Dave Carroll Gets A Big Break

My husband first alerted me to Dave Carroll’s video, United Breaks Guitars, and I watched it again with renewed interest after my trip to Syracuse, because I did drive my car and still got in trouble with a corporate entity (Canadian Tire Auto Club).  CTAC couldn’t call a tow truck for me on the I90 when my car battery died, which made me reflect on the “automotive peace of mind” I thought my dues were purchasing for 17 years.

Dave Carroll, a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia, responded to his frustrating experience by using his musical talent to convey a message. In his own words:

In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say “no” to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise.

That first video, United Breaks Guitars, had more than 3 million views in 10 days. Art is a powerful medium, and if you manage to tap into a widespread feeling (in this case, that the airlines don’t care and do not take good care of us or our belongings), you can reach a HUGE audience.

Dave’s broken guitar eventually garnered him an interview on CBC and other radio stations, many newspaper, magazine and internet articles (including Rock & Roll Daily, The New York Times, Forbes: United Airlines Shows How Not To Run Your Business, Canoe.ca, and Los Angeles Times). The best analysis of the impact of this video that I have seen is on MktgCliks, which pointed out that by the third week, Carroll’s video had instigated:

TV coverage on BBC World News Americas, many articles in the UK press, and further TV interviews with Dave Carroll on the major US networks – ABC, NBC, CNN, and Fox. The result for Dave Carroll is positive. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Dave Carrol mentioned that since the upload of his United Breaks Guitars video on YouTube, his website has enjoyed over 50,000 hits compared an average of 40-50 in previous weeks. He is thrilled people are enjoying his music which is increasing in sales from 1-2 sales per day to hundreds. This week his song, United Breaks Guitars, has made the top 20 list of iTunes downloads in Canada and yesterday, after 8 TV and radio interviews in the UK, United Breaks Guitars was the #1 country music iTunes download in the UK.

Personally, I think angels break guitars, just like they break batteries.

What, you may ask, have I received as a result of my broken battery? Well, it’s much easier to put United into a lyric line than Canadian Tire Auto Club (no offense regarding your writing ability, Dave). Acronyms are never as effective: who would know what CTAC meant? That avenue (or venue) felt closed to me. And creating an art quilt that shows exploding tires or a roadside rest stop didn’t inspire me either. Batteries were dead boring as well (especially if you sat for four hours by the side of the road because of one). I couldn’t conceive of a creative way to illustrate my complaint.

But I definitely collected compensation. The following facts are relevant:  (1) After the battery was replaced, the car was driven to a parking lot less than a mile away. (2) Shortly thereafter my front springs broke, the front of the car slammed down onto the tire on the driver side and punctured it. The tire was so tightly wedged against the car that trying to budge it forward produced a loud rubbing noise and the stench of burnt rubber.

I am very happy ~ ecstatic would be more accurate ~ that I was not on the I90 when the front end of my car collapsed. That flat bed tow truck carried my defective 2000 Ford Taurus, and me, safely, to my destination.

So here I am, elated that I remain alive and well (as opposed to being mere remains). Whether or not you agree that angels “broke my battery,” you can celebrate the timing that saved me from an accident, and reflect with gratitude on the many similar incidents in your life when near misses allowed you to continue on your life journey.

Ask Yourself If You’re Spending Time On the Right Stuff

The title of this post is one of the suggestions Randy Pausch listed as advice for anyone who might be running out of time.

I am sure most of you are now familiar with the story of Randy Pausch, a computer science professor from Carnegie Mellon University, whose Last Lecture literally riveted the world.

Robert Genn, one of my favorite online authors, wrote a tribute to Randy Pausch, and I decided to put the information on my own blog so that I could access it any time I needed heavy duty inspiration and a reality check on my problems.

Carnegie Mellon University still maintains Randy Pausch’s “presence” on their website. His humility (or lack of ego) was so ingrained, that even after an incredible degree of attention (even adulation), the attention did not go to his head:

I am flattered and embarassed by all the recent attention to my “Last Lecture.” I am told that, including abridged versions, over six million people have viewed the lecture online. The lecture really was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful. But rest assured; I’m hardly unique. Send your kids to Carnegie Mellon and the other professors here will teach them valuable life lessons long after I’m gone.  [That number is now well over 10 million views.]

