Painting small & quietly important moments!
Looking at art changes your point of view
The new year brings with it a natural opportunity to begin freshly looking and creating!... everything I look at informs my perception and in time, my drawings, paintings and soul...
The new year brings with it a natural opportunity to begin freshly looking and creating!First stop is , MoMA and Marlene Dumas: Measuring your own grave ! I went to her show because I am drawn to her use of watercolor, thin oil glazes and yet powerful graphic impact
To remind me of images that constantly inform my work, I went to see Bonnard. It is amazing how each personal perspective informs us of new ways of looking at the world.
I've found that everything I look at informs my perception and in time, my drawings, paintings and soul. Choosing to make time to see, read and experience what moves me can only help to deepen my work and consequently, my inner person.
What do you choose to see to expand and deepen your life actions? Hmm.. a good question for the 2009!
What we see changes us.
- by Ben Fank Moss, image courtesy of Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle WA
Through the amazing fiery fall foliage, we drove last weekend to attend a solo show for Ben Frank Moss at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. It was appropriately called "Immanence and Revelation", in reference to inner reflection as his source. We viewed about 70 paintings and drawings.
As Bruce Herman, painter, reflects,
...there is always a place for meditation on the beauty and significance of the natural world. In Moss's work, paint is a palpable metaphor for space, for light, for substance.
Ben's work illuminates for me, the way that inner light and memory informs the way we see. I also believe that what we see can transform us, if we allow it. So take a inquiring, meditative look at his work, here, at Francine Seders Gallery and at the Hood Museum in Hanover, New Hampshire!
In his essay in the catalogue, Joshua Chuang wrote:
For Moss, art-making is an endeavor that requires the courage to hold still enough to reflect on life's vicissitudes and the willingness to work on the edge of failure. Because of this, whether endowed with the deep lush tones of charcoal the luminous hues and sensuous texture of oil paint, his art caries the layered history of a palimpset and the distilled intensity of personal revelation. His most succesful pieces exhibit the startling immediacy of a "held dream... a poetic gateway to an inner experience."
I am interested in your response to both his work and to his philosophy of creating that bridges between the visible world and the invisible world within!
surrounding myself with trees
Trees are awe inspiring lately! There is an arboretum nearby and so I am lucky to have unfettered access to it.
Below is larger drawing! I was looking for relationships between trees and their shadows! As I draw them I take notice! I pay close attention to the the wide range of barks and leaves; the way trees are always reaching out; how rooted and dependent they are to the soil.They provide shade, protection, cleanse the air by using and storing carbon. Kind of makes you want to keep them around. doesn't it?
Taking time...
So it seems in my life that the raw material that I need to be most cognizant of for creating my work, is time. I need to ask myself:
When is the best time to work? How much time do I need? Can I break time down into small segments that will allow me room to create? How can I keep a schedule without watching the clock? How do I arrange time to balance art, spiritual, physical, intellectual relationships, environment & riches?
Check out Merlin Mann's blog, 43 folders! He is in the process of dealing with the same issue, yet having to do with is creative work, which happens to be writing.
What work have you been trying carve out the time for?
Each person has the capacity to create. The materials and tools vary from technology to teaching to caring for the sick to working in politics, as well as making music, images, dance and theater. To approach each day with the attitude of an artist is to accept that each of us has the capacity to transform.
Taking time to wait...
"When you come to the edge of all the light you knowand are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown,faith is knowing one of two things will happen:There will be something solid to stand onoryou will taught to fly."
Patrick Overton
Sometimes, when I can't decide what to paint, I just leave room for the colors to flow through me! This is good practice for my ordinary existence, everyday. It is as difficult to listen and wait in front of paper or canvas as it is as I journey through my daily activities.
It can seem like I'm just not getting anywhere, that life has presented me with so many obstacles to my original quest that and I am not even sure what is possible anymore! So I open the curtains of my soul, and let myself rest there, waiting. Then I pick up my brush or pencil and paint. Or I read the newspaper and hold images and words in my heart.
Or just wait .... and listen. There is always some kind of response to my waiting and listening if I have the patience to wait.
I don't always make the time to wait and listen to my internal voice. Are you able to?
Painting puts time in a different perspective!
"Try pausing right before and right after undertaking a new action, even something simple like putting a key in a lock to open a door. Such pauses take a brief moment, yet they have the effect of decompressing time and centering you."A life practice from Br. David Steindl-Rast
Drawing & painting does this for me. What centers you?
