The Night Sea Journey

 

Night Sea Journey

The creative act is a letting down of the net of human imagination

into the ocean of chaos on which we are suspended,

and the attempt to bring out of it ideas.

It is the night sea journey, the lone fisherman on a tropical sea with his nets,

and you let these nets down - sometimes, something tears through them

that leaves them in shreds and you just row for shore,

and put your head under your bed and pray.

At other times what slips through are the minutiae,

the minnows of this ichthyological metaphor of idea chasing.

But, sometimes, you can actually bring home something that is food,

food for the human community

that we can sustain ourselves on and go forward.

~Terrance McKenna

A night sea journey, much like creating art, is a process. I go fishing time after time, casting my net and seeing what comes up. Ideas, solutions, images, metaphor...anything might be caught in the net.

I was speaking with a friend recently about the process, my process which is the way I find meaning in art making.

I am speaking of the being part of creativity…being in an emotionally open, thinking, non-thinking, spiritual space that also encompasses the physical, as in dance. This is letting down the net for the night’s fishing.

Creating is doubt coupled with knowing, but fishing anyway.

Process is being intuitive; responding to what is happening, being alert and aware, but meditative. It is experience coupled with non-judgment and curiosity. It is non-control tempered with knowledge.

It is being an open channel. It is being a tool. It is responding. It is being the net and the fisher.

Process is about stopping to look and look and ponder, sensing what my response is, and sensing what is coming up from the deep ocean well. It is exploration along the Way.

Process is dreaming the answer days after I have lain a piece aside for a while to await the new step. Process is a flash of knowing, followed again by the questions. It is knowing and not-knowing at the same time.

It is the moment.

The connection to the process is my connection to meaning. The meaning comes from within, and is the guide. Meaning and process are nourishment. They can be caught at night while fishing, or when working in the studio. 

You can click on the image to see the painting larger if you like. 

An Overdose of Satisfaction

There are some days when I think I'm going to die 

from an overdose of satisfaction. 

~Salvador Dali

There is something about creating collage on paper that I find very satisfying, more than any other substrate. Paper is friendly, tactile and receptive. It’s easy to manipulate during the process of creating a painting or collage. Paper has it’s own language.

 

Since I am the creator of the painting 

and the first real 'viewer' – 

when I feel satisfied, 

I put the brushes down and hope 

that someone else will feel satisfied too. 

~David Lussier

Presentation of art is important to me. I feel my work is enhanced by a simple, clean surrounding that allows the viewers eye to make the journey through the piece in a leisurely manner. 

Each piece is unique and takes its own time to be realized. 

I am not concerned with the quantity, but only that they

communicate my understanding of life and my craft at that particular time. 

~Sharon Knettell

When we started building the studio/wood working shop building, about 5 years ago, I was certain I needed a mat cutter so I could frame my works on paper. A local frame shop was going out of business, and I had been gifted a coupon from Kurt for a mat cutter once we decided which one to get. As luck would have it, the mat cutter was available when we got to the shop. We also obtained the wall mounted cutter for cutting glass and making straight cuts on anything from large paper to mat board. I use it often. 

The only person you have to please, 

with your art, is yourself. 

~Don Getz

For a time while the building project continued the cutters were stored where they would fit; awaiting the day they could be moved to the studio and put into use. We moved the cutters to the studio awhile ago, but this weekend we began to cut mats. 

 

You learn the essential skills, 

how to manipulate the brush and how to handle paint, 

and you study the works of artists you admire. After a while, though, 

you have to be yourself. 

That's scary, but satisfying. 

~T. M. Nicholas

I thought I would cut the mats, but Kurt, wood worker that he is, could not resist trying out the new equipment. My turn will come. We thought we would start framing up a few things for ourselves as practice. We laughingly set out to challenge ourselves to find out how many ways there are to make mat cutting errors. And we have found several!

 

The painter goes through states of fullness and evaluation. 

That is the whole secret of art. 

~Pablo Picasso

 

I have a real sense of satisfaction seeing the works set off by nice clean mats. We have some frames on order and once they arrive, we will compete the presentation. 

I love an art which allows me to 

document my place in this mix... 

This is my past and my future. 

It has its own logic and finally, 

its own sense of fulfillment. 

~Burton Silverman

I hope you all found satisfaction this weekend too. 

And you may tell yourself this is not my beautiful painting

Take me to the river

Drop me in the water

Art is an ocean

I don’t know why I love you like I do

All the trouble you put me through

Some days things are a little rough in the studio.

We’re on a road to nowhere

Come on inside

Maybe you wonder where you are

And its alright baby, it’s alright

When things become a bit surreal, I may as well go with it.

And you may tell yourself this is not my beautiful painting

And you may ask yourself how did I get here

You may ask yourself, how do I work this

You may ask yourself, where is that beautiful painting

 Seems all my work goes through phases.

I’m checking them out

I’m checking them out

I got it figured out

It’s only the river; it’s only the river 

 It's just part of the process, part of the flow of it all.

And in all fairness to these paintings,

none of them were involved in today's 

long deep breath/sigh in the studio.

The River of Silence

Becoming Visible
6x6

Silence helps me see, hear and feel. Silence helps me create.

Stillness puts me in touch with what is mine; the authentic, the quirky, the gift from the deep well from which we all draw up our creative water droplets.   I enjoy discovering the surprises that surface when I work in connection with stillness.

Only when you drink from the river of silence

shall you sing.

~Kahlil Gibran

Yet to Become

11x11  

Never talk away the magic. 

Danish Saying 

Silence is not the absence of sound. The birds still sing, the fan softly whirs, the stream continues to rush to the sea. 

Silence is the absence of chatter, of distracting noise and loudness. 

Silence allows me to respond to what is happening on the surface as I work. 

Silence is a conversation without words between the work and and me.

Remember

6x6

I sat staring, staring, staring - half lost, 

learning a new language or rather the same language 

in a different dialect. 

So still were the big woods where I sat, 

sound might not yet have been born.

~Emily Carr

Silence is the space between the coming and going of my own thoughts. Quietude is the midwife of my work.

Shut up and play your guitar.

~Frank Zappa

Stung by the Splendor of a Sudden Thought

Sketchbook Pages

Stung by the splendor of a sudden thought.

- Robert Browning, wise man.

Thoughts crossing my mind.

Explored and visualized freely.

Germinate in sketchbook form.

Michele’s pages intrigue me.

I often find parallels with my own dream imagery here. She is filling a sketchbook in 30 days. Much more to see at her blog.

See more sketchbook pages

Imbi Davidson

Jeane Myers

Robyn Gordon

What’s in your sketchbook?