WordPress reminded me that the journey of inSPIRAtion started 10 years ago.
I am usually not the one for retrospectives but I have also realized that a significant number of people that are generous enough to follow my work, know me through my participation at GirlieOnTheEdge’s Six Sentence Story writing challenge.
And as I have said, no writer am I… only his sigh.
Neither I call myself an artist; I prefer the Hellenic word for amateur: ερασιτέχνης which actually means lover of art.
So, let’s walk together down that path by the sea and get to know a bit better Spira, the person Nick, the driftwood travelling to the shore of Impossible… all one and the same.
*I*
Such a driftwood was my second creation TRIPTYCH – Sacrifice
And here is another from that series
TRYPTYCH – Stabat Mater
Next are some of what you could call the first era of Spira…explorations in search of the Voice.
” Tenrai ” Two separate pieces of driftwood placed on an old Chinese stand 20 cm.
” Apotheosis ” Acrylic paint on canvas 70 x 100 cm.
” Leonardo’s Dream…” 49 x 39,5 cm
“Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum” (my first creation)
Paintings are a rare occasion ( I am not a painter either 🙂 )
*II*
We enter now the phase where a more distinct identity is formed. Driftwood is pushed creatively…
” Rise “ With parts of Gaia and Oceanus 52 x 40 cm.
“Symbolica” (that was also my first experimentation with writing a fictional story comprised with real historical events)
“Broken Seal” Dragonstone, driftwood, old Chinese Dragon miniature 36 x 27 cm.
” Dead Can Dance “ Driftwood with mixed material technique 81 x 64 cm.
” SEΛENE & HESΠEROS “ Driftwood 50 x 80 x 35 cm.
” Daughters of the Night – Θυγατέρες της Νυκτός “
” The Riddle of the Ancient Mariner “ 18 x 21 x 45 cm.
” Poseidon { The Calling XI } “ 40 cm, 20 cm height.
Paintings appear like a comet…
” A Vision of the Last – A Memory of the Prime “ On wood50 x 80 cm.
ΟΥΤΟΠΙΕΣ : ” Standing Stones “ Acrylic paint on canvas 70 x 50 cm.
” Μολών Λαβέ “ Acrylic paint on canvas, 30 x 24 cm.
As confidence grows and an artistic identity is forming, I begin to explore sculpting (self taught as with all the rest).
” Pensif ” Driftwood, clay with patina on a river rock – Height : 40 cm, Base dim: 16 cm.
” I am “ Driftwood, hand sculpted plaster 77 cm.
*III*
And then in 2016 comes the creation that unlocked the most intricate, daring facet of my creativity, cementing my signature voice.
I guess those months spent in Hell were worth it!
(PS: meaning I can only create from inside out…since I am not replicating any learned technique, whatever created is the result of intense state of being inside the theme of said creation… which requires to abandon all fortifications and expose my deeper parts… a procedure that informs my being in everything I do since I begun this journey…so, please remember that; an artist’s soul is equally intense and vulnerable – that is how art comes forth…at least, mine.)
” Inferno “ Clay with patina on wood, 55 x 45 cm.
” Compassion ”
” LADY OF THE WOODS III : The Calling “ 66 x 27 cm.
After Leonardo Da Vinci’s ” Virgin of the Rocks”
Clay with patina, on a natural rock formation
Dimensions: 40 x 30 cm – height : 21 cm / Weight : 15 kg
” Lady of the Woods IV – ΑΜΑΔΡΥΑΣ “ Driftwood, clay with patina, river stone, ammonite fossil, max dim. 45 x 45 cm.
” Lady of the Woods V – DAPHNE “ Driftwood, clay, ammonite fossil. Base dimensions : 32 x 32 cm, height : 45 cm.
” MiKha’El “ Driftwood, clay on river rock, 39 cm x 24 cm.
” The Power of Words “ clay with patina – height: 2 m 10 cm, width : 33 / 13.5 cm
” Balanceo y vaivén “ Driftwood, clay with patina – 33 cm height.
” The Hand of … ” 42.5 x 45 cm
There were also two collaborations with Ford P. Waight
Αεί Έλλην Μαχόμενος ( SPIRA – FORD P WAIGHT collaboration )
“A tale of things invisible to mortal sight “ Clay and driftwood with patina – 1 m 40 cm x 2 m 20 cm.
And the journey continues…
If you reached thus far, Thank you for gifting me with your interest, time, thoughts; you are greatly appreciated.
To those few, who have gone beyond what is expected in the blogosphere…
…you know who you are…and you know how I feel about you.
By The Company Of Warriors I Keep
Spira / Nick © February 2023
Sing it Joe…
inSPIRAtion 
I’m very impressed by your artwork Spira. Excellent.
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And I am very grateful for your constant and kind presence, Sadje.
