Artists For Love

Browsing through the blogs I follow, I have noticed a common theme lately. Many of us are searching for a way to deal with and heal from the images and words of soul-draining discord, hatred, and fear that surrounds us. At times it has just been too difficult to watch the news, to see the mess that humans are making of the world, and the unrest that plagues our country. As someone who suffers from an anxiety disorder, it can have a negative affect on my health, and I need to disengage from it from time to time. Some friends have said they are taking a break from facebook and/or other social media, or that they're staying offline altogether.

Strategy: Focus on the good things - like this gorgeous sunset.


Ironically, however, I have found much comfort from my blogger and facebook friends, as they share not only their fears and doubts, but also their encouragement, love, and inspiration. There are many wonderful people in the world, whose words of hope and inspiration are like healing drops of wisdom that have washed over my soul. Words do indeed heal; in art there is much power if we choose to see it.

For instance, I found these wise words on Terri Windling's beautiful blog, Myth and Moor: "... Stories do not give instruction, they do not explain how to love a companion or how to find God. They offer, instead, patterns of sound and association, of event and image. Suspended as listeners and readers in these patterns, we might reimagine our lives. It is through story that we embrace the great breadth of memory, that we can distinguish what is true, and that we may glimpse, at least occasionally, how to live without despair in the midst of the horror that dogs and unhinges us."    ~ Barry Lopez

Terri also shares these thoughts from Toni Morrison:
Troubled times, she says, are "precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.
"I know the world is bruised and bleeding," she adds, "and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge -- even wisdom. Like art."

Don't forget that the world is still filled with breath-taking beauty.


I found great inspiration in these and other words by Effy Wild, who is a facebook friend, an artist, a teacher, and a wonderfully articulate writer. In a recent blog post, she writes: "I realized, thanks to a few shining lights in my universe, that all I could do in the face of this was *what I already do* but more fiercely. With more love. More compassion. More emphasis on mutual understanding. And better boundaries....
But before I, personally, could do anything, I had to give myself space to feel what I felt. Rage. Mistrust. Deep, feminine wounding. Fear. All of it had to rise up, and all of it needed expressing.
And once I'd done that, I knew that the right answer for me was to do more of the same, but more fiercely.  I knew that the right answer, for me, was to treat everyone like they are God In Drag (thank you, Ram Dass), and to remember, above all else, that We Are All Just Walking Each Other Home (more Ram Dass)."
I agree. More of the same, but more fiercely. Please read the entire post; in fact, you'd be well served to read everything she writes.

The world is still full of random beauty...


 Then, I found this on Seth Apter's blog, The Altered Page.  Seth has always been an artist and blogger who has focused on bringing people together, generously coming up with exciting projects that promote collaboration among members of the art blogging community.  In this blog post, he says, "We are all individuals with complex experiences, unique ideas, personal histories, and our very own baggage. This guarantees that life will be complicated and challenging. However, this post stands as a reminder of the importance of support, love, acceptance and respect. Always. And the rejection of bigotry and intolerance to difference. Always.

For me, this is not about who voted for who -- although I know for many that cannot be dismissed. For me, this is about something bigger than the election. This is about taking an individual step toward a collective healing. Naive? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely.

In that vein, a group of artists have created the hashtag #artistsforlove. Use it, embrace it, share it. I first read about it here and then here.  Take the time to click the links and see how you can join this movement and create your own poster that celebrates rather than diminishes inclusivity and love."


Thank you, Seth, Effy, Terri and everyone who promotes tolerance and love.

Namaste.

Healing Mandala

Have you ever made a piece of art that completely baffles you? I made this piece back during the winter, and I just have no idea what to think of it.  It's not really like anything else I've ever made, and when I look at it, I could almost believe it was made by someone else. It's a strange feeling. I really can't decide if I even like it or not, and I was very hesitant to show it to anyone. It just kind of sat there; I'd look at it every once in a while and think, "Do I like it now?" A clear answer never came to me. What I needed was to hear what someone else thought - a bit of helpful criticism. So anyway, here it is.