I found a very surprising fact about this man, who gained the respect and love of millions for his bravery in the face of death and his wisdom concerning how to live life to the fullest. It is well known that he had a PhD in computer science. However, Randy also sewed. You read that right. There is a connection between his PhD and the needle arts. Those PhD years were ” . . . the height of [his] sewing activity. Nothing like a dissertation to drive you to do anything else.”

While that does not sound like a glowing commendation for the art of sewing, and no art quilts were mentioned, Randy Pausch’s dexterity with the needle is just one more reason to celebrate an exemplary human life. As he advised in his last lecture:

Never ever underestimate the importance of having fun. I am dying soon, and I am choosing to have fun today, tomorrow and every other day I have left.

Some people are dying to have fun, some act as if they would rather die than have fun, and others have fun despite the fact that they know they are dying ~ imminently. Randy Pausch was one of those enlightened beings who knew that having fun was spending time on the right stuff. How else would he be able to grin and say, as a 47 year old man dying of pancreatic cancer, “If I don’t seem as depressed or morose as I should be, I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

(If you crave more illumination about Pausch’s methods for celebrating life, watch this ABC special. He was famous for helping his students believe in themselves long before The Last Lecture that launched him onto the global stage. Viewing this may well awaken ~or reinforce ~ that belief in your consciousness as well.)

Rosalie Dace Asks, “Are We There Yet?”

Rosalie Dace taught Art and English at the high school, college and university levels in South Africa, before becoming a full time quilt maker and teacher. I first became aware of her phenomenal work in Quilting Arts Magazine, Issue 23, Fall 2006.

Rosalie describes her teaching approach this way:

My classes are for class participants to have fun while they are learning, and to go beyond where they thought possible. In a non-threatening and respectful environment, I guide students to work in the direction of their own interest so that each person produces individual work within the general theme of the class. For this reason I do not usually provide patterns or kits. All classes however are supported by extensive visual material such as slides, pictures, books and actual examples of techniques and possible interpretation. As an art educator, I encourage students to develop a thorough knowledge of the elements of design and learn to apply these to the medium of quilt making with confidence.

You can understand why I was very curious to find out what was going on in her classroom at Quilting By the Lake. It was obvious, entering the room, that her students were engaged and energized. Unfortunately, I had little time to spare for further investigation. Visiting her online gallery only inflamed my desire to delve into more of her work and participate in one of her workshops. (Her art quilts can also be seen on Fibreworks.)

One of her works that speaks to me most clearly is titled Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet? ~ art quilt by Rosalie Dace

The artist statement for this quilt poses some of the questions I have asked myself:

This quilt is about questioning the direction we take through life. We seem to be heading to some desired destination, but will we recognize it when we get there? And what happens when we’ve got there? Is there rest and re-creation, or another ‘there’ for us to move on towards?

Personally, I do not think I will ever experience a sense of having “made it” or “arrived.” There is always more to learn, new challenges to take on, incredible friends to meet, amazing art to acquire lessons from. And Rosalie’s point about rest and re-creation is crucial. If I will never actually arrive, it is important that I learn to incorporate rest and recreation into my journey. Otherwise, I risk falling into fatigue and discouragement because all my energy is expended as I chase the immediate goal before me.

I love sharing my life journey, of which art is a very significant part, and will continue to reach out to as many others as I can. I am particularly drawn to those who crave the depths~who are willing to delve into themselves and their world for the symbols, images and words that will enliven their art and guaranty that everyone knows it is their art. This does not need to be a somber, heavy process. Rather, it is enlightening, joyful, and freeing. You are loosening the constraints that kept you from revealing and reveling in your true self.

Seeing Rosalie Dace’s work, and reading her teaching goals, reassures me that my direction is a sound one. I already knew it, but like the students who have a sense of what they want to say, but haven’t quite said it, reassurance from a compassionate and accomplished teacher can make all the difference for sprouting their own art wings.

That is what I always aspire to be with my students: a source of encouragement.

No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings. ~ William Blake

What an Amazing Week!

I have met so many incredible people at Quilting By the Lake this week. Today is my last day here (sigh). It is so nurturing, as an artist, to spend a week immersed in art making. From morning to evening, there are other artists who are eager and willing to discuss their philosophies of art, their visions and dreams. Techniques and materials are shared, and there is a sense of having found a community that understands your motivations and drive.

