Art for Self Awareness Blog

What Must Die?

As we journey through life, there is one inescapable truth;  from the moment we are born, we begin to die. There are countless writings on the importance of living life to the fullest and making the most of each moment we are blessed to live. While we may be dying physically, death exists on another level as well; the level of non-physical. What about making the most of each moment we are blessed to die?

We are not only physical beings, but emotional, mental, and spiritual as well. We experience emotional, mental, and spiritual death throughout of lives. Feelings are born in response to our thoughts and die as they are felt, acknowledged, and finally released. Thoughts come and go. More deeply, our beliefs die when we have a moment of awakening or have that “ah hah!” moment when we suddenly realize a long held belief is no longer true for us. Death is letting go.

Another way to look at letting go is non-resistance. From my perspective, it is going with the flow; acceptance. Non-resistance is living in the moment and being with whatever life is expressing. No judging; no fixing; just being. There is an amazing freedom and peace available in a state of non-resistance. No dwelling in the past or projecting into the future. Death, when viewed from this perspective, is simply the unseen part of creation. It is the void from which the seen is born.

“This too shall pass” is a popular saying that echos the fact that death is part of life. But there is another piece to all of this that I believe holds a key; choice. While life is expressing in its cyclical birth and death process, we have the ability to choose “how” we experience this process. We can practice being in a state of non-resistance or acceptance, or we can resist. Resistance traps us in a state of negative emotion where we suffer. Contrary to popular belief, it is not death that causes suffering. It is resistance that causes suffering and we do it to ourselves.

“What must die?”, the answer is,” EVERYTHING!” Amazingly, this realization is a blessing; it shows us we “are” life itself. There is nothing we must do, change, or acquire. There is nothing we must fix or learn. We just “be” and as we move through our daily lives, notice what comes and goes, and let go; be present; be open to life as it is born, lives, and dies.

There are many times I find myself playing with images, purely for the joy of it. I have no idea what the outcome will be. I believe not knowing is part of the joy; it’s like a treasure hunt. I add, erase, and manipulate the elements until I reach one of two points; I either love the end result or I don’t. I experience presence. I am in the moment, my attention fully upon the images I am playing with. I feel I am in the flow of creative energy; that energy is not only moving through me, but it moves me. That creative energy IS me.

On one of my adventures to see what there is to see, I came across this broken china doll head, laying in the grass. It moved me. I felt a swell of energy move up through my body as I wondered, “what’s her story?”

She lay there dirty, broken, and yet graceful. Her delicately painted face frozen as though holding a thought from a time long since past. Her hair matted and entangled in the grass. I imagined her as she once was, pristine and cherished. I wondered, “why?” Why was she left outside on the ground to rot?

And then I wondered, “who is she without her story?”

THE GOODS VI | Anonymous Art Exhibit

10.28.2011 – 11.11.2011
Dahl Arts Center Galleries
713 7th Street
Rapid City, SD 57701

phone: 605.394.4101 | fax: 605.394.6121 | contact@thedahl.org

Original 8′ x 8″ artwork by regional artists that sell for $125 each to THE GOODS event ticket holders and only after the sale will the name of the artist be revealed.

I created a painting for this event. It will be fun to see who the lucky winner is The Dahl provides an amazing service to the Black Hills and I am proud to support it! Hope to see you there.
Fundraiser in support of the Dahl’s exhibit’s program.

I just returned from another adventure. This one took me into the National Grasslands of south eastern South Dakota. While slowly crawling along the ruts that suggested the hint of a road, a spot of trees appeared in the distance. This spot of trees concealed the once flourishing homestead called the Prairie Gem. At one time, many trees not native to this area were planted, nurtured, and adored here. There were even fruit trees growing successfully and the story goes that many people would travel to the Prairie Gem just to witness the horticulture genius of Mr. Barr.

