Thursday Art Salon

"Out of the Box" - mixed media on cradled hardboard, 18" x 24"

It has been a wild week in the studio, finishing projects for upcoming deadlines and getting ready to teach some groovy classes.  But in the midst of it all, this piece was determined to be born.  It isn't project specific, theme-based or commissioned.   It is independent, this one, calling my name early in the morning, day after day until it was complete.  Layers upon layers, some hidden, some peeking through.  But what does it mean?

I've been reading some books on the role of our thoughts in our health and happiness.  Even some information on the impact of our thoughts on our very DNA.  The science behind it all overwhelms me after a time, but I read on in hopes to glean just enough to be able to apply it in my own life.  And through this reading, I've gotten a sense of how many layered we are as people, both in our thoughts, our emotions, our physicality and our spirituality.  And it isn't simple or easy to understand how they all work (or don't work) together.  

At some point in our lives, the many compartments, or boxes, we use to store memories, experiences and knowledge  become so numerous it is hard to see what's at the bottom of the stack.  One theory is these untended boxes, say perhaps memories of childhood trauma, begin to cause disease in the body in order to get our attention - to get us to look underneath the stack.  By listening to our bodies and seeking the emotion connected with the illness, it is possible to give it the attention in needs, free it from the box and allow healing, which can theoretically become a catalyst for other healing as well.

I am no expert on these things, just a seeker with intense curiosity!  But something about this concept sits well with me.  And this piece of art, determined to get my attention, is quite happy to have emerged from the stack, been opened and allowed to express itself in the world.  

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