Doors, we rarely consider them. Everyday doors, the ones we walk by but never pass through, never consider. What about the ones we use but never think about. This photo essay is about everyday doors from New York to Alberta and beyond. Doors have personality as if they grow wiser and more knowledgeable as they age. Doors reflect the history of their use or neglect. They are portals to human experiences.

"These contour drawings are based upon the exploration and simplicity of the mark – mark making using the human form for reference and inspiration. I am concerned with line as an expression, the strength and weight, the softness and light, the positive and negative space experienced through a simple mark. The lines are felt they are not exacting but rather an expression. These simple marks give form to the figure allowing the viewer to connect with their imagination, creativity and sensuality which in turn gives life to the images, a figure, in essence it is just the mark. How and where it is placed on the page gives atmosphere to reflect upon." Dianne studied art and design in Melbourne, Australia, she worked in textiles/fashion, trend forecasting and product development “Painting and drawing is what I do to find my direction, it is how I explore and extend myself. It is what is integral to the self ..– this is an ongoing journey of exploration - it is continuous and part of being in a process”.

I am a life-long artist on a mission to make life and work a work of art. My background is in the visual arts, illustration, and design for marketing communications. I am currently a creativity consultant and coach to organisations around the word. I'm also the co-author of "Orchestrating Collaboration at Work, Using Music, Improv, Storytelling, and Other Arts to Improve Teamwork" which is an activity book for corporate trainers and facilitators. My paintings are part of private collections around the world, and have also appeared on sets in movies and TV shows produced in Vancouver for Hollywood. To see a full catalogue of Linda's prints go to www.creativityatwork.com

I fell in love with both sculpting and the Tao Philosophy and so combine them in my sculpting process. I teach workshops and have written a book called, “Getting Stoned: The Tao of Sculpting”and have one published called “The Tao of Living on Purpose”. The Tao is all about finding your “Way” or “Tao” through listening to yourself, paying attention to your intuition and gifts. When you sculpt you are listening both to yourself and to the stone or wood and becoming one with it, collaborating with it and letting it guide you. The process is one of allowing a form to emerge, rather than forcing one onto the stone. It is a very meditative and, for me, spiritual practice. It is all about the journey, not the destination. The best work for me is when the spirit or energy of the stone or wood comes alive. “Form exists in order to express spirit” (Gu Kaizh), is a kind of mantra for me. And recently I have become more and more involved in wanting to express energy, letting stone and wood dance and sing and would love to express the moment when matter turns to energy; As John Gowan says, “Gravity is matter’s memory that it once was light”. The images that you see are Alabaster and Steatite. The tall piece is called “Opening”and is made of Alabaster. The Torso is Steatite or Soapstone and is called “Flowing Torso”. The White Piece is “Flower Exuberance”and is made of Translucent Alabaster. And the Orange sculpture is called “Ur-Form” and is made of Orange Translucent Alabaster which you can see through and allows the light to travel within and around the piece. The name “Ur – Form” describes a shape that suggests an underlying life form or pattern and is the “visual equivalent of an inarticulate sound, uttered instead of a word”. It is sometimes a spiral, an infinity sign or a figure eight.

As an internal consultant, a leadership program developer, a leadership program manager, or a product development team leader, my interest in the system sciences has me being conscientious of convergent and divergent processes – looking for what can emerge from individuals, within a team, for a product, and even work processes. It is an approach that blends work management with aesthetic processes where I recently have had the privilege of being an Artist-in-Residence-Incognito for The Boeing Company. Through the application of Chinese calligraphy, ensemble and solo theater, and the visual arts, I have gained first-hand experience with the benefits of aesthetic processes. I am continuing to explore the intersection of art and business through my own paintings, a new play that will premiere in Fall 2007 in Seattle, and a consultative practice that I am calling workplay, aesthetic-based action learning. What is most exciting to me about both my paintings and my play is how they reflect emergence. In my paintings, I have chosen to juxtapose an artist or artists in business environments – dancers in a bank lobby, meetings on stage, theater performers in an office building, and an artist in an office. As a process, I pour latex house paint and water-based pigments on the floor, waiting five to ten days for the water to evaporate to reveal a pattern of colors. As a result, I learn to trust the dance between structure and flow.

In her role as Associate Professor, School of Design Studies, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, Emma Robertson researches across two distinct areas. In her teaching she investigates theories of mapping, and new developments in creative thinking processes as applied to design. In her practice she explores the relationships between words, objects and memory in mixed media drawings and bookworks. Emma's artworks are held in five public collections in three countries.

Recent works from my Taranaki Childhood series. I have lived in Taranaki for a large part of my life.I have travelled and lived other places for periods of time but Taranaki is home and always will be - my turangawaewae [my place to stand] I miss the mountain, the climate, the familiar landscape when I am away.It is here where I escape when I need to replenish. A conversation with a friend prompted this series of work - it was about what attracts people to place. It prompted me to consider why I continue to stay in Taranaki when a large part of my work is elsewhere.Some part of that link is to do with the familiarity of the place where I grew up and the comfort of being able to recapture some of that. The works incorporate some images and also some artefacts [photos, kids blocks - my mum hoards everything!! - and $2 Shop cows] etc from my childhood.They are best described as collage and assemblage on board. The process of creating these is also one I use in my Creativity Retreats. More of my work can be seen on my website www.future-edge.co.nz

One of the most enjoyable events in Sydney annually is Sculpture by the Sea presented along the cliffs between Bondi and Coogee, two of Sydney's most famous beaches. I have photographed this event extensively over the years as for me it is the event that connects me with this city in which I was born. The images are just quick snaps. They are not set up in any way. The content simply represents for me my love of sculpture as an art form against the natural elements I love the most - the beach and the surf.

STUART is Charles Saatchi's on line gallery of over 20,000 original artworks. Artists are often on-line ready for chats about their artworks.