I’ll be reflecting more on this week when I return home.

Katie Pasquini Masopust: Are You Ready For Her?

Quilting Arts Magazine called Katie Pasquini Masopust The Rock Star of Quilting, and if I listed all the quilting related awards she has won, positions she has held,  books she has written and workshops she has taught, you would have to concede that she earned that status.

Katie PM

I am more interested in convincing you to take a workshop from this woman. Whether you go sniffing on the Internet like a hungry dog (we do love to dig up those tasty bones of information) or simply trip over an opportunity to register for a class with Katie, don’t pass it by. Why? Cast your gaze over these beauties in her gallery, and assure me~with a straight face~that you do not harbor any curiosity as to how she “came up with” those designs.

Katie’s strong suit is design. She has collected many ways to instigate design ideas, such as blind contour drawing with musical accompaniment, or painting nothing but the shadows of a still life. These and other approaches can be found within design textbooks, and Katie makes no pretense of having invented the exercises. What she adds, with great flair and much laughter, is her own presence to the mix. Katie is loud, confident and FUN. She manages to transform a class of seemingly normal, polite students into something akin to sports spectators. At her lecture tonight, all of us (in her Quilting By the Lake class) occupied the very front row of the auditorium to hoot and holler our boisterous appreciation for our teacher’s every word and projected image.

This is after only three days in her classroom. Obviously, Katie has a personality with a capital P. She convinces every student that they are important to her, their designs have great potential, and they are part of her very best class, ever.

Part of Katie’s design genius is her flair for cropping. She demonstrates how, if a design is lacking verve, one can isolate a section within it that exudes pizzazz. If this method fails, she slices the painting or drawing into smaller pieces and shuffles them into as many configurations as it takes to produce a winner. I am certain that our five days together will not begin to empty her magical bag of transformations.

What I appreciate most about Katie PM, however, is the way she keeps re-inventing herself. She masters a technique, writes a book about it, teaches it and moves on. Something else catches her fancy, and she is, in her words, “done with” what came before. All these metamorphoses are accompanied by ongoing art lessons, which feed and nurture her constant quest to expand her artistic knowledge and experience.

Following someone’s lesson plan, or trying to emulate the steps they use from a book or video cannot compete with being in the presence of a living, breathing teacher who knows how to act as a catalyst for ideas. And ideas increase exponentially in a group of motivated individuals who have come together with the intent of being inspired and offering their own inspiration to others.

It takes a certain openness. Are you ready?

Grazioso ~ 64" x 64" ~ by Katie Pasquini Masopust (used with permission)

Cheers ~ 33″x 33″ ~ by Katie Pasquini Masopust (used with permission)

Lotus ~ 49″x 51″ ~ by Katie Pasquini Masopust (used with permission)

Passages Passages: Chaco Canyon ~ 45"x 65" ~ by Katie Pasquini Masopust (used with permission)

The Day Before My First Day at Quilting By the Lake

If that title is confusing, let me explain that I am talking about my travelling day. One does not travel on the day that a workshop commences.

I live only five hours from Onondaga College, where Quilting By the Lake is held. I considered that fact a sign that the art goddess wanted me to start attending this esteemed gathering. I set off around 7:30 am, as revved up as the motor in my car,  for all that I would learn, observe, and experience.

About an hour and a half from Syracuse, New York, I pulled into a rest stop to stretch my legs. When I returned to the car, it suddenly turned adversarial and refused to start. Like our own bodies, we often take technology for granted, and when they don’t perform for us as usual we may become incredulous and angry.

Incredulous and angry, I phoned my husband. “The car won’t start,” I blurted, with no preamble, not even a “Hello, hon.”

“There’s no power. Just a waaaaaa, waaaaaa, waaaaaa accompanied by small clicks.” I performed the clicking noises as well.

“You are going to have to open the hood and try wiggling on the cables connected to the battery,” he informed me, soberly, anticipating my panic due to a dismal lack of automotive know how.

I will cut this preamble short by bragging that I did manage to open the hood (special levers and locks notwithstanding) and jiggle on the aforementioned cables, but to no avail.

Calls to my Canadian Tire Auto Club were just as fruitless. They could not provide service on the Interstate 90, due to certain State regulations, but a very personable State Trooper did notice my raised hood, ascertained my plight, and called in a tow truck for me.

