Photography and haiku exhibition by Janet Keen, Rotorua Library from 3rd September to 13th October.

Here are the photos for my exhibition for all of those people who can't make it in person because of geographical locations. 

fantail on a branch

showing us

the way forward

  giving bread

outstretched hands

to outstretched wings

 she loves him

he loves her not

one more heart to console

evening shadows

stalk

the lonely gull

 near the boardwalk

paradise duck

begins his dance

 forest walk

ears ring

listening for bellbirds

she watches

he paces

dreaming of escape

 gently

licking a leaf

with his tongue

even in tall places

no avoiding

food at the zoo

 rising sun

the forbidden berries

appear tempting

 brief moment

before it pops

rainbow balloon

 morning breeze

daffodils nod

in peace 

soft white

hands

dandelion seeds

 when the stone

is warm

the frog returns

 winter morning

neglected grass

lit by frost

 feathering the sky

plumes flow

from the mill

 light slices the lake

like a cake

into thirds

 
misty lake

divided in two

by a wharf

 Whisper

her eyes follow

wherever you move 

broken down car

turning to moss

at the mill

 sacred tree

points the way

to the catholic church 

 finding his way back

he wonders why

it took so long

  farewell

I stay smiling

after the end

 This is my exhibition of 23 haiku in the Rotorua Public Library. 

I am asking people to visit it, vote for their favourite haiku and write their own to go into the draw to win a photo of their choice.

For those of you who can't make it, please feel free to email me some of your own haiku in response to my photos and I'll put them on this blog with your byline. 

jkeen@clear.net.nz

 Here are some shots with me and various people visiting my exhibition.
 

Janet  Keen with haiku and photos in the Rotorua Public library

 When you run your own business you have to be a shameless self promoter
 
It's surprising how people will react when you put yourself out there. 


Some people will be supportive, some won't. 
In my experience it has always paid off to have a go because getting outside your comfort zone allows others to feel as though they can let their lights shine as well.


A lovely person I met in the library who chose the frog as her favourite, made me a delightful haiku to stick in the box. 
It was her first time. 
We shared a special moment in time together. 
It is my dream to run haiku sessions in schools as part of national poetry day and to welcome in the new seasons.
 I will be running a session with St Mary's Catholic School in Rotorua soon. 
We are working out the details so watch this space.

 Professional Photographer Andrew Warner stopped by while in the library to choose the one he liked best.
Andrew helped me with my black and white photography  for my Visual Arts Diploma at Waiariki Institute of Technology sixteen years ago. 
He used to work at the Daily Post and now he works for professional, award winning photographer Tracey Robinson.

The advantage of living in a small community is that you seem to know everyone.
People will endorse you if  they respect your work which is why it is imperative that you get out there,  get known and be customer focused.  

Creative Quotes of the Day
 “Haiku is not a shriek, a howl, a sigh, or a yawn; rather, it is the deep breath of life.”
― Santoka Taneda, Mountain Tasting: Haiku and Journals of Santoka Taneda


 “When composing a verse let there not be a hair's breath separating your mind from what you write; composition of a poem must be done in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree or a swordsman leaping at a dangerous enemy.”
― Bashō Matsuo

 “Real haiku is the soul of poetry. Anything that is not actually present in one's heart is not haiku. The moon glows, flowers bloom, insects cry, water flows. There is no place we cannot find flowers or think of the moon. This is the essence of haiku. Go beyond the restrictions of your era, forget about purpose or meaning, separate yourself from historical limitations—there you will find the essence of true art, religion, and science.”
― Santoka Taneda, Mountain Tasting: Haiku and Journals of Santoka Taneda

Love how can we count the ways?

Love of each other
When people have challenges it's great to have empathy.
A simple hug and a kiss can make the world seem a brighter place.

Love of doing things together
 He picks. I take the shots, it's a harmonious arrangement.
 I make the apples strudels which he really loves, but not too many as we don't want to encourage love handles.

Love of children
 The greatest Love of all, sung by Whitney Houston.
I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

 Love of the divine
Just letting go, having faith and trusting that it will all work out exaclty as it's supposed to for the greater good is the path to  my serenity.

