 x 41 cm | Sept 2018 – Jan 2012 | artwork created for a picture book I am working on.

September 2018 I thought this drawing was finished (see picture below). But I realised Home deserved more credit than that I gave him back then. Even though he was scared sometimes and had it pretty tough every now and then, he was never overwhelmed with fear of the darkness on his journey in the woods towards the self(less). He’d always find a trace of light and faced the darkness bravely. Therefore all trees throughout my book deserve the illuminated leaves that Home never lost sight of. Besides, Daisy is shining so brightly on the horizon over there that she could light up an entire forest. 

I just finished adding the leaves and now this drawing is finished (January 2021) …I think 😉 

Home-In-The-Woods

Home-In-The-Woods

Artwork title: Home-In-The-Woods
Medium: tapestry Techniques: embroidery, hand-stitching, hand painting, tuft embroidery, Sashiko, appliqué                                                                                       Materials: natural dyed bamboo yarn, wool yarn, cotton, merino wool felt, 
Size: 138 x 150 cm
Production date: July 2018 – November 2020

Breaking Waves As We Are Moving Through The Spheres

Breaking Waves – As We Are Moving Through The Spheres

Artwork title: Breaking Waves
Artwork subtitle: As We Are Moving Through The Spheres
Medium: Tapestry
Size: 99 x 160 cm
Production date: 2020