Taking a Plunge

Back in the late '70's I started working on a master's degree in counseling. I didn't get very far along in the program; only a semester or two before I realized that I was too burnt out from going to school full time and working two jobs (adding up to full time) for too many years. Anyway, one of my teachers was kind of like taking a class from Timothy Leary (remember him?). It was a great class; I learned a lot in a most unconventional way! One of the assignments that was on-going throughout the semester was that we were to do an excercise in real life that he referred to as, "taking a plunge". What he meant by that, was to do something outside of your comfort zone; something that you do not ordinarly do. We were to discuss our "plunge" experience during class. It was kinda scary, but kinda cool all at the same time to step up to the plate and do the monthly "plunge"; let alone reveal it to a classroom full of strangers later. The things I decided to do for the semester were "doing activities alone"; I went to see a Ruby Brown play (forgot the name but it had the word, 'rainbow' in it), ate at resturants alone...I can't remember what else. The one that was really outside my boundaries was seeing the play alone; it was kind of strange not having anyone next to me to share dialogue with before and after the play. The ritual of parking and finding your seat. Alone. But, I learned that it was an enjoyable experience. What was most valuable to me was the importance of going outside of our boundaries of comfort. You can't grow if you don't venture past those boundaries. The image at the top is a Polaroid transfer; the subject is Juliana Cole's(www.meandpete.com) mother Jane, floating in a pool at Hacienda Mosaico (www.hacinedamosaico.com) in Puerto Vallarta. It was taken on slide film, then transfered to Polaroid film. She was so in the moment of peaceful bliss floating quietly in the pool. Completely oblivious to the world around her.

Greek Goddess

About ten years ago I discovered carving my own stamps. In the world of printmaking, it really is doing the same thing that is known as linoleum cuts. I hand carved numerous sheets of 'rubber' into my own set of stamps. This one was done ten years ago; I remember being sick in bed with bronchitis (I used to come down with that a lot) and carving stamps kept my mind occupied while getting bed rest at the same time. This one was stamped and hand colored with pencil and oil pastel. Now that I look at it a decade later, I see how far I've come. The whole rendition of the image is akward and I think she belongs in the right corner of the frame, not the left. The background blending and transitions should be 'seamless' and not heavy-handed like it is here. All in all, though, it's ok. The process of critiquing is so valuable; whether it is of your work or of yourself. One should always relfect on what one can learn from an experience (be it negative or positive), and allow yourself to view your work with a sense of objectivity and to accept feedback from others. However, I would like to make a distinction that the process of critiquing is NOT the same as listening to your inner critic. Two different things, I say. Always learn from the expericence and make it a point to walk away with something positive. That was another one of my mother's "momisms". Lucky me...to be a benficiary of her legacy!

Soma, sweet soma

"The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul." -author unknown This is a page from a book I made called, "Dream". In case you don't know, the word soma is Latin for sleep. It is a small study of sorts on some of the aspects and facts about dreaming. It is a visual book with some selected dream related quotes and definitions. Dreaming is a fascinating thing; I could indulge myself easily in reading all that has been written about the study of dreams. Sleep gives us the transition world to our dream world; the dreams allow our input saturated minds to download on a daily basis whether or not we want (but always need) to. Psychoanaylists have spent much time in deciphering dreams. The dream world offers much fodder for any artist who dares to represent images from there. It is perhaps in our best interest that we cannot recollect our daily dreams. Although, they say that if you write down as much as you can remember as soon as you are awake, eventually you start to remember your daily dreams without any effort. I tried writing them down when I was on alone on a vacation. It was successful. Having no distractions, that sort of indulgence came without effort. In the present moment of time with my daily life, there isn't enough breathing space for that kind of activity! And yet, I know that if I could do it, it would be so valuable. Adding to my 'list' of things to do as a visual artist, I'd like to do more exploration of Carl Jung and his anaylsis of dreams. Of course, I think leaving out Freud in that exploration would not be fair, so I would have to include him too. "...night I entered a world which the dividing line between reality and dream was so fine as to not exist." (unknown) In the meantime, keep on doing the soma thing!

Reality...what is it good for?

"Everytime I close the door on reality, it enters through the window." (author unknown) Good quote and so apropo! Wish I knew who to credit that with. I would also like to thank them. Our theme for the November ATCs is quotes. This is one of the designs I came up with. It is encaustic art along with an art image from some publication and a cutout stencil window. What's encaustic, you say? Sounds a bit toxic, doesn't it? Really, it's painting with wax that is pigmented. The technique goes back to at least 600 AD. It all sounds pretty fancy and you can get wax for encaustic painting at art supply stores (Daniel Smith) that has a very high quality pigment. However, in this case when I did the wax work, all I had was a humble box of Crayola crayons! It does the job. It's great to work with what you happen to have on hand; running out to buy something often takes away that moment of spontaneity and the energy that goes with it. There is much to be said about spontaneity; when we let ourselves have spontaneuos moments, that inner voice that is constantly judging and eroding at our confidence is silenced. And in that moment of being spontaneuos, do we not often feel rapturous joy? Sometimes all too fleeting, but most certainly there. We forget that we are at the driver's wheel and we seem to avoid taking the turn down that road of spontaneity. I say, take those turns more often and relish that moment of pure bliss and joy!

Harvesting some thoughts

Pity the pumkin. They get bought up in great quantities in October, get cut up, displayed, then totally forgotten about come November 1st... This image is from those days when I would go through the effort of buying pumpkins and carving them with my little boy; a tradition I think he never really related to very well as to WHY it was done! Anyway, I put all of them on the wall in our backyard after Halloween (there was about four of them) and left them there to do what they will. I must say, they became so much more interesting when they acquired wrinkles and started to shrivel. Not a value we would place on ourselves, however! This missive is really a potpourri of different thoughts that had been floating around in my head; nothing terribly insightful or philisophical. Each Tuesday and Thursday I attend my class for Art History 201 (Ancient Civilizations up through the Medeival Ages). The lecture hall is right nex to the Fine Arts library on the second floor of the building. Up and down the halls are faculty offices and music practice rooms for the music majors. Lately on Thursdays after I get out from class, I can hear behind closed doors in the room across from the lecture hall, the swelling music of a string quartet. I would assume that they are rehearsing for their senior recital whcih will need to be performed before the end of the semester. Walk further down and you hear soprano voices working on an operatic peice, an oboe palying something incredilby heavenly...sometimes I hear a choir, sometimes it's a chamber orchestra. It is such a delightful way to fillyour senses while walking through the hallway! I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy these auditory sensations. When I worked at California State University at Northridge, I was able to use the piano practice room (for the music majors) to practice piano; it would be a way for me to pass my time during my lunch hour (I try to look for ways to remove myslef from the office and be involved in an activity that takes my mind completely off of work). Here at UNM, however, you have to be a music major in order to have the privilege of a practice room. Fair enough! With only one more semester of coursework to complete, I find myself feeling rather wistful about not being subjected to this joyful noise on a weekly basis. Oh yes, there's nothing to stop me from walking over on my own, but we get so caught up in day to day life that we easily forget about going out of our way to partake in simple pleasures like this. So, the moral of today's missive is, don't forget about those little things that make you happy!