Thank you!🙏🏼
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It’s a pleasure 🙏🏼
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Fantastic creations, Nick (Happy Blogoversary!)
Not only are your creations amazing, your photos of them are as well! 🙂 I particularly liked ‘Daughters of the Night’, to me it has an angelic mermaid feel to it… a combination I’ve never thought of before!
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Thank you, mate!!
Well, I try my best in order to portrait as much as I can in 2D of a 3D creation.
I am glad that Daughters created such a reaction in you.You will never guess from what the “wings” are made of…from Barbary fig decayed leaves!
Thank you, Tom for your wishes and feedback.
I wish you endless creativity (abstract and non😉)
Cheers!🍻
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Γειά σου Νικ! Είσαι η έμπνευση η παρουσία η ηρεμία που ακούει, κοιτάζει, αγγίζει και μιλάει.Εισαι η Ύπαρξη πίσω από τα έργα σου spira!!!!Val.
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Valkyrie!
Τι να απαντήσω εγώ τώρα?
Μια τεράστια αγκαλιά μολις σε δω!!💕
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Thanks so much for sharing your incredible and inspiring art for the past decennium, my friend. I’m so very glad I could tag alongside you for these astonishing masterworks! 🙂 (and you ain’t getting rid of me, I shall be here for the next ten!!!
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You are thanking me…!!
Such is the man who not only has accompanied me in this journey, gifted his reactions but shared my art with his friends and audience ( one never knows where a chance might appear-it is so important, yet so rarely done…)!
And that is no small gift for an artist, Bruce.
I don’t know how can I repay that, my dear friend.
Get rid of you😆? Are you kiddin’ me?
I should treasure you at a top security vault!!
Bruce. Thank You. For everything.
🍻
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No need for repayment, good sir, your excellent artistic output and our friendship is all the recompense I will ever need! Plus, you also have been so very supportive of Precinct1313, to which I say, thanks so, so much (unfortunately due to a heavy work schedule, I’ve not been able to do much writing recently, but I’ll be back, soon!) Have a wonderful weekend, my very good friend. 🙂
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Wow! Not a very eloquent opening from the Sicilian Storyteller, for sure, but I am blown away by your creations that I can only use the phrase you and I both now share – “whatthefuckedness”?!
Forgive my ignorance but my first question is are your pieces on display or part of an exhibit in a museum or a gallery? My second question is if your answer to my first question is “no”, then why not? These are indescribable!
While all these works of art moved me, the two that deeply touched my soul were “The Hand of….” and Αεί Έλλην Μαχόμενος ( SPIRA – FORD P WAIGHT collaboration ), which to me represented a Roman soldier’s helmet at the cross of Jesus with a scrap of robe which the soldiers fought over.
You possess a heavenly brilliance, something that comes from deep within your soul, an inSPIRAtion that moves your hands to form these works of art. I am deeply moved humbled that you would share your innermost self with us today. Thank you for that!
You can never go wrong with a little Joe Bonamassa or Albinoni or The Beatles playing in the background. Yours is not a gift; it is an amazing treasure. 💎 💫
PS – Kudos to the photographer who captured the very essence of a true artist.
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Cara mia…
…No, they are not.
Because it is very difficult to gain entry into that circuit. Especially when the artist is an outsider ( from medical to arts with no relevant studies…oh, the insult😐).
I am still hoping for a breach…otherwise, what’s the point?
Still, your two questions planted a smile on my face and a hope flower!
Those two creations are close to my heart.
The collaboration with Ford ( you may have read his stories under The Atomic Mage) was a tribute to 2,500 years from the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis. He wrote an incredible epic poem for the occasion.
“The Hand of…” is a powerful creation…placed over a passage, it has attracted strong reactions. Some even feel frightened from its evocative aura!
(And I have hidden a lot in the disk above the hand😉)
Thank you, Nancy for your strong encouragement and heartfelt friendship.🌹
Sono umiliato e onorato.
PS: I will accept your kudos…since I am the photographer of my art, too😊
(See, you were spot on with Leone 📷💕)
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This great response, Nick! I have read some of Ford’s work but not the one you mention; I will make sure to correct that soon.
I, too, am humbled and honored. Blessed for your friendship, amico mio. 🕊️
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I see you’re fluent in typos and omitted words, just as I am!
Obviously, I meant to say This IS A great response, NICK. Sometimes my fingers are faster than my brain but I know you were reading between the lines. 😉
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Happy Blogversary! I’m happy I discovered you through the Six community.
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Thank you, Nicole! 😊
Ditto.
My engagement with the Six community has given to me more than I can convey in words here.
(I am a little behind in reading you-apologies)
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I have two weeks of prompt responses to read from the Six community myself, so no worries!
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Wow and wow again! I remember some of the wonderful art.
