"Double Intention"
Happy Fall everyone. October always seems to bring big changes and strange events and this year has not failed to meet that expectation. Mainly there has been a lot of new realizations about my art and my life that are very significant. The most significant are these:
1) To be able to see what's really in front of me is scary but it also makes me feel more alive.
2) When I relax I have more to offer the universe/myself/my work/my practices than I do if I worry, plan and stress.
3) Meditation really works.
4) I can't teach anything or offer anything unless I already practice it or understand it through experience. On the flip side, I can teach anything that I practice and understand through experience. That's a lot!
"Double Decker: Fueled By Stuff"
All of the paintings I am posting today were made in Vermont this summer and are also on display at Better Than Jam until November 1st. This one I started when I was outside looking at a double decker bus. I then brought it inside and finished it in my studio, allowing the initial marks to tell me what to do.
"Held Together by The Trees, The Dead, The Gun"
"A Meeting of The Dead in Bear Forest"
Death has been a theme in my work lately. It seems to be an embracing of death as a way to be more fully alive. There is a Buddhist practice like this where monks sit with corpses. I have only been sitting with bug corpses, not human ones. The dead that meet in Bear Forest above were a collection of dead bugs on top of a sculpture that the painting was painted from. The painting above that started from an old cowboy photo with a dead beast of some sort.
I have more thinking to do about this death stuff...
Some Business:
*As I mentioned, my work and jewelry are now at Better Than Jam.
*I teaching some sweet workshops at Spoke The Hub Sunday afternoons from now until Christmas from 2-5:00 (check out the link for more details!) I'm teaching candle making, found object jewelry and greeting cards (which will include pop-up card basics!) If you know anyone in the area that might be interested, pass it along!
*Mikel has an upcoming show/performance at SOHO 20 Gallery on November 6th at 7pm.
3 comments:
I agree with you 4 ways to live and your art is absolutely beautiful!!
Thanks, Jasmine, for your comment! I also notice that my "ways to live" can shift depending on the context of my life. I try to pay attention to what my life needs now (and what my life consists of) and then go that direction. It allows me to flow more in my art and life.
Thanks again!
This is an absolutely lovely and awesome post! I do absolutely agree with you about meditation and work under pressure and stress.
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