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Poetic Mapping: Walking Into Art 
I was wondering about art-making, the how to, the medium, about where I am the other day. I mentioned in an email that I found painting the landscape inadequate, that it puts something between me and what I’m experiencing. Researched landart and there’s much there I don’t resonate with. Forgive me I can’t quote the artist right now, it’s in the computer here somewhere, but what he did was left a piece of (strong) paper in a stream for a few days and let happen what will. Amazing! I’ll find it and email the link. And then there’s eco-printing, introduced by you. I like the idea of using elements of the nature I am in the process. Went on a walk the other day, found a spot to sit and just ‘doodled’. A young tree was growing so I shaped it’s branches in circles, around the trunk of the tree and tied it with grass. I’ll go back later to see if it holds. Nature itself though does the most amazing things. In the same spot, a thin root of a tree went right around a stone. The will to life.
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Isn’t it fascinating that I am thinking too of ‘where I am’ with this post? And it’s because it’s my 600th WordPress blog. Just where am I? What ‘progress’ have I made at the end of all these words and images? If I compare my ‘output’ with that of other artists, it is very little, apparently. But one has to be very careful of apparencies, for there are many kinds of artists and there is much ‘art’ out there that is not engaging with existential questions like ‘where am I?’ It is much easier to produce art that represents in some way, only the surface of things. ‘Only’ sounds patronising, I don’t mean that, because there is great beauty in Nature that is worthy of mirroring back. Like you, I found painting ‘the landscape’ inadequate. Representing its deeper significances – its correspondences with the human condition, as an example – has required a broad exploration of ‘landscape’ (and I can include researching into Incan ceremonial daggers in this!) and this exploration has been and is, my spiritual journey (and I’m going to add ‘home’ at the end of that). Eco printing is removing that barrier between me and nature and me and MYSELF that brush painting placed there (just like you). Partly because of course, I have to go into nature to collect the materials. There is also the process itself, which requires bringing the plant matter together with the four elements, earth, air, fire, water to produce the print. And the landscape, if addressed, does speak back. Your young tree spoke to you and you reacted. I feel that it is not so much what you did, but that you heard its voice. Oh I have to stop here, but thank you for being there on my 600th anniversary! I look forward to getting together again on my 1000th, just to see where we are! I am fascinated about the artist who put paper in a stream. I would love the link, if you can find it.
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Heavens bless you. I’ve been agonising about my lack of output as well, felt a failure but in fact I have been thinking and didn’t realise it, or forgot that that is what an artist is about – thinking while pottering around doing other things. In this post you mentioned encaustic – do you use beeswax? Because regarding the guy that left the paper out for a few days, I wondered how ‘fixed’ the image to the page, I remember the article didn’t say. Happy 600th! And sure the 1000th will be around soon enough! I’m going to look him up right now.
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Oops! Thought Firefox had dumped the below in a crash but didn’t: I realised that about my output some time ago. So much has to go in first! We are ‘working’ all the time, even in sleep. Much of our ‘output’ is invisible; what is visible is the tip of the iceberg. The lotus is a good comparison too. It grows in fertile mud; it needs the workings in the mud to produce the flower. As the man said, “An artist can never fail, it is a success just to be one.” What we do is destroy ourselves by comparing the number of our flowers with the number of flowers someone else produces. And we take it into ourselves when someone (who is likely not producing ANY flowers) points out our ‘failure’ to ‘put out’. (I have just lost a ‘friend’ who did this to me. And it’s happened many times.) I wish I had more layers of skin! The art world is largely a business, anyway. Speech over. I think you’re brilliant and far ahead of me, if that means anything to you. 🙂
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Aw, can’t we be strolling along ignoring all the deadlines at a pace that implies no comparison or competition?
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I think we do anyway, since we cannot go faster than our level of consciousness at any particular time; but we can be impeded in this by our (I mean ‘my’ of course) inability to block out negativity. It is all my fault; I understand that, but I spent a day in bed yesterday, ‘wounded’ by a betrayal. Ah, well. Lots of tea and chocolate …
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It seemed to have been a bad day for a few people. I do that too – go to bed with a book and tea and whatever will get me through.
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Yes. 🙂
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http://www.tylicki.com/ … let me know that you think.
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I love these. Ab Fab! I will be having a go at this. I like the quote at the top of the artist’s web site: “Art happens all the time, everywhere. All we have to do is to keep our minds open.” I was replying to your previous comment (which disappeared when Firefox crashed on me) starting out with, “Artists work all the time, …” which is saying the same thing.
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Btw: I loved the satire of the chicken work.
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I haven’t the time to read the whole article about it now but will do. I’m a bit concerned about the idea of using the chickens as ‘objects’ to make a point. There was an horrendous exhibition a couple of years back involving a dog in an art gallery.
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Really organic. I find these very soothing.
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Thanks, Susan. We could all do with a bit of ‘soothing’ I think, so glad these little experiments have sent some across the pond to you. 🙂
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