As promised in the Monastery travel blog this posting will include some examples of the art created during my month long Artist Residency in Idaho. The Monastery provided room and board and a Studio to work in. Their only request was that I give a Presentation at the end of the month, sharing with them the value of the Residency to me and my creativity. Travel blog address: https://hamblymarytravels.blogspot.com
I will include some parts of my Presentation essay as narration for this blog post, starting below:
"I arrived at the Monastery of St. Gertrude on May 30. In advance I sent
some boxes of art supplies. These included a variety of papers, acrylic paints,
pastels, gouache, ink, watercolor pencils and watercolor paint. All of these
are media that I either have not worked in ever or for many, many years. I did
not know what I would need. I just gathered the possibilities together and sent
them off. My plan was to leave behind my
professional identity, my ego, my comfort zone of competency in my paper
quilting and the security of knowing what I was doing. I was to leave that all
behind and open the door to the spontaneous, the humble, and the partnership
with the mystery of the creative process. I purchased a large journal. Its
pages remained blank until I arrived."
The decision on how to handle the time I was gifted by the Sisters at St. Gertrude's was truly a leap of faith...let me say that again, a leap of faith. It was back to basics 100%. I was tested in willingness to approach my work without judgment or expectation. It was necessary to be aware of when I was in a state of avoidance, fearing that the work would not measure up to some imaginary idea of quality. And then to move beyond this state of mind and being.
PASTEL DRAWING
Pastel rendering of the Camas Prairie.
Mixed media: Pastel drawing, acrylic paint and pencil
From Presentation essay:
"I
have spent many hours in the studio here in the spirit of experimenting fully
and working quickly so as not to become too precious about any given medium,
process or result."
INTUITIVE DRAWING
Intuitive drawing with ink and acrylic paint is a process of "mark making" as the spirit moves. I am showing them here in chronological order as they were made.
From Presentation essay:
"The
pieces that are here in the room represent my efforts to work with focus and be
present to the art itself and what it is asking of me. I regard this work as a
set of elaborate drawings that will return to Indiana with me as I continue
this journey that began last January."
WATERCOLOR
Stormy Landscape
Ink and Watercolor
Canola on the Camas Prairie
Watercolor
WATERCOLOR MONOPRINTING
From Presentation essay speaking to a Benedictine principle of Conversion:
"Conversion is the call to
always be growing and changing; to begin again and again and try new things. In
the studio this has meant leaving the ego, pride, fear and a lack of humility
outside the door in the hallway. I had to agree to the possibility of confusion,
appearing foolish if only to myself and to stumbling along the way and picking
myself up. But by engaging in the change process I was surprised by joy on
countless occasions. I would discover such simple things as which
brush works effectively with acrylic paint, or how much water is the right
amount to load on the brush with watercolor paint or what happens when ink
meets a bead of water: boom, a small visual explosion that I never
knew about. I do not know what all this means in the future of my art, but in
the moment of discovery it was joy."
ACRYLIC PAINT ON PAPER - in chronological order in which they were made.
THE THEME OF MANDALA
From Presentation essay:
"Once active in the studio here my work began
to be at least partially centered on the ancient symbol of the Mandala. Coming
across time, cultures and geography, the Mandala has history as a devotional
image, a circle of enclosed essence. It is regarded by some as an aid to connection
with a sacred space gained by entering the Mandala and proceeding toward its center.
Both consciously and unconsciously I have incorporated this circular design
comprised of sections that rotate around a common center. I was inspired by
some of my reading about the Carmelite mystic St. Teresa of Avila who
described a spiritual journey as a movement through concentric rooms of an
interior castle until we reach the diamond at the center of our being. When we
reach the diamond we will finally realize the beauty of our full potential."
“The painter, writer, musician, inventor, scholar
all have to figure out how to put their gifts at the disposal of their
spiritual life, not how to build a spiritual life at the expense of their
gift.”~Joan Chittister
MIXED MEDIA: WATERCOLOR, ACRYLIC WASH, JAPANESE WASHI PAPER
From Presentation essay speaking to the Benedictine principle of Obedience:
"It is a radical thought in our
culture to understand obedience not as compliance but as deep listening and
hearing the ways in which I am called by the “mystery of creation” to respond
in everyday life. Creatively, for me obedience means to listen and be present
for direction beyond what I can imagine for myself. Obedience means to be open
to the teachable moment. As the Sufi poet Rumi states: “Give your life to the
one who already owns your breath and your moments.”
It might have been easier to have a pre-planned project to complete or to continue working on the Paper Art Quilts. But the honest thing to do is what I did.
So here it is and we will see where it goes.
THANK YOU