Needless to say, my plans to sail into Onondaga College by 1:00 and relax before dinner festivities were not to be. When a tow truck driver finally did arrive, late because he had to deal with an accident before attending to my relatively minor need, he informed me that he also needed to quickly replace a tire on the other side of the Interstate. Again, I will spare you every little detail, except to point out that the tire on the trailer in question had blown off, except for a fairly large piece that had wrapped around the axle and fused to it. Normally, such work would require a grinder to loosen its grip (try pulling on a wound piece of steel belted radial if you doubt that assertion). Unfortunately, the grinder was not in its ordained place in the truck.

The tow truck driver in question was not your ordinary Joe, however. He was GI Joe, literally. We all stood in amazement by the side of the road, Jeanette (a quilter, by the way), her husband Larry, and I, as “Joe” ripped that piece of tire from the axle with his bare hands. He was, after all, a purple heart bearing survivor of Desert Storm, and once he decided to do something~and put his full weight into it~it was going to happen.  Besides, a grinder was 20 minutes away, and he was cognizant, by this time, that I was growing increasingly nervous about signing in at Onondaga College and receiving my suite keys.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2529/3884383055_7df8436e0f.jpg

Larry & Jeanette

By the time we hit the road, despite the fact that “Joe’s” arms “felt like mashed potatoes,” we made great time and the hour and a half passed quickly. “Joe” related a fair bit of his life story to me, punctuated by police sirens in the distance that puzzled us both. This mystery was solved when a cell call informed him that his girlfriend’s 13 year old son was trying to locate his own cell phone by calling it (you guessed it, a police siren ring tone). I finally retrieved it,  tucked in above the visor on “my side” of the windshield.

We arrived about 5:00, with an hour to go before welcome desk closed. I was able to register, unpack my 20 boxes of supplies (I exaggerate, but only slightly), and make it for the supper and speaker that were scheduled.

I have to add that my husband Ted, and our friend Murray, hopped in a car about an hour after I called, and arrived on the parking lot in time to replace the battery (the alternator did not need repair). They considered the ten hour round trip an adventure as much as an act of mercy. I was able to relax and thoroughly enjoy the evening. Am I spoiled? No, I am loved. Believe me, I am aware how fortunate I am in the choices I have made for my life partner and friends.

Those of you who have actually followed this post to the end may wonder why I didn’t just wait at the rest stop for my knight with shining battery to arrive. There were several reasons: if they were delayed I’d miss getting my key. If the battery was not an adequate fix, there would be garage and waiting time involved. Also, the nice young state trooper was very amiable, but absolutely firm that he wanted me off the side of the Interstate. In any case, I was not going to miss a course I had paid a thousand dollars to attend. (The towing bill, by the way, was half of that.)

Art quilt maker Judy Warren Blaydon, the speaker at the evening banquet, was as hilarious as she is talented. As all of us contemplated the art we would produce this week, she assured us that we did not have to worry if we did not achieve masterpiece status.  “If you can’t be a good example, you can always be a horrible warning.” My laughter was double-edged. I was already “a horrible example” in this gathering of two hundred and some artists. What piece of art that I created this week could compete with a my “entrance” in a huge, flatbed tow truck?

Never, I can state without a trace of hyperbole, would I have imagined the nickname that I now answer to at Quilting By the Lake.

Tow Truck Carol.

iPhone Users Start a ‘Paint Anywhere Without Paint’ Revolution: PAWP

Texting has come a LONG way. In fact, it has morphed into painting. With your iPhone and an application called Brushes,  you can let your fingers do the painting. Brushes Viewer, a free application, “allows you to replay your Brushes paintings stroke for stroke, export them at very high resolutions (up to 1920 x 2880), and even export them as QuickTime movies.” Brushes Mobile Painting has spawned a paint anywhere “revolution,” that you can follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

One of these iPhone paintings became a New Yorker cover. The artist, Jorge Columbo, has a finger painting blog at The New Yorker. Yes, you read that right: finger painting at The New Yorker. Columbo is hoping to “build suspense as he builds up layers of color and shape” on a weekly painting for The New Yorker. He appears in the ABC clip below.

iPhone painting is accomplished by stroking on the screen with your finger, which prompted another artist in the clip to call the application “a stroke of genius.” This is finger painting without paint, so there’s no clean up, and you can do it anywhere without lugging any supplies. The canvas is a tad small, perhaps, but that doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for enthusiasts.

