Saturday, February 18, 2012

Inspiration

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Inspiration for my art comes from many places.  Sometimes it is very clear, striking like a lightning bolt, with intensity.  Other times, it simmers slowly, emerging over a long period of time.  Sometimes a passage in a book, a scene from a film, music, or an experience in nature can be the catalyst for inspiration. 

The painting Rainbow Birds (pictured here) came from a flash of inspiration while watching birds at a bird feeder.  The image came quickly and creating the painting was fairly quick (for me).  This painting, also inspired me to explore paintings based on the chakras, so I guess I can even inspire myself!

Lately, the music of Tori Amos has been stirring something in me.  I have been listening to Night of Hunters, her most recent album. It is a wonderful fusion of contemporary music and classical.  The narrative of the songs connect and detail a woman's "dark night of the soul".  In the course of the evening she meets faery spirits and travels through time and consciousness to arrive in the morning a changed person.  I am connecting deeply to this story and to the creativity of the project Tori Amos put together.  When I listen to this, I realize I want to create something this powerful, meaningful and transformative. 

Since July of 2010 I have been going through a kind of minor "dark night of the soul" myself.  Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, I fell out of harmony with my art making.  I felt foggy, disconnected and rattled to the core of my being.  The beliefs and practices that fueled my art practice in the last five years or so no longer seemed to be working.  I knew something needed to change, but I didn't know what it was.  While in Randolph, Vermont, in a sort of self-imposed retreat, I thought about how our society's push toward constant production and growth, on materialism and turning everything into a commodity leaves us all, especially the earth, depleted.  I saw myself swimming desperately against a strong current, and realized that I have been swimming hard against that current for years.  I believed if I stopped, I would get swept away and lose myself.  But, during that retreat in the mountains, I considered the idea of just getting out.  I don't need to give in to the current, nor do I need to keep fighting it.  It was time to leave it altogether.  However, leaving the current has left me in a very strange place.  I knew that it had become terribly urgent that I attend to things that nurture my soul as an individual, but, as I enter midlife, I also understood I needed to connect on a societal level.  How do I do this, if I am outside the current? I was in a dark and uncertain place. And here I have been ever since. 

As I contemplate inspiration, I see that I must go deeper.  Things are stirring, but my sight is clouded.  As an artist, I think sometimes it is necessary to live outside the current.  It offers a perspective that is unique, but necessary for those who continue to stay in the flow.  Perhaps it is a matter of adjusting my eyes to the new atmosphere.  It will take me a little time and my work may slow up a bit, but I think this is fueled by the long simmering kind of inspiration.  The vision will come and when it does, I hope it will offer a unique vision that serves society in a healing and transformative way.

DoAn

PS: I will be sharing my process of this spiritual exploration and how it relates to my art on my private blog: DoAn Art Studio.  If you are interested in supporting my journey and would like to follow my artistic development, please consider donating.  Monthly donations, in any amount, will grant you access to DoAn Art Studio blog.  Donations can be made by clicking on the image link below:

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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
 
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All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2012 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Finding Light in Dark

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I've been listening to Welcome Brigid by Katy Taylor. A collection of songs and prayers about Brigid and Mary.  It has helped me find a calm point during a chaotic time. 

As I write this today, it is Imbolc, the holiday that celebrates the goddess Brigid.  In ancient times, Brigid was important for she represented the return of the sun and warmth to the land.  Sheep begin lambing at this time and people attributed it to Brigit. 

Today, our lifestyles are less dependent on the timing of such things.  With the changing of the climate we are going through, it seems that the traditional time of celebrating Imbolc may need to change.  However, the spirit of the Brigid still has relevance in our modern lives.  We still have a need to honor wisdom, perfection, intelligence, creativity, poetic eloquence, healing, mystical knowledge and many of the other qualities the Brigid embodies.  Taking a moment this time a year to reflect on these qualities is one of the best ways to invite them into our lives.

Here is a poem by Lady Gregory, which was made into a song by Katy Taylor:


Poem to Brigit
It is what Brigit had a mind for
Lasting goodness that was not hidden
It is what Brigit had a mind for
Tending sheep and rising early
Hospitality toward good men
It is she keeps everyone
Who is in straits and in dangers
It is she puts down sicknesses
It is she quiets the voice of the waves
And the anger of the great sea
She is the queen of the south
She is the mother of the flocks
She is the Mary of the Gael
Happy Imbolc to everyone.  I wish that wisdom, healing and creativity finds a way through the dark to light your soul.

DoAn

Poem text: Lady Gregory from A Book of Saints and Wonders, c. 1972, Colin Smythe Ltd, UK—Irish stories, orig. pub. in 1906


Help in the creation of art, please consider donating! Just click on the link below:
Donate now!  
DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
 
 
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All artwork, photos and text © Copyright 2005-2012 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

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