Healing Mandala, version 1

So how it came about is this: I was going through a terrible time, and a dear friend sent me these four flowers that had been used in a Buddhist healing ceremony - they're the large flowers that look almost transparent. I couldn't believe they survived the mail without being broken. I thought for some time about what to do with them, and decided to use them in an artwork that would be dedicated to healing. A mandala seemed like the perfect thing.

I glued the two book pages onto a piece of multi-media board, then cut out a piece of lace to put in the center.  I stitched around the center part of the lace, and hated it, but let it be for now. I glued on the ash seeds and the healing flowers. I found a print on fabric I had done in a workshop, and cut parts of it out to glue around the periphery, and put in the maple seeds to connect them to the center part of the piece. I placed the purple flowers in the corners. Then I let it sit around for a while, not knowing what I wanted to do with it.

Finally, since I couldn't remove anything, I started adding more things to it, one at a time. As long as I wasn't satisfied, I thought, well, what have I got to lose?  I made sort of a circle of marks with gold crayon, and liked it it, but decided to add stitching. I glued the hydrangea petals over the lace, and painted them with gold ink. Then came the gold crayon over the lace - it was just too white - and the stitches. Finally, the magnolia petals, and the feathers.

Healing Mandala

9.5 x 14 inches

ingredients: antique book pages, vintage lace, gold metallic crayon, gold ink, hydrangea petals, ash seeds, magnolia petals, sacred Buddhist healing flowers (no idea what they're called), maple seeds, purple flowers (no idea what they are - found them in an old book), relief prints on cloth, feathers, stitching

So there it is, and I'm still not sure if I like it. Guess I'll put it away again for a while...

Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness

ingredients: vintage book covers, vintage book pages, vintage watch movement, other found objects, feather, stitching, metallic oil crayon, graphite;  10.5 x 15 inches



"Art is a wound turned into light."                                                                      ~ Georges Braque
   

                                                                                          
I made this piece at a time when I was too upset to really think about what I was doing. I just started ripping stuff apart and gluing it on; the process was entirely intuitive. I know it expressed my desire and hope to leave that dark place and be healed. Perhaps when something important is lost, it can be replaced by something even better. I had to believe that. And I know that making this was a part of my healing process. Art has transformative power.

As someone who at one time considered becoming an art therapist, I found the whole process of making this piece to be eye-opening.  Not that I haven't had experiences of art-making that were like meditations, like being on a  completely different 'mental plane' than normal; but this piece was accompanied by a great release of emotion. Also, I have little memory of actually making it; I couldn't tell you what I did first, second, third, etc.

Art therapist and author Shaun McNiff says, "Like dreams, art works are surprising syntheses of elements on the threshold of consciousness that present themselves. The artist prepares the space and lets the controlling mind step aside. Artistic cognition responds and takes advantage of accidents, chance, lines, forms , figures, and interactions that emerge "unwatched." (Art as Medicine: Creating a Therapy of the Imagination")

Though I never purposefully set out to engage in any sort of therapy (as I didn't here), sometimes it just turns out that way. Does this ever happen to you?  I'd be interested to hear what other artists think about this.

                                                                                                           

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of every day life.”                             ~ Pablo Picasso

You Can Fix It

As some of you may be aware, I've been having somewhat of a hard time lately, attempting to overcome a depressive and anxiety disorder. I found this old book called "You Can Fix It", which I was going to use as an art journal. Unfortunately, the book fell apart after I was only a few pages in, but I thought I'd show you the cover anyway.

Front Cover: The vegetables, fruits, and flowers represent one of the things I find most healing: gardening.  There is just something about getting my hands in the earth and helping things to grow that relaxes me and brings me a sense of peace.

Inside of front cover: I think the paintbrush is self-explanatory, as art is my first great love.  It takes me out of my everyday mind-set to a place where I'm at peace, where I don't notice the passage of time, as if in a deep meditative state. The map represents earth and landscape, and speaks to my love of hiking and being outdoors.




This cracks me up:
The statistics on sanity are that one of every four Americans is suffering from some form of  mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.
                                                                                                              ~ Rita Mae Brown




Wishing you all good health, mental and otherwise!  xoxo

Medicine Buddha

Last night was the full moon of the Medicine Buddha, so I wanted to post this with love and prayers for the healing of all sentient beings. 

Kiva Spirits

For Karin- May the Spirits of the Kiva speed your healing.