The Restory Retreat Centre

Wakkerstroom Classical Music Festival 2025 20 - 23 March 2025 “He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;  he suspends the earth over nothing.  He wraps up the waters in his clouds,  yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.  He covers the face of the full moon,  spreading his clouds over it.  He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters  for a boundary between light and darkness.  The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke.  By his power he churned up the sea;  by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.  By his breath the skies became fair;  his hand pierced the gliding serpent.  And these are but the outer fringe of his works;  how faint the whisper we hear of him!  Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” ‭‭Job ‭26‬:‭7‬-‭‭14‬ ‭NIV                              It is that time of year again! Autumn is...

  Wakkerstroom Music Festival Preparations The Conversation Music  With our love and the desire that you may experience much beauty.  George & Matilda

  To Create Authentically The Conversation Elements From The Conversation Music Love George and Matilda

  Behind The Scenes The conversations Elements from the conversation  All the beauty that's been lost before wants to find us again                                                                                      U2 (Ordinary Love) Music We try to leave something behind. No monuments or statues, but something that makes life a little bit more beautiful and warmer for people - those current and those that follow. To Leave Something Behind  (Sean Rowe) I cannot say that I know you well But you can't lie to me with all these books that you sell I'm not trying to follow you to the end of the world I'm just trying to leave something behind Words have come from men and mouse Oh, but I can't help thinking that I have heard the wrong crowd When all the water is go...

Every year I let the ash leaves slip by. I love using them as decoration on plates as they are simply the perfect leaf. It has a graceful and slender form, balanced perfectly in a “leaf hand” of five with two opposite pairs of leaves and a single terminal leaf. The vein structure and stems imprint beautifully onto clay. But while they sway in green abundance on the slender branches all Summer I hardly notice them! Until Autumn arrives. As they flutter down in their thousands in silly yellow abandon I gather them frantically, knowing they will soon be gone and I will have to wait until Spring. I have one plate to show. ONE. Matilda #leaves #autumn #ashleaves #yellow #lostchances #lettingitslipby #pottery #imprintsonclay

Wakkerstroom Old Bioscope: Photograph by Owen Castleman Cet animal est tres mechant; Quand on l'attaque il se defend. (This animal is very malicious; when attacked it defends itself.)                                                 - La Menagerie (Traditional French song) ~ o  ~ Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.                                              - Rainer Maria Rilke ~ o  ~ When we can see the image o...

Whipping up a batch of lavender hand cream in a  self made mixing bowl. Photo by Matilda I love Herbs. Nearly as much, or most likely just as much as I like Clay. They are after all, each their own person, deserving of my love and attention. For now though, with no dedicated studio space to spend time with Clay, my creative liaison is with Herbs and we enjoy many a pleasant hour together in the kitchen and garden. Even so, clay and herbs are of the same earth that speaks deeply to my soul. Both tactile, versatile, sensuous and alive with sun drenched energy, they lift my spirit in no time. I read that our sense of smell plays an important part in our emotional well being. Fragrance travels via our olfactory nerves directly to the area in our brain that deals with emotions. I just have to think of the nostalgia that surges through me when I smell pancakes with cinnamon to know this is true. I do believe that the fragrance of the rose geranium speaks directly to my creative ce...