Painting Enso workshops, London

Some of last years attendees artwork © Adele Cloony

People in the South may be interested in the Enso painting workshops with Adele Cloony on 9th and 10th September. Click here for more details.

Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern

Warmest greetings to all Past Great River students, wherever you may be.

It's almost 10pm and I have just spent 3 hours going back over almost 18 years of this blog, saving some photos, writing, quotes and links that I have been meaning to gather together for quite some while. I was not expecting to be so moved by seeing all our faces getting younger by the minute, as I scrolled back to when I started this blog in 2005, three years after I officially started teaching T'ai Chi.

If you are reading this, and know me from classes, whether very well, or just for a brief time, then I send you my warmest good wishes and hope that this finds you well and well-loved. How incredible it has been to immerse myself in memories of the wider T'ai Chi family by looking through this blog in its entirety for the every first time. There was the news that I was inviting my teacher to come and teach my students at Drumblair Lodge, Aberdeenshire, in the Winter of 2005-6. Wonderful to know that many of you still practise and teach what you have been learning all these years. This makes me so happy.

I recently heard back from Megan, who used to study with Mark a decade ago, and who remembered me as 'always being there'. Indeed! It was good to be able to share lots of what is in the school's Dropbox, so that she can practice at home, now she is far away. Every year someone drops in at Mark's who used to study with John Kells, as happened last week. Mark told me how relieved and at home the student felt being in his class. 

There are so many people I miss, some moved away, some left, some passed on. Everybody left an impression. Some of my old students now study with Mark or Kevin, others elsewhere, others no longer practise. For those that do, I hope that T'ai Chi brings you a still point in your lives. Since the pandemic stopped me teaching in person in March 2020, I have only taught online, and currently I do not teach at all. After 20 years, it was a good time to take a break. Now, nature, writing, teaching craft and making art take up much of my time, but Central Earth is still fundamental. I am waiting for a dear relative to have a place I can stay in London in the near future, and then I will be able to come and study with Mark at Tuesday and Wednesday classes sometimes, with a quiet, safe place to stay, (which is essential for me, since last year's uprooting events). I plan to be at the November workshop if I can find someone who can put me up. 

I had forgotten how much we had all shared here on this blog, news, poems, classes, photos, comings and goings, births and deaths. I intend to leave this blog here, as long as Google leaves Blogger here for free, I guess. If you'd like to be in touch, my email address hasn't ever changed, so you can find me if you want to. In the meantime I can feel it will soon be time to wend my way back to T'ai Chi classes, though probably not teaching in person. I am going to help Mark record an online course, and see how that goes. I may also do a short one for all the chi kung I teach, as it has been so helpful to my friends with long Covid, which was a bit if good news recently. 

I have spent at least 20 years in rooms with people, wonderful people, whether for T'ai Chi, art, or before that, a decade of music indoors in studios. It feels like a combination of time outdoors, family time, and private time is still what calls me at the moment, for a bit longer. So if I don't see you in person very soon, but you are one of the excellent people I have had the pleasure of just seeing scrolling back through this blog, then may I wish you a very fruitful autumn and peaceful winter. Warmest greetings to you from stormy Bournemouth, 

Caro. 

The drawing board this week, putting the final 

touches to my natural paints book which will 

come out next June with Search Press.

Sound installation from Lee

Coming soon to a resonant underwater foot tunnel near you !

All sounds collected from under water by a range of scientists from all around the globe...

underwater sound pollution - an investigation... 

40 speakers including a big subsonick one !!! 

details on the flier....

Deep Deep underground business...  Take the stairs

Sound Event

Lee Berwick from Tuesday class in London has an event coming up.

'its called 'The Space Below'

its a collaboration between me and an artist named Emma Critchley 

Its in Greenwich Foot tunnel from the 7th to the 13th March 11am to 6 or 7 daily 

Its a sound installation with aprox 40 speakers made entirely from underwater recordings and it will somehow explore the fact that anthropogenic underwater noise is a massive problem that is causing untold problems for underwater life all around the globe...

There will be an opening probably on the 6th but undecided as yet.'

Beautiful pots by Rosemary

Yesterday I bought two beautiful bowls from Rosemary van Miert (who used to be a Thursday night regular, and many years ago taught Mark Short Form). You may have had the pleasure of pushing hands with her before now. She makes stunning pots, bowls and gorgeous mugs and cups too. Her studio is in South London and she can be found at www.instagram.com/rosemarypots I have ordered a larger bowl in this style for a dear one.

Maybe you need some Christmas goods that are actually good. Message me if you want her other contact details.

Exhibition

Joan has two pieces in this excellent-looking show coming up in London.
All are welcome to come along.

Making a mark, lightly.

If you have a cuppa and fancy seeing what I get up to when not doing T'ai Chi, then have a look at the great print and online environmental magazine Earth Island Journal, where I am the featured artist this autumn. The principles of wu-wei, non-interference, naturalness, spontaneity and holding to earth are as central to my art as to my T'ai Chi. I hope you enjoy it.

Yggdrasil, world tree, for a recent commission.

Home made iron gall and copper oxide inks.

Bits and pieces - more

As many of you know, I make many things, including ink, rag rugs and preserves. I am always after these things, that you might otherwise be throwing away. If you have any of these, please feel free to bring them to class for me. I will be very grateful. it's also a great way to stop single use waste.

