This post was originally published Aug 10/2017... I've republished it on Dec 17/21, so it appears in the proper viewing order...
Art is STORY… many stories...
"Art can be created in response to either feelings or ideas. Meaningful art contains and embraces both... However, since both ideas and feelings spark stories; art is full to overflowing with stories. There are stories for the artist and different stories for each viewer. Frequently, a new story is revealed with each viewing... Each story contains an element of truth... The challenge for each individual is to tease and sort out the relevant pieces of their own truth in the current moment now from the mass of partially true stories which are or have been heard and perhaps believed or invented by the “self” and which surface in response to the artwork...
For each piece of art, there are many, many stories... There’s a story about how it was created. There’s a story about its composition, design and what it contains. The juxtaposition of elements is often surprising and unfamiliar and this too is a story… There are stories about what is happening or being shown and how this feels, as well as how similar things have felt. There’s a story about how it resonates and feels for the artist and a separate story about how it resonates and feels for each viewer. There’s a story about color and a story about texture. There’s a story behind each suddenly noticed detail... Art is story, upon story, upon story, with still more stories just waiting to be heard hiding in the shadows above, behind, below and beside... Art is imbued with stories if one takes the time to sit with each artwork – feeling and listening…"
"Art can be created in response to either feelings or ideas. Meaningful art contains and embraces both... However, since both ideas and feelings spark stories; art is full to overflowing with stories. There are stories for the artist and different stories for each viewer. Frequently, a new story is revealed with each viewing... Each story contains an element of truth... The challenge for each individual is to tease and sort out the relevant pieces of their own truth in the current moment now from the mass of partially true stories which are or have been heard and perhaps believed or invented by the “self” and which surface in response to the artwork...
For each piece of art, there are many, many stories... There’s a story about how it was created. There’s a story about its composition, design and what it contains. The juxtaposition of elements is often surprising and unfamiliar and this too is a story… There are stories about what is happening or being shown and how this feels, as well as how similar things have felt. There’s a story about how it resonates and feels for the artist and a separate story about how it resonates and feels for each viewer. There’s a story about color and a story about texture. There’s a story behind each suddenly noticed detail... Art is story, upon story, upon story, with still more stories just waiting to be heard hiding in the shadows above, behind, below and beside... Art is imbued with stories if one takes the time to sit with each artwork – feeling and listening…"
An excerpt from:
"An Inner Journey... Footsteps of Poetry and Art" by Sylvia Kay
It also seems to me that "difficult" or puzzling circumstances give rise to some of our best and most interesting stories... When they are shared with our own parts and faces, strong connections between parts of ourselves are constructed as we work together to feel and then understand them. When all parts of ourselves work together to comprehend the reasons these things have happened to us a deeper understanding of life and how it works can also begin to take shape...
The difficult times, when the world seems to fall apart, are also the times when the veil separating us from our inner guides is thinnest... This is the time when there is a REAL possibility for questions to be asked and answers to be received... Stuck in a world which seems to be falling apart, leaves me with keenly felt feelings of helpless vulnerability; facing big, critical needs which look impossible to meet! Times like this, I'm also keenly aware of my dependency on my inner guides to guide me through and to help me understand all the why's and wherefore's, puzzles and questions I have in such uncertain times... These inner guides are a wiser part of each of us, but I've had to make an effort to connect to mine. They haven't just offered their wisdom freely on a silver platter. Often I find, they speak through intuition as well as metaphor and symbols, so anything I can do to increase my ability to work with these has also made a big difference in my ability to connect. What they suggest often makes no "sense" initially, but somehow the path as a whole does make sense and I discover the answers I've been seeking to my questions and puzzles by following where they've pointed...
The times when we feel most fragile, vulnerable and uncertain, are also the times when we are most open to seeing something other than just what we're used to and expect. When we're open and not locked into our own accustomed ways of seeing and being, the possibility to REALLY learn what we need to from our inner guides opens for us...
Sharing these stories of difficult and challenging times and how they feel, also grounds us in our "humanness". It is here that our uncertainty, confusion and weakness become visible and accessible for improvement. Working where we feel strong there is little to be done, but working where we are weak even small efforts can result in large gains. These stories form a true, rock bottom puzzling over life and how to live it... a fundamental puzzle which isn't even accessible in the midst of "happy" or "comfortable", but which is definitely confronted with "difficulty"...
The difficult times, when the world seems to fall apart, are also the times when the veil separating us from our inner guides is thinnest... This is the time when there is a REAL possibility for questions to be asked and answers to be received... Stuck in a world which seems to be falling apart, leaves me with keenly felt feelings of helpless vulnerability; facing big, critical needs which look impossible to meet! Times like this, I'm also keenly aware of my dependency on my inner guides to guide me through and to help me understand all the why's and wherefore's, puzzles and questions I have in such uncertain times... These inner guides are a wiser part of each of us, but I've had to make an effort to connect to mine. They haven't just offered their wisdom freely on a silver platter. Often I find, they speak through intuition as well as metaphor and symbols, so anything I can do to increase my ability to work with these has also made a big difference in my ability to connect. What they suggest often makes no "sense" initially, but somehow the path as a whole does make sense and I discover the answers I've been seeking to my questions and puzzles by following where they've pointed...
The times when we feel most fragile, vulnerable and uncertain, are also the times when we are most open to seeing something other than just what we're used to and expect. When we're open and not locked into our own accustomed ways of seeing and being, the possibility to REALLY learn what we need to from our inner guides opens for us...
Sharing these stories of difficult and challenging times and how they feel, also grounds us in our "humanness". It is here that our uncertainty, confusion and weakness become visible and accessible for improvement. Working where we feel strong there is little to be done, but working where we are weak even small efforts can result in large gains. These stories form a true, rock bottom puzzling over life and how to live it... a fundamental puzzle which isn't even accessible in the midst of "happy" or "comfortable", but which is definitely confronted with "difficulty"...
Below I share the story of how I felt about a vase I'd made and the sense I had of what its form was showing me...
Because it is made in two parts which fit together to hold the bouquet, I've called this piece "Body & Soul"... The inner piece is made with only paper and glue covering the lower part of a plastic bottle, so it is quite light weight. It is the outer piece which is weighted and therefore able to support...
However, as you can see in the photo below the pieces are really separate...
You can draw your own conclusions as to the appropriateness of my title...
I wonder... if the vase says something about "Body & Soul", could the bouquet have something to say about "Mind"...?
A picture from an engagement calendar inspired the artwork below... I had such fun creating a semi-three dimensional nest from paint, glue, yarn, ribbon and string... It gave me a tangible, tactile sense of how a bird would create a nest from grass, twigs, string and mud... I also enjoyed imagining how it would feel to live in a nest like this suspended from a branch ... free to swing and sway in the wind... Is the bird peeking out a young bird taking a first look at the world, or an adult about to depart after delivering some food to its young? I don't know.... It could be either. You can decide...
I hope you enjoy my exhibition... I have seven of these posts planned, so there's one last post to come... You're welcome to come back to see more.... or revisit ones you've already seen as many times as you wish... and PLEASE pass the information about this exhibition on to others you think may be interested...
This Post's Flavor(s): art, creativity, process
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