Another artist from the ABC clip is Walt Disney art director Stefan Kardos. His iPhone paintings can be enjoyed on flickr and on his blog, Stef’s Sketches.

Here is an example of an iPhone painting, showing you every stroke:

Another iPhone painting, by Martius90, demonstrates the many revisions required to get to this point:

I also viewed iPhone artwork 118, Eve from Wall-e speed painted on iPhone (this one illustrates all the steps involved for creating a painting), Painting in iPhone Brushes app-Bus urbano (love this one, even the music), Painting in iPhone Brushes app-street, Brushes iPhone painting 5-31-09 is a portrait of dmhallart’s wife (now there’s a smart idea to name and date your paintings at the same time), and Michael Jackson iPhone Finger Painting by Josh Cassidy. Right now, there are about 400 iPhone paintings on YouTube. By the time you start exploring, I am certain there will be more–a LOT more.

Some of us don’t mind the cleanup that painting demands: the colorful reminders on all of our clothes, our hair, under our cuticles. (I admit it, I do NOT own an iPhone.)

Just the other day, I was discussing painting techniques with my artist friend Laurie Skantzos. We both agreed that putting our hands in the paint and “feeling our way into the painting” was a very freeing way to work. The emotions flow through your fingers in such a direct way. Before you know it,  you find yourself scratching, flinging, flicking, smearing, splattering. You also caress, stroke, push, or even hit and pound the canvas. You are channeling your emotions, and they are powerful!

Your hands and the paint become partners in a colorful, kinetic choregraphy ~ and what emerges comes directly from your inner archives.

Monumental Acrylic Works

Flora Doehler, my artist friend of Our Bear River Adventure fame, sent me a link from COLOURlovers. I was delighted to be reminded about this vibrant site because, with so many links to explore, I had not visited this one for a while. Flora directed me, especially, to the work of Brazilian artist Delson Uchôa.

The first thing that struck me is the scale in which he works. The amount of time, dedication and vision required to paint and attach the various elements together for any given work is enormous. It is no wonder that most of his works take years to complete. They also include some startling methods for achieving his vision. Xadrez de Chão, for instance, “is the result of a years-long process that included covering with resin the whole interior of his house, painting it, and finally peeling off the painting.”  (Charta Art Books)

As Uchôa puts it:

I’m interested in the wear and tear of circulation, the signs of the passage of time, the scratches on the furniture… The dwelling of the painting and all the elements that compose it.

His methods are particularly appealing to me because of his sheer love of design, and the ways he plays with acrylics to realize those designs. I am in love with acrylic. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I love what acrylic products can do. Watching him work is absolutely fascinating, as is his multi-layered approach, utilizing acrylic on canvas, resin and coagulated acrylic on cellophane (see Cambios). Pushing pieces into pockets, applying different elements that he seemingly tosses onto the work~then adheres, pouring, splattering, painting grids and lines, can all be witnessed on the first part of the video.

Diptico Basculante ~ by Delson Uchôa

Diptico Basculante ~ detail

designboom describes Uchôa’s paintings as:

. . . characterized by the use of acidic, noisy colors, an illuminated, vibrant palette that leads the public’s gaze across highly elaborate surfaces, produced by an obsessive accumulation of gestures, decals, collages and many layers of paint and synthetic varnishes. They are structured around formal principles that are a legacy of the constructivist-concrete tradition, incorporating motifs and techniques taken from folk decoration, lace, embroidery and weaves that result in optical effects and fields.

Flamboyant ~ by Delson Uchôa

Luciana Brito Galeria is hosting a Uchôa exhibition from June 30 to  July 31,  2009.  Art critic Paulo Herkenhoff portrays Uchôa’s works as “celebrations of color by way of paintings with monumental dimensions, which are not appreciated only through one’s eyes, but with one’s entire body.”

In them, transparency, luminosity, texture, chromatic exploration and scales are interrelated .  .  .

Displayed in ways that make them seem to be springing off the wall or falling on the floor, the artworks embrace the spectator, who also becomes a participant. By their wealth of details, texture and size, these artworks beckon for the viewer’s touch, which the artist often allows.