Serenity prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Love where you live
No matter where you live there will always be pros and cons.
It's a matter of focusing on the great things that  home has to offer.
Fresh air, open spaces, walking opportunities, brilliant, sunny  and misty days
There's lots to be grateful for in this hidden gem, Rotorua.

 Love of Change
People often do geographicals to other places.
I seem to make friends mostly with people who move away.
This is good because it keeps things fresh and interesting.
I keep in contact with them and I  ask
Are you any happier living there?
The answer is always the same.
They are usually as happy as they were when they lived here because they take themselves, their relationships and  their baggage or balloons with them.
 You can do a geographcal and that's fine and often necessary but it can be just as important to work on your baggage as well. 

Love of flying free.
You can  feel trapped in a relationship.
Or you can feel free in one.
One persons prison is another persons paradise.
It's a matter of finding your own wings and  having the courage to let go and find your special place in the world.
Find out what it  is that God put you in this earth for and work your way towards it, one step at a time.
I am never happier than when I am creating.

 Love of Friendships

A good friend is supportive of you and your goals.
A good friend is a friend you can trust.
A good friend is fun, unique and interesting.

Lots of people come and go in and out of my life.
I always like to think people as reason, season or lifetime friends.
My  key to having harmonious relationships  is to work out which category each person belongs to and to treasure them for that special place.

 

Self Love

At the moment I'm enjoying being my own best friend. 

 It's fun to go out by myself  to movies, art openings and cultural events as I always meet people I know, have taught and like. 

People often ask me to join them, that's what's great about living in a small community.
Cultivating an air of independence is healthy, so that I don't become too reliant on others.
I'd like to have the courage to travel to Italy by myself , but I'm thinking at the moment I wouldn't be brave enough.
This is something I probably need to work on.

Love of your pets
This is one of my chief loves.
This guy is one of the best friends I have ever had.
He totally adores me and it's mutual .
I love him even when he does naughty things like bringing in rats.

 Love of your job
So many people hate what they do for a living but I love teaching from my studio, making paintings and mosaics, doing photography, writing articles for my blog and magazines and writing haiku poetry
Every day I wake up and face what I  have to do for the day and I count myself  lucky.
No days are the same, I never get bored. 
I only teach positive people who want to learn and that's not a case of being unrealistic, it's a case of focusing on what  I want and making it happen. 

I try to  surround myself with winners in terms of their attitude, this helps a lot.
I only make art that I  want to and people seem to like it so they commission me.
I have a supportive husband who believes in my goals.
I am grateful and I look forward with anticipation to the universe for continued abundance.
I have fantastic clients whose commissions and attendance of my classes I really appreciate.

All sorts of other love
There are probably all types of other love out in the world that I haven't covered here, I could go on all day and night.
But it's important to know when to stop so that I can indulge my other chief loves that of rest,  relaxation and time alone. 

Balance is really important. it's a matter of finding it.

Creative Quotes of the day
Such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to suspicion, however unreasonable; always requiring new assurances from the object of its interest.Ann Radcliffe

Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be.

Anton Chekhov

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.Carl Jung

 There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.

Charles M. Schulz

 

 

Rotorua schools, it's time to think about making mosaic murals to brighten up your buildings.

I love making mosaic murals with schools.
I am available to travel to schools in the Bay of Plenty and the Waikato.
I have travelled as far as  Te Kuiti and as close as just down to the end of my street.
 Have a look at these shots from Kaitoa Middle School.

 Girls from Expressives listening to me talk about  community mosaics

                                      Lovely teacher  who designed the mosaic with the help of her girls.
                                        She organised the funding as well.
                                       A very pleasant, enthusiastic  person to deal with.
                                  Right from the beginning she was onto it, efficient and reliable.
She would be an asset to any school as she really is dedicated, creative and  loves to go the extra mile for her pupils.

 Very helpful group of workers.

 We had a lot of fun doing the mosaic and one of the girls wrote me a beautiful poem out of  the blue, it was really special.It still makes me smile to think of that.

