“If you can embrace your place in the web of existence, you will always be original. Let your task be simple: rise, and deliver the message you were sent to carry.” — “Dictation,” in The Magpie Art.
I’ve been writing since I was in elementary school — poems, short stories, haiku. I’ve also been creating books and collections of stories and songs and memories and images. I like to edit stories partly because I like to shape the presentation of the story into something with visual impact. The form of a thing matters to me. I’ve learned to let go of what others might settle for in pursuit of “saving time and effort” but I know what pleases my eye. So when I have the chance, I like to shape the visual impact of a poem, the sweep of fabric on the altar, the shape of a bird’s wing on the page.
This summer, I took two multi-day classes in drawing at a retreat setting in the state of Washington (the Grunewald Guild). Drawing from Where You Are and Connecting Eye, Hand, and Soul through Nature Drawing. I wanted to give myself the gift of experience that would expand my options in my own visual art efforts. The people around me are often already experienced and accomplished in various media. So I often feel like I’m the kindergarten student in a classroom of high school seniors. They bring the sophistication; I bring the joy.
Mostly, I’m happy with that role. I bring the joy of playing outside my comfort zone. I risk the comparison of seeing my simple work alongside the more skilled efforts of my peers. My reach often exceeds my grasp. I like what I am doing, however. I like being in learning mode. I like discovering what happens when I explore different media. I also like discovering what the eye of my heart and mind is drawn to. Vibrant colors, simple lines to suggest more than can be seen, a suggestion of energy in a color or a swirl or even an empty space.
As the days progressed, I experienced myself making decisions about composition, line placement and weight, internal and external space. I exercised my eyes and my hands. I tried one way, then another. I allowed myself to experiment. I discovered that lines have a rhythm I could tap into. I played with colors, letting some drift along an invisible boundary and creating connections between others. I built a network of sensations and feelings and images wrapped up in what I would label a “nest” for myself as a visual artist. A place where I am comfortable, resting in the cushion of various strands of experience and realizations.
As my classes came to an end, I recognized a shift in the way I see myself in the realm of art and art making. From this unfolding sense of wholeness within my self, I can express the connection between eye, hand, and soul. I can deliver the message that is mine to offer, carrying healing into the world through the creative expression of my Heart’s song. Sometimes in words, and sometimes in lines and color.
A Streak of Teal 