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Chris!🤗
Thank you my friend so much!
I really appreciate your friendship and encouragement.
Double wow!! I will take it.
Especially when it comes from you, who are surrounded by Cliff’s marvelous artworks!
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Two artists (not me!) 😉
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Dear Nick, Wizard, InSPIRAtion, my friend… I’m writing from here because here is where we first met some years ago, courtesy of a certain GAF Viewmaster brand and your generosity I recall 😊
A 10 year anniversary ay? What better way to celebrate than a retrospective! You deserve it (and so do we as an audience). I’m happy to report that I have already seen, commentated upon, liked and, hell, even collaborated with you twice, on a good deal of your artworks on display here today.
However you wear the robes of art in your always humble way (an autodidact cloak?), know that you have touched the feelings of many who have witnessed your output. Never stop creating I say! And not just with your art and sculpture… you are a writer of some magnitude and depth, with a unique voice, and I look forward to further collaborations with you where it’s not just me (Ford/the Mage/TVTA) doing the scribe duties… but you! 😎
I think we first met when you were well into your phase of driftwood, and a lot of those pieces I remember. But I absolutely love your acrylic work (a medium I have explored myself many times). Works (which I wasn’t familiar with until today) like ‘Apotheosis’, ‘Stardust’, ‘Standing Stones’ and ‘ Μολών Λαβέ’ are to me spellbinding, and I appreciate your style and technique with this excellent medium of paint.
Question: do you still have all these pieces? And how do you feel about exhibiting them all one day, for the public that is? Maybe you already have. I recall you have previously invited visitors into your home for a look.
Question: How many collabs have we two made thus far?
Two?
Nay! It be three!!
Last year we made an absolutley brilliant (unconscious) collaboration involving the death of a certain, erm, you, Nick!
Now… how to put that bizarre and impromptu collab into a ‘one-piece’ “look… we made another collab” (without knowing) ??? lol. Maybe we don’t have to. It’s there, ain’t it bro!
Love, hugs, creativity always 😍🤩😎😊
Ford
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⚠️affectionate profanity follows- be advised, readers!*
By order of the fokin’ TVTA, Atomic Mage, Ford!!!
(to get an idea of the background as I am reading and replying to your comment: fireplace, Bunnahabhain, nasty blues playing from those kilt wearing monsters King King)
Ain’t life a fucked up, marvelous, painful, amazing, disappointing, inspiring, crazy, bubble made from water and love?
Viewmaster (🤯) was indeed the beginning…who could imagine the journey it triggered, eh?
Ford, on top of everything else, I will never forget that you were the reason I was introduced to the Six community; and what that means to me and why is beyond the purposes of this “room”.
Yes, you have indeed gifted my creations with your rare insight; one that feels like you are in my workshop and in my mind as I create!
And our collaborations…what a ride they were!!!
You are too generous with your compliments…know, that I enjoy your writing so much that riding shotgun with you is not only a pleasure but an honor too!😎
Answer to Q2: fn’ yeah, it’s three times we worked together!
No one else I would rather have to write my obituary and help me resurrect 😉🤣😎
It is fokin there, brother!🍻
Answer to Q1: Unfortunately, the vast majority is still with me.
My aim has always been for them to fly away to new homes.
But still, I haven’t been able to exhibit or otherwise. Mind you I am a complete failure in PR, so…you get the picture!
I need an agent!! Anyone up to the task?!
Ford…
…love, hugs, creative mayhem!!🤗😊
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Too cool mate. Funny, music-wise, I was looking at your retrospective tonight to the tunes of my local French radio station which was/still is playing retro reggae/ragamuffin/lovers rock/dub (my twice monthly saturday nite musical slot decompression based on my 90s ‘I was actually there’ mood).
But ain’t that just music for ya? The various moods can slot into our art moods effortlessly. Long live music as well as the other arts!
Yep. I may have opened the door to the Six Community for you, but you made that place by the fireside your very own!
Lol at an agent 😂 Me too! They are a rare breed indeed.
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I’d have never guessed the wings, Nick… I had to go and check out a Barbary fig first, and even if I did know what one of those was, I’d have still never guessed the wings! 🤣 Really good work! 🙂
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Thank you, Tom.
I really like to find beauty in unexpected places!
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It shows that almost anything can be put to good use!
(Apologies for my reply there appearing as a new comment.. my app’s doing some pretty funky things at the moment! 🤣)
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Amazing artwork! Happy blogiversary! Congratulations 🎉🎉
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Oh, man!
I really appreciate it!
And thank you for the follow, too.
I hope you won’t regret the time spent here.
Thank you for stoping by. I’m Nick, btw.
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Thank you, Nick for your kind words. It’s my pleasure to follow and read your posts. I’m Kaushal.
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