 I love teaching people of all ages to be creative but especially young people and children
The moments we have together are really precious
The kids you teach never seem to forget you when you run into  them in the street  because you are associatated with a great, hands on activity.

 These symbols are all the things that are reflective of being expressive about your community

 The caretaker did a great job of framing and erecting the mosaics.  .

 The mosaic murals at kaitoa Middle school  will be there for a long time and pupils can always remember what part they helped to make.

Here are shots of the grouting process and the display of it prior to going up on the school wall. .

   Finished mosaic being held up by willing workers at Kaitoa Middle School. The pupils I taught were  really incredibly friendly. They took me into their classroom and treated me like one of their whanau
It was very humbling. They were also appreciative of the effort I put in to help them achieve the mosaics.

Making mosaics takes quite a lot of effort and relies on them focusing . The expressives were very hands on and very efficient.

 Mosaics always come into their own after being grouted.

 I would like to return to the school and make some more some day.
Who knows, it may happen. It petty much depends on the funding or fundrtaisoing by the schools. 

  Funding for the project was obtained through the Civic Arts Trust.


Phone or email me if you are interested in doing a project. 07 3463435  or jkeen@clear.net.nz
You may qualify for help for it through arts funding. 


Creative Qurtes of the day

As the world community develops in peace, it will open up great untapped reservoirs in human nature.
-- Emily Greene Balch 

 "There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities."
Norman Vincent Peale

New Mosaic Class Starting Tuesday September 18th

                            What?     Beginners Class Mosaic Classes
                                         Make a Fish/Bird Mirror and a Pot
                                    Glass tiles, Ceramic tiles, Vintage  Crockery 
When?     9.30am to 11.30am for four weeks

                             STARTING TUESDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER.                

                                         All materials included.
                                          Just bring yourself.
                                          Wear Old Clothes.

Investment?  $200 FOR THE FOUR WEEK CLASS  plus material cost of $50.00
That's  only $250.00 altogether.


                       Pay $50.00 per time and the material fee on the first day. 

                       Or pay the lot up front.

Or if that's not your cup of tea, how about making a cool mosaic paver for your garden?
It's  Spring now,  can't you feel that itch to do something exciting and different coursing through your veins?
Time to spruce up your vege patch.
Surround it with some cool pavers.



                                 When: Monday Mornings 9.30am to 11.3am
                                                      For four weeks. 
                                       Starting  Monday 24th September.
                                               Make a paver of a native bird
                   Kiwi, Kaka, Pengiun, Fantail, Wood Pigeon, Saddleback , Pukeko.
                     You name, you  can make it,
                      Just order your bird and I will have it ready.

                                                    $250.00 including $50.00 material fee.
                           

                                           Children's after school mosaic classes.
                                   Monday and Tuesdays  from 3.15pm
Plus school holiday mosaic classes Monday and Tuesday Mornings.

This place is buzzing with the hive of activity from busy little fingers.
Your child could be one of them forget about being bored, drag your kids away from their computers and playstations and get them into some creative play.
 Come to my studio to have some creative fun.

                                Beginner mosaic mirror ungrouted
                           We start off very basic so you get used to the cutting process.

 You'll be flying with these glass mosaic birds in no time.
I'll show you how to use my special cutters.
Make presents for Christmas.
Everyone loves  hand- made gifts.

 Beautiful colours and materials to choose from

 If you have a favourite colour, I can provide it.

 Perhaps you are an owl lover like me.
Design your own special theme or i can design it for you. 
 No two mosaics are the same because I  encourage  you to be creative and to fly with your own ideas and express yourself.
With techincal help and  smiles from me, you'll  get plenty because classes are small.

So what are you waiting for?
Hurry now
Book your place as classes fill fast.



 Phone Janet Keen 07 3463435
or email jkeen@clear.net.nz
Text 027 3513887


Creativity Quotes of the week 
Springtime is the land awakening.   ~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You


Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  ~Robin Williams


Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.  ~Geoffrey B. Charlesworth