Varal ~ by Delson Uchôa

I would certainly enjoy the sensations involved in touching a Uchôa painting. A step ladder would have to be involved; a bucket truck would be even better, unless I was lucky enough to be invited to a lawn party where his works were spread out on the grass.

On the other hand, to experience a Uchôa method first hand, I could simply apply resin and paint over everything in my home, and start peeling!

Would anyone care to join me in this challenge?

I Do It Because I Love It

I get excited when things coalesce. In fact, I taste honey on my tongue just saying the word coalesce. It’s like licking a favorite color.

I received a book in the mail today, ART revolution: alternative approaches for fine artists and illustrators, by Lisa L. Cyr. Cyr wastes no time in challenging readers of her book to “Create from the heart, innovate, strive for greatness and speak to the culture in ways that inspire and motivate.”

A few pages later, she decries the “expectation of instant gratification” that has satiated our present culture:

In our time-is-of-the-essence ideology, it seems that the speed at which things are done is becoming ever more important, oftentimes trumping quality. We are seeing more and more prefab, formula driven art enter into the social mindset, generating an almost homogenized aesthetic. To eradicate the complacency that exists, artists need to take a content-driven approach, producing imaginative and thought-provoking work that speaks to the culture in ways that inspire and motivate.

Enter Jeane Myers.

Jeane uses phrases like “the first underpainting,” “the forms are starting to come,” and “in process” to describe her work as she paints. Speed is not an operative word in her vocabulary.

Second Chance ~ by Jeane Myers

Composition is also approached with a contemplative attitude, though she admits that she has become “more and more reliant on” the digital camera as a problem solver. As an alternative to sitting and staring at a painting that is challenging her, she snaps a photo and downloads it onto her computer.

I can rotate the image, pick the strong sections, crop, rotate, darken, lighten and usually find the problem and a way to resolve it. One of the ways I like to challenge myself is to take a piece that I really like and rework it. Say goodbye to something I’m attached to and recreate it.

Some paintings take her to the very edge of her patience:

Yesterday I was ready to throw it on the burn pile. It just got progressively worse as the afternoon wore on and on and on. I finally took a rag and wiped off as much as I could and then I could see it!

Each painting is a journey, in which Jeane and her artwork travel together through many transformative stages, until a resolution is reached.

Untitled ~ by Jeane Myers

So what is the meaning in all this, the impetus to create and keep creating?

To be honest, I don’t really think about why I do art. If I had to give a reason . . . I would have to say, I just love to make art. So I guess I do it because I love it. Is that too easy? Maybe. I gain benefits from making things. I stay balanced and so I maneuver better in the world. I have the opportunity to express many emotions through painting. That goes back to staying balanced, I guess. I have learned how to stay true to myself and trust my choices. I don’t do art to please anyone but myself.   If other people enjoy what they see, then that is a huge bonus. I get to
go deep inside myself because my art gives me a place to put what I find.    (Jeane Myers: Art and Meaning)

There are a lot of insights in that “easy” answer. Most notable for me was the revelation that art offers a safety valve for deep introspection, because it affords a context for the “treasures” you excavate. You are not just at the mercy of raw emotions or erupting memories:  you can move them onto your canvas an paint them in place.

I would definitely call that a “content driven” approach, even if it might be difficult to express in words.

Jeane does the kind of work that I can’t stop looking at it. And while I am gazing at the the openings, the singing shapes, the shadows, the rich colors, the expanses of texture, my mind is churning out associations and stories. I sense all those layers beneath, and they heighten my experience.

Quarry ~ by Jeane Myers

Confucius said, “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” Jeane Myers is doing just that with her painting.

No wonder she is so in love with the lush reds.

Invoking Clarity

With the full power of the moon behind her, this woman invokes clarity.

But clarity does not necessarily arrive quickly, in an easily discernible package, hovering just above our gaze before wrapping us in its bright tendrils.

Rather, we piece all the various small revelations together, and begin to fathom a more spacious vision with each shining quilt, painting or poem that we “complete.”

Perhaps “completion” is not the direction we want to move towards, with its suggestion of closure.

What we really seek is a perpetual opening, a ceaseless unfolding, until we become so expansive that everything else is part of us, and we of it.

Invoking Clarity ~ by Carol Wiebe

Side view