A Sense of Place

A sense of place is our internal compass, our personal map -- made up of memories, sensory attributes of sight, sound, smell and touch, and being in the moment. It affects our responses and how we approach our work, family, friends and life. Whether I am walking on the beach below my home on the cliff, or working outside in my Zen gardens (which I have been doing a LOT lately), I am becoming more aware of my surroundings and the joy and peace it brings me.

"I do not understand how anyone can live without one small place of enchantment to turn to."
--- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

Floods, 30"x45", acrylic

Erin McSavaney lives and works in Vancouver BC, Canada. His landscape paintings and architecture/buildings paintings are often quite large and always striking. His wonderful website can be found here.

"Human patterns of building, occupying, using, abandoning, and then often reclaiming. All have a marked affect on how structures-- and ultimately ourselves-- are perceived." Erin McSavaney

Sun Lights the Coastal Plains, pastel, 12"x18"

Kathleen Galligan is a Maine artist who works in a number of mediums. You can find her beautiful website here.

Emergence, oil, 10"x10"

"The sound of the sea, the curve of a horizon, wind in leaves, the cry of a bird leave manifold impressions in us. And suddenly, without our wishing it at all, one of these memories spills
from us and finds expression in musical language... I want to sing my interior landscape with the simple artlessness of a child." -- Claude Debussy

Index No. 955, encaustic and charcoal on panel, 60"x50"

Peter Roux is a mixed media artist who often uses encaustic with oil and/or charcoal and works quite large. He often incorporates text into his works and you can find his wonderful website here.

"The development of space in a painting sets up distances: between viewer and subject, and between formal elements and points of information within a subject." -- Peter Roux

(The above is titled: Notes on Italy: Venice text No. 6, 50"x108", oil and encaustic)

Susan Loeb is an artist from New Orleans. These two works are black and white watercolors.
You can find her beautiful website here.
"Every one seeks a sense of place, whether it is his or her own back yard or country. Place reinforces one's sense of self, one's true identity." Susan Loeb

"I combine observation, memory, and the presence of the subject in strongly stated images that embody my emotional response to New Orleans, the place I call home." -- Susan Loeb

Tim O'Kane is an artist who works in both fine art paintings and in fine art photography. You can find his wonderful work and the complete poem (below) at his website here.
(The above painting is titled 2 Whales and is watercolor on paper.)

PEBBLE BEACH, watercolor on paper

...The painter loved the world
with its conflicts of light and shadow,
desolation and beauty.
His was just one intention in a troubled world
the intimacy growing like ivy
around the obstacles of doubt,
as he watched
the carving continue on the monument of faces
birds filling and emptying the promontory of sky,
the tenuous construction on networks of bridges
from soul to soul, dream to dream, day to day.
---Tim O'Kane, Signature, 2008, excerpt

Renewal

Renewed, 24" x 24"

For a number of years now, the main theme of my paintings has been "the passage of time, and what remains". A large part of this theme has included the cycle of life. One symbol or metaphor in my paintings for the cycle of time has been bird nests. I am drawn to the lines in the nests of course, and the textures, and the usual round shapes which fits my love of textures, lines and circles. And the fact that birds, with such small brains, are hard wired to create such beautiful 'homes' for their offspring is a miracle of nature. But the main fascination for me, is the cycle of life... the renewal.

Nature's Gestures, 30" x 30"

"The spiritual journey is a creative journey. It's about birth. It calls us past the boundaries of convention. It tests our willingness to see life in a new way and our courage to express it: for new ways of viewing life in the face of what is commonly accepted. We become new, and in this ongoing birthing, we bring new forms to life as well. Life itself has become a creative act, full of vitality and richness and passion. --- Anne Hillman, from Dancing Animal Woman

Histories 24" x 24"

For those who have been touched by the loss of a loved one... a partner, a family member, a friend... they know how hard it is to wake up to a new day, to find new meaning in life. I want to dedicate this posting to all those close to me who are facing their new life filled with change, with so much strength and hope.

--- Healing in words, healing beyond words.
Like gestures.
Warm gestures.
Like friendship, which will always
Be like a mystery.
Like a smile, which someone described
As the shortest distance between two people.
--- Ben Okri, from the poem Healing The Wounded
Learner or the Pygmalian Complex

Rolling in the Deep

STRATA, hand painted collage papers, scroll

There is a popular song out now by Adele titled ROLLING IN THE DEEP. I like those words.

