Complete

Sit down amongst the daisies,

Sit down amongst the poppies,

Feel the grassy earth beneath.

Your feet are bare, 

Your toes stretch out,

You know you are complete.

Down the well

  Shhh..........................it's a secret...

p- pr- promise you won't tell...

      ... "Okay"... Looking down,

                 My lips are sealed.

Be still

I look up at the sky as the arrows fall down.

Be still.

The little girl runs, unsteady,  arms outstretched. 

"Duck! Duck! Duck!"

The arrows fall down, soft as feathers and blossom back as daisys.

We watch the duck settle into the daisys; silent and still.

We smile. 

Layers

The ocean illuminates you as you seek clarity through the waves.

Adventure,  unearth, explore.

Your transformational transcendence strips you, uncovers you & consumes you.

Evolve.

The meaning behind the painting

I was chatting over a well-deserved glass of pinot with my friend today and discussing about how I have recently discovered how much more of a connection I feel to art where I am privy to the context of it or the emotions behind it. I remember at uni, I had written a little statement to accompany a piece I had created and my art tutor marked me down, as my art should not have needed a written explanation to accompany it; it should have been straight away obvious to the viewer. I didn't realise then, but I do now, how much I disagree with that. Art, to me, is very personal and lots of the art I create and enjoy has layers upon layers of meaning, emotion, context. Sharing that with your audience surely only brings them closer to your motive more quickly/ clearly than not sharing? Personally, I have discovered when viewing art - particularly metaphorical, symbolic and very emotion-heavy art - that I really appreciate a few small words providing the context behind the piece. I find it can change how I view a piece of art and in every instance this has been the case; I have felt more connected to not only the art but the artist. I like knowing their thoughts behind it, the state they were in, what it means to them - its adds a more spiritual depth to art for me.

The below pieces of art I felt much more connected with once knowing the context behind them:

Intention setting

On my latest art lesson on lifebook we are looking at intention setting and ritual. Yesterday I felt really tired and grumpy - I wanted to make art but I felt too bummed out. I thought back to my ritual that I am trying to incorporate into my daily habits: lighting incense. I am trying each day to take a moment out and think about where I am and what I am feeling in the now, in the present. To stimulate that, I light insence. What follows that thought is an intention directly related to my creativity and relationship with art. I lit my incense and took in my bad feelings, acknowledged them and set my inention: I won't put any pressure on myself, I will just spend the next hour catching up on my marketing work and then the next hour dtawing a cute girl. And then? I did it! After, I felt really good! I had acheived my (small yet significant) intention and as a consequence I was out of my grump... still tired but no longer emotionally tired. I am sat waiting for the bus now and thinking of my 2 minutes out I will take when I get home and I'm super excited for what my next creative intention will be...!