... Hanging Art In A Gallery & Preparing To Lead A Workshop...

The title of this post sums up my meandering activities and thought process throughout the last week.... First off, I had about ten paintings hung at the Skywriter Art & T-Shirt Gallery in downtown Glen Ellyn, IL a little over a week ago. This gallery is such a wonderful and very cool place to hang out... you can order any of the artworks' images to be printed on a t-shirt of your choice! While I was filling out some paper work the day of hanging my art, a journalist from a local newspaper stopped by and she soon fell in love with the gallery... long story short, there will be an article published next weekend featuring the gallery and perhaps some of my photos will be included...

Another opportunity that presented itself to me is being asked to lead an 'Intuitive Art Making Workshop' this upcoming Monday, December 28, from 4:30-7:30 in Aurora, IL to a group of women.... I very much look forward to this wonderful opportunity and to be of any assistance in embracing one's creative self-expression in daily life on regular basis.... that's my ultimate hope and outcome to be able to teach and encourage to follow this, often stifled and forgotten, voice of inner richness within regardless what life may throw our way. I sincerely believe that 'the stuff' of our lives is, what C.G. Jung called a prima materia - what we have to work with on our path of personal individuation. In other words, the events of our day-to-day life with its many facets are nothing more than a spiritual canvas on which we can paint, or make, our own mark.... this is how we integrate both joyous and painful experiences into a greater whole, that's how we 'mine' the depth of our Soul and how we are able to find the treasures by recognizing their true value. Perhaps our creative self-expression could be likened to a mirroring process that's in~ward~bound, instead of asking someone else about a purpose of a particular event or relationship in our lives, we could consciously dialog with this greater Intelligence, Wisdom, Mystery within us that holds all the answers, should we only bother to pose a question....

One bit of clarification is in order at this point.... when we engage this dialogue~ing process, which is completely non~linear and rather non~rational in its very essence, we enter a scary and unknown territory which the loud and threatening voice of the ever~bullying ego will try to divert us from pursuing at all cost. As the 'inner scenery' changes from a logical, matter-of-fact rationalizations, into symbolic imagery through the deepening of our process, be it through writing, painting, collaging, or any other expressive channel of choice, we can also observe a subtle nurturing that occurs as it gently begins to guide us onward. The funny think is that we have no words, no logical explanation to describe what All of it means.... but this peaceful, nurturing quality of the process gives us a hint of safety and sustenance that will lessen the anxiety and will help us to risk taking one more step..... and then one more....

It may take some time of practice on our part before we will begin to trust the process and value the insights that are being offered to us along the way while in the meanTime we enjoy the process of creation and await the mystery to reveal itself with even more abandon. I often feel like a Private Soul Investigator as I'm following, often deeply hidden, clues that my artwork patiently mirrors back to me. And there are times when it may take months or even years before I'm able to finally accept that which had been wanting to be revealed to me since the very beginning...

I find myself quiet puzzled as I'm even writing these words because how can we actually attempt to teach ~ show&tell ~ another human being the deep, enriching and enchanting musings that our inner Self awaits to bless us with the moment we get still and willing to listen? Perhaps that's where my deep seated trust, or faith takes over the doubting inner crowd of voices.... I try to stay in the present moment while remembering to only do my job, which is to guide one's attention inwards and perhaps share few 'snapshots' from my own inner voyages, just enough to spark one's curiosity ~ which, oftentimes, turns out to be a true 'creative courage starter'... all I can really do is to stand back in awe as I witness the mystery of creativity unfolding right in front of my very eyes....

On a side note that's related to doing a workshop, I'm in the process of planning an evening of art & history with a local business owner in which I'll be teaching some basics of hand coloring B&W photos depicting historic landmarks of Glen Ellyn, IL. Should you be interested in exploring this simple and fun technique I highly recommend a wonderful book that talks about coloring photographs by using color pencils, oil and acrylics paints in a simple and cretivity~sparking manner: Hand Coloring Black & White Photography: An Introduction and Step-by-Step Guide by Laurie Klein.

Our target audience for this event will be older children who will first have an opportunity to hear a local historian talk about few landmarks before we proceed to color B&W photos depicting the said sites.... I'll keep you posted once the dates are confirmed...

And finally, two snapshots of my newly developing painting....

... carving out letters from a wet High Solid Gel & acrlic paints mixture by revealing the underlying Absorbent Ground background layers...