My last blog post was about searching for meaning in our art by becoming more aware of our likes and interests, and making lists. Rolling in the Deep is about delving further into our depths. I believe that as artists go deeper into their inner self, these self discoveries will lead to more personal expression as their create their art works.

INNER EXCAVATION: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media by Liz Lamereux. This wonderful book is filled with exercises, activities, and inspirational writing to help the artist discover more about themselves. You can find this book and others here at Amazon.com.
"You have to find where you are, in order to figure out where you want to go." - Liz Lamereux

In the book, there are a number of artist contributors. Judy Wise is one of them. She reveals what inspires her, what nurtures her, how she finds her creative voice. The above piece is limestone clay on braced panel with stones. You can find her creative website here and her wonderful blog here.

SPILLING OPEN: The Art of Becoming Yourself by Sabrina Ward Harrison. This is a visual journal of the artist when she was young, as she embarked on her journey of self-discovery.

One task we can do is ask our self the question: Who or What inspires us? This can be artists, authors, poets, music, songs, books or movies. I remember years ago, exactly when I discovered poetry and my favorite poet. I saw the foreign film IL POSTINO (The Postman), about a postman in Italy who wanted to write poetry and show his poems to Pablo Neruda. At the end of the movie is the poem POETRY. A strong feeling of emotion, appreciation, and connection washed over me.

POETRY

And it was at that age__Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no, they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from the street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.
---- Pablo Neruda

There are 2 artists who I connect to in a powerful way. Their work affects me in ways that I can't express in words. When I see their work, I feel their emotional personal expression reaching out to me, enveloping me and drawing me in.

Anselm Kiefer's art is influenced by his German heritage of World War II and the history of war and the Holocaust and is rich with references to writers and poets. I am also attracted to his use of raw textures.

For Hannelore Baron (1926-1987), making art was a meditative form of experience and communication. She escaped Hitler's Germany and the Holocaust as a young child. Her life was framed by tragedy. She sought to create 'the message' in her art: an imagery of suffering and human hope.

Sweet Darkness
--- Give up all other worlds
except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
---- David White

And on a lighter note, my favorite movie character is from the movie THE BIG LEBOWSKI --
the Dude. I love whacky movies and quirky characters and the Dude is certainly an odd ball...

"Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not 'Mr. Lebowski'. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing." ---The Dude

The Search for Meaning: Self Awareness

To be an artist is to embark on a journey of self-discovery toward a destination that always remains just slightly out of reach. This journey continues long after we have conquered most techniques and mediums. For many artists, the real struggle begins at this point. For many years, I tried to improve my techniques and skills. I eventually realized that there is more to a work of art. I wanted to find meaning in my work. I now know that this is a lifelong pursuit, and self-awareness is the first step. I started making lists as I went deeper and identified my likes, my interests, and my strengths. Here is my list. Have you figured out your list?

Subdued Colors: The artist should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him. If, however, he sees nothing within him, he should also refrain from painting what he sees before him. Caspar David Friedrich, painter

Texture: Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do. Benjamin Spock

Lines: calligraphy, marks, patterns... the stars began to burn . through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice . which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company . as you strode deeper and deeper into the world... -- Mary Oliver, poet

Circles: And even better.... circles on rocks!

Dots: You have to be available to the invisible voices that are swirling around you. George C. Wolfe

Bird Nests: Think of the great musicians who practice and practice their instrument. Great musicians do more than hit the right notes; they bring their music alive with a creativity and invention that springs from an inner motivation that surpasses correctness.

Collecting rocks, fossils, driftwood, shells. Working from this inner place is the more elusive challenge, but the most essential.

TEXT AND NUMBERS: Collecting old letters, post cards, stamps, books

Collections: wooden boxes, gears, letters, antique and old and weathered stuff.

Collecting Asian tools, brushes, stamps and chops, books, papers, maps.


Books: Fear is what prevents the flowering of the mind. Krishnamurti

Surviving on Hope

Title: Edge of Light, older painting chosen here for its title.

For several days now, the news and images coming out of Japan have been devastating and heartbreaking. I would like to dedicate my blog post to the people of Japan, and to all peoples all over the world, as they struggle to recover their home, family and community. I recently read a review of a book written by David Brooks titled THE SOCIAL ANIMAL: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement. In essence, it is a book about the human need for connection, friendship, and love. We yearn for "community"; we have the urge too "merge". What drives us, ultimately, is the need to be understood by others. I think this is especially true for artists. Though we work by ourselves in our studios, we still need 'community' and for others to understand what we are trying to communicate with our art works.

