The Kiss by Peter Behrens, 1898

Ever since the Venus Occultation last year I have been having a love affair with all things Art Nouveau. It is an artform I have loved ever since I was a child. I feel this is an form in synch with the Divine Feminine and I see a lot of parallels with this new time and the ideals of the Art Nouveau movement such as the honouring of nature. The Kiss by Peter Behrens is an iconic woodcut. Serpentine locks of hair intertwine around an androgynous couple. Androgyny in this period was associated with unbounded creativity and spirituality and we are seeing this explored in art and music and image again. Losing the bindings of gender and flowing into each other - very Neptunian don't you think?

What I love most of all about the Art Nouveau movement was that it embraced all forms of art and craft. Many artists not only painted but created jewellery, furniture and architecture. Peter Behrens was both artist and architect and was a part of the German Jugendstil Art Nouveau movement. A movement that aimed to fuse art and life and to abolish the hierarchy between the 'high arts' and crafts. This feeling of limitless potential and removal of hierarchy resonates strongly at the moment as the rise of the Divine Feminine is urging us to find new ways to express our creativity that will also support us. As we turn away from cheap and mass-produced products and long to touch the hand-made, we become more discerning in our buying and are reminded again of the necessity for beauty married with practicality and quality.

My wish and hope is to see younger artists approaching older craftspeople and artisans to learn their skills so that they do not die out and are forgotten. Let's embrace the role of 'apprentice' in many of these ancient crafts. 2013 will be a year for many to find sustainable work, and work that makes the heart sing. I look forward to seeing more blacksmiths, potters and woodworkers - have you been feeling a push to learn these 'earth crafts' again? A Nouveau Kiss for you all, artisans of the future.

Vase, Peter Behrens

Table Lamp by Peter Behrens

Octagonal teakettle of hammered silver, cane-wicker handle by Peter Behrens