* Bonne Maman style jam jars (for my preserve-making)

* Coloured old T shirts or long sleeved tops made of cotton (used for rag rugs)

* Small glass or plastic screw top bottles and containers that are water-tight: eg, ginger shot, medicine or cosmetic bottles. (for home made inks)

* Avocado stones and skins, clean, I can dry them and use them to dye things an amazing pink colour. I don't often eat them, so if you do, please save them for me. I know it sounds unlikely, but search for 'avocado dye', it's beautiful.

* Prunings from grape vines. If you have a vine and have any pruned bits, old or new, please save them for me, I make fine charcoal from them, for drawing.

* Cat's whiskers! when you cat naturally moults any whiskers, please save them for me, I have 3 so far and need about 8 or so to make a very special paint-brush...

Thankyou!

Art and Writing course in nature

The Wild Twins course I run in Ireland in early May with writer Paul Kingsnorth has one more bursary place, as a student had to drop out, and the non-refundable deposit means we can reduce the price for someone on lower means, it is 699 Euros rather than 950. All the details are here. If you or a friend you know would like to come, get in touch. Sarah and Anja from the T'ai Chi schools came last year, so you can talk to them and see if it's worth your time... Please feel free to pass this info on.

The venue Sherkin Island North Shore is amazing... Wild Atlantic beauty.

We even had time for T'ai Chi...

Joan has work in this show - go see it

Mountain dragonwalk

Seen yesterday on the edge of the Cairngorms ...

The sky got even more beautiful as the sun set with geese and raptors overhead

Instagram ahoy

I finally got my act together, and my art, craft and classes can now be found on Instagram. There are very many Caroline Rosses in the world... And most of my materials are found and then ground, so @foundandground it is.

Cernunnus 6.3 cm square, natural pigments and malachite on deerskin parchment, 2017. 

Made for Dark Mountain 12 Sanctum.

A little help from my friends

If you have time over the next few days, please have a look at my art website, which I am in the process of updating, revamping and generally trying to make it lovely, before I approach the 'joy' of also doing Instagram for my visual art work and teaching. Any feedback would be useful.

I also need to make flyers for the new T'ai Chi class. This means a lot of screen time for me this weekend, which is a shame, but both these online things lead to great activities in the real world of nature and people, and so I shall just go and make a coffee, and get on with it.

Much as I would rather sit and stare at the river, and feed the huge cygnet and her dad.

Life drawing classes

I will be teaching regular life drawing classes every month or so at Café Canela in Hampton Court. No experience is necessary. Details are here. Come along 30th October and 27th November, sadly these clash with Tuesday T'ai Chi classes, but you could come on Thursday instead...

3 minute warm-up sketch

Drawing the wild

One of the students on the Wild Twins course I taught last year was Amory Abbott. He has just sent images of the work he made inspired by the course and his travels in Ireland afterwards. They are superb. Have a look here.

Cliffs of Moher by Amory Abbott

Fleet Footing

Quick post, more later when workshop venue cleaned and handed back to scouts...
Sarah Grange is involved in a great project Fleet Footing, taking place today and tomorrow at 2pm in central London and August 3rd at 7pm (I will be at that one).

Go to catherinekontz.com/fleet-footing and listen to LBC radio today at 10.50am when Sarah will be talking about it on the Robert Elms show.

More later, must go catch a bus!

Art blog

Here is my art blog.
It has lovely pictures of the materials I use and things I make, I am adding to it most days now. Feel free to peruse it and the art website, full of things like this...

Cherry tree exuding gum.

Eagle feathers, deer antlers and cherry tree gum, all will be used in my work over the coming months. Thanks to Anneke for feathers and antlers!

Wild Twins ride again...

May the forth be with you! I have just heard from Paul Kingsnorth that Wild Twins will run again from May 4th-10th 2019, as it went so well this May. All are welcome, no matter what experience of art or writing you have, from beginner to advanced. You can talk to Anja in Scotland or Sarah in London about their experiences, as we were lucky enough to have these two excellent T'ai Chi sisters join us. If you want to spend time writing or making art, or both in conviviality such as we usually only find at The T'ai Chi Centre and Great River, then come along and let friends know. I will have more online soon, hopefully launching next week, and will post it here.

Wild Twins 1 posse

Rainbow over Baltimore Bay

Making paints from madder, ochres and chalk, mixed with cherry tree gum from Davina's garden. Teaching in a buckskin skirt is such fun, but will not be coming to a T'ai Chi class near you any time soon as kicks could be a challenge.

Paul tells the old European tale 'The Lindwurm'

Just a small part of the materials we use.

View right outside the classroom, the wild Atlantic.

Open Space Technology

The five principles of Open Space Technology:

1. Whoever comes are the right people
2. Whenever it starts is the right time
3. Wherever it happens is the right place
4. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
5. When it’s over, it’s over 

& the one law:

• The law of Two Feet (aka the law of mobility aka the law of passion and responsibility)

If you find yourself somewhere where you are not learning, or not contributing, use the technology available to you (your two feet - if that’s what you use) and take yourself where your time is better spent. Only you know where that is. You are responsible for the quality of your own experience.

Thanks to Sarah from Tuesday class for this. I love it. It applies to our T'ai Chi, to art and to relationship. I wish I had applied it to my earlier art and music lives, I might have saved myself and others much trouble.

From Sarah: 'Open Space Technology was invented by Harrison Owen who gave it to the world and doesn’t require anyone to pay him for it, so it’s nice to credit him where possible. We/I use it to work on all sorts of issues for arts practitioners, as well as to make shows. It’s both a "business” and creative tool and it is awesome. If anyone wants more info, here ’tis: https://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/about-open-space-technology '