My visit to the Prairie Gem came long after its glory days. I found skeletons of trees with only a few rare survivors clinging to life. Mr. Barr’s home, being consumed, bite by bite, as the elements feed opportunistically, stands as a monument to his life here. There was however, a sense of peace and well being even as the ocean of prairie grass surrendered to the gale force winds.

I found myself feeling expansive, with room to think, and permission to simply “be.” I wandered around the Prairie Gem, finding photographs to cradle each moment; embracing all as it was…is… now.  When I stood before Mr. Barr’s decaying home, I saw my reflection in the remnants of a structure that once held all of his hopes and dreams. My reflection in the glass caused me to ask myself, “what is it I am being shown about myself here?” “What are the qualities of this place that I, too, contain?” I was fully present…and the healing began.

Students had a wonderful time learning the art of Suminagashi. One by one, the students would express their “ah-hah” moments as they “got it.” From there, the creative juices were flowing.

As the teacher, I witnessed creativity flowing through each student as their individual touch affected the ink floating on the water.  A childlike joy filled the studio each time a student pulled a marbled masterpiece from the water. For me, the joy was in sharing Meditative Suminagashi and witnessing each creative moment.

One thing is for certain; a lot of beautifully marbled paper was created. Second, the meditation provided students with the opportunity to relax and simply “be” in the creative moment. Moreover, new friendships were born as people came together from a common desire to expand their knowledge and experience. Finally, students got to take home their treasures; gorgeous marbled paper that captured a uniquely creative moment.

The next Meditative Suminagashi class in Oct. 15 from 2-4pm. Follow the link below to register…

http://www.clccommed.org/ClassDetails.aspx?ClassID=303003&ProgramID=15019&ProgramName=Custer&CategoryID=15129&CategoryName=Body%20&%20Mind%20-%20CU

Ever wonder where the symbols we respond so profoundly to come from?

Why do we select the symbols and images we do when expressing ourselves creatively?

A  R  A  S
The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism is an interesting site that explores this very topic. Check it out…..

http://aras.org/

*note: image from ARAS site.

I envision beyond the you that poses for me, gazes at me, yearns to intellectualize with me. I see past the you that prefers a particular flavor and does your hair that certain way. I see past your urgent curiosity to know what my pencil says about you. I observe; seeing through the veil of who you think you are and who you want me to see. My eyes study the lines, shapes, and colors of you while my spirit penetrates you: breathes you; senses you; absorbs you; unites with your spirit.

Scintillating swirls twist and flow bountifully crowning rumination. Soul portals veiled with an effervescent, curvilinear reflection of an illusionary world. A delicate canopy of lashes frolic in a game of hide and seek. A bridge with no river rises to divide elegantly blush stained evidence of your ethnicity. Sonorous scarlet lips blanket marble monuments. Subtle shades and tones of luminescence drape firmly against the rise and fall of boney structure.

I stand witness, supported by firm earth pushing against the soul of my feet. Golden solar rays kiss my face, swathe my body in illuminating warmth, and bathe the landscape: flora, fauna, stone, and earth smile skyward to benevolent omnipotence. The cool blue, complimentary shadows turn their faces from the light while a gentle caressing breeze runs her fingers through my hair and tickles my face. Choreographed grass dances so lively and delightfully that emerald trees bow in honor. The aromatherapy of wildflowers, spring grass, and moist earth ride the breeze and swirl blissfully within, on, and through me. The breeze’s baton orchestrates percussion, beating the drum of my ear with chafing limbs and blades. Serenading birds grace limbs and sky with flitting wings and melodic songs.

Regal mountain sentinels stoically anchor the alliance of earth and sky; Am I really this small? Fully embraced, fully inspired, I am full. Stillness absolves resistance and cascades a circular flow of what must come next; release. I am intimately one with this flourishing life. I am this. I am. Visions of warmth, sounds of color, feelings of an earth song, the taste of beauty, and the fragrance of life spills forth from the vessel; paint onto substrate; intimacy.