Soothed Into Remembering Our Common Name

Soothed Into Remembering Our Common Name

"Soothed Into Remembering Our Common Name" - oil on cradled wood panel, 12 x 12 x .75.  Ready to hang.  Available here and at Artfinder.

"It seems that the ancient Medicine Men understood that listening to another's story somehow gives us the strength of example to carry on, as well as showing us aspects of ourselves we can't easily see. For listening to the stories of others - not to their precautions or personal commandments - is a kind of water that breaks the fever of our isolation. If we listen closely enough, we are soothed into remembering our common name."  -- Mark Nepo 

It's softly raining here in my studio in the trees...surrounded by gold and orange and green and red and falling water.    And I am thinking again about stories.

I've been trying to listen not to their precautions or personal commandments but to the stories of those around me.  The themes under the words, the stories they tell with words and actions.  Which helps me, in turn, see my own stories in a bright, clear light.

​I believe we all want to be seen, heard and understood.  We want our stories to matter.  

​For me, when I feel understood, it is indeed a soothing balm that helps me feel connected and no longer isolated.  The little gem in Nepo's words regarding precautions and commandments really has me contemplating, though.  Which of those am I delivering in lieu  of a vulnerable, authentic story? Hmmmmmmm.  As I listen, so will I learn.

A view from the studio window

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About the art: another piece emerging over top of a prior painting.  Keeping to a limited palette and using mostly rubber wedge and palette knife and fingers, trying to capture mood and emotion.  Resisting the urge to overly define her garment or the background, allowing the paint to move and suggest.