Taking notice of flowers...
watercolor sketch
Today, I noticed these sunflowers, the way they catch the light and how they embrace the space on my table. I made a little watercolor, 7" x 5". Sometimes the most ordinary elements in my life say al lot to me about light, space and time. In fact, they change every day, and how i see them changes, too. I will keep track of them as they react to the light, space and time.
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Time...and time again...
Exploring the use of time in expanding our intellectual and creative abilities.
Clocks slay time...time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.William Faulkner •
Since I mentioned kairos time, I have heightened my awareness of dialogue about the importance of taking time. In two entirely different arenas, art and politics, time is given the importance it needs.!
In his blog ”The Painter’s Keys”, Robert Genn discusses the importance of taking time focus on creating art.
“It's the march of time. It's amazing what you can get done in fifteen minutes. It's amazing how time slips through your fingers. The true nature of time may forever remain a mystery. Apart from the clang of it, it's by getting things done that we measure it. The job of art is to turn time into things. "
In addition, today, on 43 Folders, I came across a quote from a private conversation between Barack Obama and David Cameron, Member of British Parliament. Barack stated, and David Cameron agreed on the importance of taking time to think and process, as addressed this passage;
"...actually the most important thing you need to do is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you’re doing is thinking..."
Both quotes are talking about focused, yet unscheduled time.
It is my understanding from personal experience, as well as reading about the creative process, that granting yourself this focused, yet unstructured time allows new connections and ideas to bubble up from the unconscious.
When do you allow this to happen? Some days, I can't manage it at all, except for maybe pausing to look out a window! Other days I can totally ignore clock time! ( Much to the consternation of whomever I am to meet!)
Person
David Cameron
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Vacations work on "kairos" time!
It felt like a week away, but it was only two days!
"Kairos" time is determined not by the amount of time you spend, but by your presence and focus. Sometimes when I am painting, a lot can happen in a half an hour and it seems like a couple of hours: or I can paint for two hours and it can feel like 10 minutes! So the quantity of time according to the clock means nothing! I first heard about this kairos time in one of Madeleine L'Engle's books. I believe it was in "A Wrinkle in Time".
In good company, I traveled with my dear sister on the ferry on a beautiful day! The distant mist, bright sunshine and constant breeze created an atmosphere of relaxed kairos time. I gathered my pencils to draw and paint in my journal.
The tree and the roadway are both memory journal sketches. You will see a drawing from a young artist friend here also!
Reading "the power of NOW" by Eckardt Tolle, inspires and reminds me to draw and be fully present in the now moment as well. Try it.... Whether you paint or cook or plant flowers or enjoy he sun and breeze!
Imagine... what is possible!
I just finished reading "Make the Impossible Possible" by Bill Strickland!
It is so inspirational to read about how making a clay pot back in high school allowed him to follow his passion for creating and helping others. He began a school to help others find the motivation and empowerment that he discovered... Bidwell Training Center.
What is so inspiring is that Bill followed his passion and keeps trying until he finds a way to make it work! Sometimes I find myself starting to give up when things seem like they are not coming together.(Alright, I am pretty persistent, but I have my moments!}
We all can get sidetracked by life and everyday mundane, tragic and happy moments. I am, however, now much more cognizant of the fact that persistence and daily reflection on my life course works!
I am currently cataloging my work ( which requires both of the above mentioned qualities!) with an incredibly organized administrative assistant who has been kind enough to spend a couple of hours a week of her time working with me.!This frees up my mind and my time to focus on my current work.
How have you made changes when faced with lack of movement towards your goals?
Working with veiled objects
Good morning!Just working on the concept of ordinary moments taking on greater significance as I notice and record what is in front of me. Sometimes in the translation form daily course of events,such as wrapping up a room to be painted, and drawing and painting it, I see metaphors that I was never able to articulate as clearly!
When things are wrapped together under a translucent cover, their individual detail is embraced as it becomes a part of the greater whole. An ordinary job is viewed as ethereal. Perhaps things aren't as concrete as they first appear!
Organizing the art studio....
...Just another expression for reflecting upon and readjusting priorities to suit where I am now! Looking at it that way makes it much more motivating to get to that seemingly mundane job. The bonus is that after having sorted my work by both size and medium, I can now find a piece in a matter of minutes instead of hours! This makes it possible for me to inventory and document both past and present work. Above is a my finished product.However, organizing is a process and needs to be addressed daily. I love it when it looks like this, though! (I read a lot to make my art, thus the library at my fingertips!)
I have been sketching as well,,,pen and ink in my journal. Daily skethcing and painting is my meditation on the world! Everyone has different ways of making time for reflection. What is yours?