Novie Trump, ceramic artist, is participating in THE NEST PROJECT: WHAT DOES HOME MEAN TO YOU? at the Torpedo Factory in Virginia. NEST is a juried exhibition which examines the nest as a symbol for home and refuge, both literally and conceptually. Besides the juried exhibition there are installations, and a community built nest. You can find out much more information about The Nest Project and the Torpedo Factory here. Novie's website is found here.

Sharon Beals is a photographer who has a new book (above) coming out soon titled NESTS: Fifty Nests and the Birds that built them. The book is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and here is her wonderful website with more images and more information. The next two images are from her book.

Entering it
you enter yourself,
the world connects
and closes like a ring.
-- Octavio Paz, poet

Sharing the signs
of early spring,
singing the songs
of the artists' works
and poets' words here.
Soar with inner wings.
-- Neva Gagliano, artist and poet, blog here.

Bird eggs are a beautiful metaphor for the cycle of life, renewal and hope. Mary Ann Burk, a ceramic artist and potter, makes eggs that look like they came out of the earth. She places her eggs on driftwood and branches or ceramic pedestals. Her work is at the Barnswallow gallery and you can find her wonderful blog here. Her art pieces are above and the 2 images below.

I said to my soul, be still, and wait.. the faith and the hope and the love and all the waiting... the darkness shall be the light and the stillness the dancing.
--- t.s. eliot

Lesley Bricknell is a fine arts textile artist and photographer. Lesley is attracted to fragile and transient surfaces that she intentionally ages, stains, and spoils. She loves worn or discarded garments, with histories which she "reclaims". She looks for the purity in the impermanence and fragility of objects and life. She has her beautiful images at her website here and at her blog here. The next 3 images belong to Lesley.

"...When they ask to see your gods
your book of prayers
show them lines
drawn delicately with veins
on the underside of a bird's wing..."
-- J. L. Stanley

Outside the sun shines
birds sing
and I am not having to make
snap decisions about what
to stuff into a suitcase
or how I might get
6 cats (and the rest) to safety.
-- India Flint, textile artist, blog here.

Those of us who are safe and warm, we are the fortunate ones.

Signs of Renewal

CYCLE OF LIFE, 2011, acrylic and collage

It is that time of year when I start thinking about spring. It is still cold outside, and we can still end up with a few more snow storms before spring arrives. But there are signs of spring, like green buds on bare branches and small fern fronds peeking up from the ground. And the birds, with their nest building built into their DNA, is another sign of spring. And after the winter months, we look for signs of hope and renewal.

This nest is in my Zen House (greenhouse), in a glass box along with round beach stones and driftwood. "My aim is to create an emotional sense of space and place, where time ravages, wind blows, seas swell, places are found, days dwindle, moments are present, then past." -- Sam Lock

I have this nest on my front porch-- I often find it disturbed by creatures like squirrels and birds who seem to help themselves to the twigs and straw and odds and ends to make new nests.

Chris Giffin is a terrific artist who collects and assembles recycled and found objects into beautiful assemblages. You can find her work at these two gallery websites here and here.

Novie Trump: "Eggs have been a symbol of rebirth and renewal for thousands of years....
In this work a nest of weathered bones cradles a single luminous egg, a symbol of hope and possibility amidst death and destruction." You can find more of her beautiful works at her website here.

Lelarnie O'Sullivan is from New South Wales, Australia. You can find out more about this artist and her work at the Visual Arts Network here.

WHEN A TREE DREAMS
it is of eggs--
robin's, dove's --
the gentle cradling,
the perfect fit
of bluestem straw,
alder, sprig, mud,
down, hair, in its wind--
strong cup of sky--
reaching branches.
-- excerpt, D. J. Gaskin, poet
You can find his website here

Susan Seubert, fine art photographer. Find more of her beautiful photography at her website here and her work at this gallery in Portland, OR here.

Take refuge in rivers, in oceans,
in whales, in elephants, in manatees,
in birds, in words, in images, in
dreams, in dance, in song, in
silence. Take refuge in the bird
path. -- ashes and snow. org