A mythical city, located in a mystical valley and enclosed by the Kunlun Mountains.
This place has been immortalized in writing, film, television, music and now in pottery. Maybe you have heard of it?
Jem and the holograms journeyed there, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow woke up there in ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’, resorts have been named after it, Stevie Nicks named a solo album after this place and Scooby Doo (Shaggy too) found it!
Shangri-La.
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Shangri-La was one of the pieces
I included in my exhibit, ‘The Myth of Family’ at the Oxford Riverside Gallery. You can learn more about this exhibit and my process creating the art work for it here. The video which includes footage of throwing on the wheel, firing, the venue and the pieces exhibited.
You can see more images of this vase here.
This mythical utopia is considered to be an earthly paradise
Where the inhabitants age very slowly and are practically immortal. People here are fabled to live hundreds of years beyond an ordinary lifespan.
Shangri-la, much like the Garden of Eden is representative of a paradise hidden from today’s society. Something that many yearn for and seek, but few find.
Perhaps one day our global family can create Shangri-la on this Earth and this myth may become reality and we can all live in a utopia of our creation.
Wow, that is truly beautiful x
Thank you so much for your kind comment! I hope your day is off to a great start.
I’m not sure if we can create a Shangri-la or not, but I love the colors of that vase.
Thank you so much for your very kind comment! I hope you have a great day ahead!
The colours feel very earthy and also vague tones of dreamy. Also something intense… like coming into form but not quite there yet… yet the process is one that requires energy even if the outcome is yet unknown. The colours feel dynamic in that way. Maybe you don’t know about the utopia either.
Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comment! I like your perceptions about this piece, in that you can kind of see Shangri-La, but it has not fully come into view 😉 I wish I knew more about utopia than I do … but maybe one day 😉
I hope you are having a great day!
A utopia is always better than a distopia x
😉
I was just tossing around ideas for a blog around this idea…more about the “high” creative people get when they make something out of nothing (or rather the basics). How we all are creative, even if we don’t publish, display, or sell. Your ShangriLa is where we all hang out. Let’s agree to meet there now and then and show what we REALLY are all about!
I love the sentiments in this comment! I will bring some wine and clay 😉 It amazes me how creative people are and the things we can do when we allow ourselves to be in the flow! I hope you have a pleasant journey to Shangri-La 😉
That vase is a real beauty, so lustrously deep. Thanks for sharing. Allan
Thank you so much for your very kind comment Allan! I hope you are having a great day!
This piece draws you in, and tempts you to stay awhile! I once had a neighbor, this sweet older woman (because back then everyone was older than me), place the name Shangri-La on her door plate. She invited me inside, and I then understood why.
That is a beautiful story! I remember seeing a friend’s family had a wood burned sign that said ‘Shangri-La’ on their cottage. I had forgotten about that 😉 Thank you so much for your kind words and I hope your day is off to a beautiful start,
Memories pop up at the weirdest times! I love it when they bring a smile to your heart. Thank you for sharing your story too. It’s sunny and crisp here, definitely a good start to the day! Enjoy your day!
Fall is in the air! And yes that memory came back to me from you sharing your story, I can almost see their cottage in my mind’s eye 😉
That’s a treat! I love fall…and spring. When things die and come alive. The most beautiful time of life ❤️!
The colours in the vase are beautiful. A real Shangri-La would be wonderful. I hope it exists one day. Since we have many problems to solve on Earth, though, a utopia may take a long time to develop.
Thank you for your kind words about this vase and thoughtful comment. I also hope that one day we bring such a place into existence too 😉
If we can make our own Utopia for one day without harming too many people. I think paradise is a state of mind. Takes a lot of convincing to see the paradise of life imho
I like your statement that paradise is a state of mind! I think there is a lot of truth to that. It is nice to think that we can all get their in our own way. I hope you are having a great week so far!
Shangri-la or Eden is a mindset it is were your people live not a physical reality.
I love this idea that paradise is a mindset! Thank you so much for sharing it! I hope you have a wonderful day!
I absolutely adore the beauty of these vases you’ve created. They remind me somehow of the Northern Lights – how the colors are so deep and true. Beautiful!
I think so much utopia can be found when we live out our God-given purpose and passion. When you are excited to wake up each day because you look forward to what you do – how much better could it get? Sure, there will always be difficulties and troubles vying for our attention. But when there is purpose – getting through such seasons of life are far easier to handle!
Your work is a deep reflection in to the soul, I believe. There’s something very special about what you do. God bless! Keep using your incredible giftings to bless us all 🙂
Thank you so much for your beautiful and kind comment and connecting with me here Holly. So very much appreciated. I understand what you mean by comparing my pieces to the Northern Lights and am very flattered by the comparison.
I love your view on utopia too! Being in the flow, doing the things we are meant to sounds like a personal utopia that we can all strive for!
Sending you many blessings with what seems to be your purpose of helping cats live better lives! How can anyone not love that and your adorable Dizzy 😉
Shangri-la is a very fitting name for that beauty! Shangri-la, utopia, and paradise perhaps, a frame of mind? Methinks it’s best to believe in magic than not to believe in anything.
I love that! I need to live in a world where I can believe in magic! I find there is all sorts of magic around us, if you look carefully enough! I hope your weekend is off to a great start. We are just battening down the hatches before Dorian comes for a visit!
Stunning as always!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
Pottery is really nice. Unfortunately, Paradise exists only in our imagination/dreams. Somewhere there will always be a conflict to that environment.
Thank you for your kind words about the pottery. I can see that there always seems to be conflict somewhere in this world. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far!
Wow, beautiful 😍. I think it’s possible to have a Shangri-la on Earth one day
Thank you! I hope you are right, because that is the kind of world that I would like to live in! Have a wonderful weekend!
Beautifully said!
Thank you Cynthia! I hope you are well and having a great day so far!
I hope you will find this article interesting. I do believe that one day earth will be returned to paradise. https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-study/gods-promises-for-humans/
I think we could💞
The first step is believeing we can! Thanks so much for your comment and I hope you have a wonderful week!
I just love, love this vase. So warm and rich. Re Utopia: I think it exists in glimpses and snippets we get in daily experiences or in considering artwork such as this vase: things that go beyond where we are…..At the moment our world is very far from a wide-ranging Utopia. I live near Concord, MA and have always been fascinated with the transcendentalists and Utopia movements born there. How sad that they couldn’t be sustained! But, it is heartening to me the centuries later, they still hold a fascination for us. A glimmer of hope, maybe?
Peace,
Julie
Thank you so much for your very kind and thoughtful comment! I agree with you that we get to see snippets or glimpses of Utopia from time to time. It’s a beautiful vision for the world and hopefully such glimpses will become more common in this world. Your comment reminds me of a favourite quote of mine. ‘Hope deffered, maketh the heart sick’. – Euripides. Much peace to you and for this world.