August 4, 2023
Ruminating today on the primal yearning to return to wholeness. That driving force to lift into our ‘best selves’ and to connect with an aspect of ourselves that lies beyond this time/space reality. This is an inner navigation that we as a human collective share, yet a path that we journey as individuals.
While heaving a roll of canvas from the studio storeroom today, I noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. I opened what appeared to be a page torn from a notebook covered on both sides with my handwriting. The heading read, “Manifestation List November 2006”
Among other intentions, barely legible through dust and fade, the final point read, “To walk in confidence, empowerment and grace. To live in honour and sovereignty, to know and trust my connection to the universe and to live eternally in the now.”
Across 17 years, I still relate to this younger self. The calling to rise to connect with these values is still such a potent drive within. While this yearning hasn’t waned, I wish I could speak with this younger self and remind her that there is a short cut. Instead of gleaning wisdom from the highs and lows of lived experience, from external practices and maturation through time, all of these gifts were always here…. right here within.
I wonder though, would this younger self have heard this? I imagine not.
The deliciousness is found in the journey itself. The magical adventure through undulating terrain; stretching and growing through life’s Winters of adversity and pain, and basking in the earthly pleasures, creativity, love and beauty during the sunnier chapters of life.
As Basho wrote, “The journey itself is my home”
“Enwrapped in billows of white clouds
I do not see the white clouds
Absorbed in the sounds of flowing water,
I do not hear the flowing water” - Zenrin-Kushu
Mixed Media on Birch
120cm x 150cm
July 18, 2023
The title of this work is a poem from ‘Zenrin Kushu’, meaning “Anthology of passages from the forests of Zen” and is a compilation of the writings from the Rinzai school of Zen, first published in 1688)
As is the intention with zen poetry, the words of this verse invite us, as the reader, to reconnect with something larger than ourselves.
To become so completely immersed in the vision and sound of an experience, that the senses merge and a spacious presence unfolds.
Black Range
Mixed Media on Birch
100cm x 100cm
June 1, 2023
A quick flight across this recently finished painting during this, National Reconciliation Week.
While deep in the process of creating this piece, I found myself returning to a precious memory of staying in a cave in the ‘Black Range’ on Jardwardjali country west of Gariwerd (the Grampians) many years ago.
I remember taking time to meditate at a nearby site featuring beautifully preserved Jardwardjali rock artwork with the intention of connecting to the site. I began by stilling the mind and opening to any impressions received but was quite taken aback with what presented. Almost instantly I was flooded with images of several first nations individuals working and talking together in what seemed like daily business and a number of children were laughing and playing nearby. The scene was full, buzzing and alive.
Whether this impression really had occurred in this area I’ll never know, but the memory of this special experience has stayed with me like a powerful dream that returns to visit over the years.
As Reconciliation week draws to a close, I’m reminded of the magic in the land. That the mountains, trees, rocks and rivers are vibrating with abundant life and the ancestral spirits are always living alongside us in the physical
“You must rise above the clouds covering the mountain top otherwise, how will you ever see the brightness?”
Ryokan 1758 - 1831
Mixed Media on Canvas
76cm x 152cm
May 25, 2023
While this beautiful poem can be deciphered in a number of ways, for me it acts as a gentle reminder to resist the clouds of fear and drama that can potentially obscure beauty. A reminder to return to what is important, where to spend my time and what to focus on.
This awareness is incredibly important in both my day to day life as well as my artistic practice.
Having always been super sensitive, I’m acutely aware of the impact an exposure to fear and negativity has on my mental, emotional and physical state. I have therefore consciously chosen to disengage with mainstream news, media, politics and causes aimed to separate, control, confuse or disempower.
Sure there is a whole lot of ‘ugly’ pulling for our attention in modern life and mainstream news and there’s no denying that these things are indeed true, but if we’re experiencing anxiety, fatigue and hopelessness, that’s the last thing that will help!
We now know that what we focus on grows and the ‘Law of Attraction’ is so widely embraced that it’s almost become a household concept.
Apparently In the 1990’s, only 2% of adults believed in the Law of attraction, but today that percentage has grown to 73% of the world’s population. To take it a step further, it’s now also widely accepted that our thoughts today are creating our tomorrow. That we are powerful creators, co-creating our future in accordance to what we’re a vibrational match to.
I think that many of us forget that we have a choice in being able to steer our lives in a more positive direction by consciously choosing more positive thoughts.
This beautiful poem is a reminder that we do have a choice. We can remain focussed on the clouds, or if we choose a higher perspective, viewing life and reality from above the clouds we’ll be able to again reconnect with the brightness, the beauty, the magic and the wholeness that is our true essence.
“Stillness - Clouds peak in the lake” - Kobayashi Issa - 1763 - 1828
May 7, 2023
This, my most recently completed piece introduces a new horizontal element. The inclusion of horizon line, defining what could be a lake, tends to offer a calming effect and sense of stillness.
Revisiting theoretical concepts from back at art school, horizonal lines in artwork suggest a feeling of rest or repose because objects parallel to the earth are at rest. In a landscape, horizontal lines also help give a sense of space.
From the First Nations practice of Dadirri (mindfulness) to shinrin-yoku, the Japanese art of forest bathing, we can learn so much from ancient practices to keep ourselves balanced in modern life.
One of the latest mindfulness techniques to go under the scientific microscope is ‘Horizon Gazing’ … and yes - it’s a thing!
Our ancestors would have gazed at the horizon and widened their peripheral vision as much as possible in order to scan the landscape for threats. This act produces a calming effect, safe in the knowledge that no immediate action needs to be taken.
Dr Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford has been studying the impact of vision and breathing on stress and the body for over 20 years. His research has revealed that when we look at something stressful (or exciting) our field of vision narrows so that one thing is in laser sharp focus and the rest is blurrier. Our eyeballs actually rotate slightly inwards towards our nose. In contrast by expanding our visual field the body is able to switch off the stress response.
"If you were to ask me why I dwell among green mountains,
I should laugh silently.
My soul is serene,
The peach blossom flowers,
The morning water,
There is another
Heaven and earth
Beyond the world of men."
- Li Po 701 - 762
Mixed Media on Canvas
152cm x 152cm
May 3, 2023
One repeating theme I’ve noticed as an Art Therapist is the deep yearning to escape the stress and ‘hustle-bustle’ associated with the so called ‘rat-race’ that is used to define today’s society.
When invited to represent their ‘dream life’, I’ve observed that individuals often draw themselves living in simplicity in a natural setting - perhaps watching the sunset over the sea, fishing by a stream or warming themselves by a campfire.
With the intention of restoring balance there’s an undeniable call to blend with nature, to simplify, to unplug and to become one with the whole. As this poem so beautifully describes, the desire to seek the stillness and peace of mind found “beyond the world of men”.
It is my intention to visually replicate the lure to reconnect with one’s true essence in my paintings. A yearning to return to a sense of wholeness and to connect with something larger than our individual lives and the realm of form we so often identify with.