3, Triad, Happy Third Day of 2014

Following in yesterday's track, here is Triad, which relates to surface. "Three is the firstborn, the eldest number."*

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Triad, 12 x 7.5"

Triad is a Golden Rectangle.

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Triad, detail, square

"The triangle encloses the smallest arena within the greatest perimeter. It is the initial shape to emerge from the vesica piscis"*, created by joining the two points of the line with the upper intersection of the vesica piscis. Taking this square away, the next Golden Rectangle remains;

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Triad, detail, Golden Rectangle

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Triad, detail, square

"Ancient mathematical philosophers referred to the triad as prudence, wisdom, piety, friendship, peace, harmony, a statement about relationship and balance. Trinity is the preeminent symbol of divinity."* Taking this square away, the next Golden Rectangle remains;

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Triad, detail, Golden Rectangle

The ephemera is of pineapple, and the three botanicals are Larkspur petals. What are your associations about three?

*Words in Quotes are from Divine Proportion by Priya Hemenway

2, Dyad & Happy Second Day of 2014

Following in yesterday's track, here is Dyad, which relates to line. "One and two are the parents of all other numbers."*

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Dyad, 12 x 7.5"

Dyad is a Golden Rectangle.

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Dyad, detail, square

From the center of the first circle one finds the center of the second, between which is a line. The shared space is the vesica piscis. "Duality, polarity, simultaneously divides and unites, repels and attracts, separates and returns."*  Taking this square away, the next Golden Rectangle remains;

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Dyad, detail, Golden Rectangle

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Dyad, detail, square

"Two reveals itself as the door between the One and the many, between Monad and all other numbers."* Taking this square away, the next Golden Rectangle remains;

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Dyad, detail, Golden Rectangle

The ephemera is of sesame, and the two botanicals are Clary Sage petals. What are your associations about two?
*Words in Quotes are from Divine Proportion by Priya Hemenway

1, Monad & Happy First Day of 2014

Thanks to my dear friend Kitty who said of The Mystery of Numbers, "I bet it would be fun to study these in depth discovering all kinds of hidden messages and mysteries of numbers." She started me thinking of how I could create details of this Multiple that is premiering tomorrow at Community Art Center in Danville. People often ask me about the Golden Rectangle and Golden Proportion I use in my art. So I thought I would break it down showing each one on the next 5 days.

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Monad, 12 x 7.5"

Monad is a Golden Rectangle. One relates to point.

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Monad, detail, square

"Nothing exists with out a center around which it revolves. The center is the source. The circle encloses the greatest area within the smallest perimeter."* Taking this square away, the next Golden Rectangle remains;

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Monad, detail, Golden Rectangle

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Monad, detail, square

"The first, the seed, the essence, the builder, the foundation, unity. Any number when multiplied by one remains itself."* Taking this square away, the next Golden Rectangle remains;

©Kathleen O'Brien, The Mystery of Numbers, Monad, detail, Golden Rectangle

From a hundred year old encyclopedia I chose botanicals, here a one petaled flower, above, one rose petal in the circle.

I would be interested  to hear what associations you have with the number one.

*Words in Quotes are from Divine Proportion by Priya Hemenway

Goodbye 2013, and Happy New Year

Wishing you all the best for the coming year, thank you for reading my posts!

©Kathleen O'Brien, Stroke of Midnight, 24x12", collage

Can you discern the Golden Rectangle and Golden Spiral?

Happy Solstice 12:11 pm EST

I am so happy for the Great Return of the Light. May your days be filled with light and warmth.

©Kathleen O'Brien, Each Day in the Year of the Fire Dog, #327, front

©Kathleen O'Brien, Each Day in the Year of the Fire Dog, #327, back

Tree of My Life

In last week's Winter Joy Retreat I imagined a tree, the soil, roots, trunk, branches, leaves and fruit all representing parts of my life. It was so profound to consider the influences, dreams, ancestry, abilities, accomplishments and write it out, then draw it. I spent 2 days on this, thinking of more things as I went.

©Kathleen O'Brien, Tree of my Life, 22x28",watercolor, pencil, ink

Enjoying the Halcyon Days

Yesterday began the 14 day period known as the Halcyon Days, days of Peace. It is a time when the water is calm enough for the Halcyon bird to lay eggs on it's water nest. I love these days and try to avoid the crazy energy that happens around the Holidays. the solstice falls at the midpoint of these days.

This year I gifted myself with an online 21 day "Winter Joy Retreat" with Cigden Kobu. The theme this year is homecoming. Each day we (about 150 women) receive a joy letter on a topic that threads around the theme. There is a playsheet where we write responses to ideas and questions from the letter. Now on day 15 I can feel an integration happening for me.

One day that stands out is the one we were to think about our values, and what drives our daily and long term decisions. There was a prompt to draw a mandala about that.

©Kathleen O'Brien, mandala of values, details of 16 artworks

Rather than draw I found art that reflected the value and cut a detail of it, added the words. the questions around the border are what drive my decisions.

Next time I'll talk about the family tree...