Art & the global economy
I had the opportunity of going to MoMA yesterday evening. I was actually there for a lecture on economics! Hmmm... It was an opportunity to reflect upon "America and the New Global Economy" with the guest speaker Lawrence H. Summers. He navigated through the complex financial challenges we currently face. As former United States Secretary of the Treasury and current Harvard professor, he certainly has spent a lot of his life reflecting and predicting economic fluxes and solutions. He sees a window of opportunity ahead in which we will be able to reshape public policy to maintain flexibility and fiscal strength as we practice inclusive prosperity and create systems of government to manage our global economy.Concurrently, it was inspiring to take the opportunity to visit "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibit! This link provides a great opportunity to explore the plethora of exhibits. The flexible thinking that was mentioned in the economic lecture was reflected in the visual explorations that we were immersed in as soon as we walked through the intuitive doors! There is so much to search through, but it is amazing how intuitive our designing is becoming. One of my favorites is sketch furniture. A chair and table are sketched in 3D and then created by computer data and lasers.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zP1em1dg5k&eurl=http://www.frontdesign.se/sketchfurniture/]
Another way of expanding thinking is found in TextArc using visualization and mapping to visually analyze patterns and concepts in texts. try Visuwords yourself! For a simpler version that I have used for a while, try Visual Thesaurus.
These are just two amazing embodiments of the human imagination for your investigation at MoMA.
I find this exhibit to be a stimulating companion to the economic and political lecture summarized above. They both describe the need for the elastic thinking necessary for us to flourish together on a global level.
Taking time...
Well it has been a day of playing with color, reading and making mini landscapes And it is all because my knee was in need of a rest. Sometimes when you slow down and focus on the now moment you can get more done and feel like you have all ofthe time in the world. I started reading a book called "finding sanctuary" by Abbot Christopher Jamison. the book inspires one to find spiritual space and peace in our everyday hectic and busy lives! Always interested in going beyond our day to day worries to the real reason of our existence, I search in books as well as in my artwork. Carpe diem!
Back again, to paint and reflect!
I have been painting ... reading....meditating, and this is work in progress.Reading has included
by Eckhart Tolle, an interesting summary of new age philosophy.
Walking and yoga are helpful to center the mind and balance the body and spirit. I find it a good discipline to articulate in imagery and then to reflect in writing, here.
Art as language
Hearing Thomas Beale speak about his work at the Long Island Craft Guild last night reminded me how important it is to honor that small still voice inside of yourself. He saw something in his mind's eye...a shape, and finally didn't ignore it anymore, searching until he found a way to give it voice. His work is now reflecting that initiative. It evokes the concepts of patience, light and transformation.Sometimes I will observe clothes drying on the line and see the complexity and fragility of our lives. I paint the ability to be moved by the wind and still remain whole. I encounter the utilitarian and ordinary only to realize the constant movement of light and shadow as it transmutes this moment and us in time. Suddenly, observing an image clarifies elusive concepts for me.
Has that ever happened to you?
Wood shaped by spirit
Sometimes i find a kindred spirit in the most unexpected places!We came by a gallery exhibit in an open air studio in Chelsea last weekend! There were wooden sculptures that seemed to be shaped by the force of the breath within them. They were created by Thomas Beale, who was there to explain his technique. Capturing, forming and smoothing these forms is a "meditation" for him. It out that we had the same teacher, Ben Frank Moss, who taught Thomas drawing and painting at Dartmouth, and earlier taught me drawing when he was at the University of Iowa. On Long Island, there will be an opportunity to hear him speak about his work at a talk presented by the Long Island Craft Guild on Thursday evening at 7pm.
Meeting with "Les Saltimbanques" in Chelsea!
What an incredible show this is at the James Cohan Gallery in NYC! Folkert de Jong is a Dutch artist who creates sculptures in life size tableaux with industrial insulation materials. His work reflects on the paradox of contemporary life and the global issues. This work, "Les Saltimbanques" recalls the Picasso painting, "Family of Saltimbanques"(1905), painted almost exactly 100 years ago. He reflects on "advances in global policy, economics, science and art that exist alongside the continuous forces of war, misfortune and catastrophe ".The immediate impression of festivity soon dissolves into a metaphor for darker historical and yet concurrent issues. Look carefully! Three different companies, known by their three different colors of foam insulation (pink, blue and green) are used in the creation of these sculptures.
“Les Saltimbanques” by Folkert de Jong
the process of creating
I will be posting my sketches form my daily journals to get a perspective on how I work.
I also need to work fairly regularly, so this will facilitate self reflection. I will also post work that I am producing concurrently. Together they will reveal dialogue within my work.
These are some journal images I am working with and some of my photos that explore wind and light.
