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The lighter side of doom

10/29/2018

8 Comments

 
Picture
​The Lighter Side of Doom" - acrylic on cradled birch wood, 12" x 24" x 2".  Ready to hang.  Available here and at Artfinder.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to...follow the muse.  The muse who wanted to play with shape-based abstracts and was inspired by the soft colors of Geoffrey Johnson paintings and also hoped to portray tension and evoke a gut response.  And somehow managed to infuse a bit of whimsy into something seemingly doom-laden and heavy.  Kind of like a cartoon abstract, if that is even a category.

But lordy my golly I smile at this piece even time I walk past it, and have already begun sketching its sister (or brother or distant aunt twice removed).  The muse is running amok and I am loathe to tame her.
As life would have it, I came across this article about a new book by Anne Lamott just as this piece was finished.  The book, Almost Everything - Notes on Hope​ grabbed my attention, along with this opening line from the article and her prelude:  "In general, it doesn’t feel like the light is making a lot of progress."

And that is kind of how the world feels this morning after a horrific shooting in a Pittsburgh synagog and bombs delivered through the mail last week.  Yet there is a glimmer...in the voices raised to comfort families of the fallen, in those speaking out against bigotry, hatred and violence.  There is a glimmer of light in people reaching out to each other.

Lamott says: "...we see that our beauty is being destroyed, crushed by greed and cruel stupidity. And we also see love and tender hearts carry the day. Fear, against all odds, leads to community, to bravery and right action, and these give us hope."


To love and tender hearts, dear reader. They are our hope and our heroes - the glimmer in the dark. On this Monday, let's look toward the light and bring it home.
8 Comments
Carol Edan link
10/29/2018 07:34:54 am

First glimpse I thought you were already unpacking your Christmas decorations... a little early!! Then of course I started reading. Thanks for the link, just love his work with the figures melting in the abstract backgrounds! Book sounds interesting, now investigating my new book, Using the Other Hand... not sure of the exact title.Seems that using the "other" hand can unleash feelings and emotions that make I see the world in a new perspective. Right now I see gibberish in my writing :(.
So sad the direction the US is taking! White supremacy for me = white trash! Harsh but there is truth in it! Scary!!!

Reply
jen
10/29/2018 07:45:13 am

This piece does seem to have a holiday wink in it, doesn't it? I love the idea of using the "other hand" - I will check out the book and also use my right hand! (I am a lefty)

What is happening here in the US is absolutely terrifying. And I agree with your harsh truth. We must come together and eradicate hatred!!!

Reply
Carol Edan
10/29/2018 04:09:35 pm

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Your-Other-Hand-Revised/dp/1564145581/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

jen
10/29/2018 05:33:13 pm

Perfect! It is now in my cart! Yay!

Reply
Dotty Seiter link
10/29/2018 08:28:08 am

The impossible balancing act in your painting, which is strong and true and possible at the same time, calls out to me—it is a call to action and a call to inner stillness.

Just placed a hold on AL's new book. Thanks for tipping me off to it.

Thanks also for the intro to GJ's captivating paintings.

Reply
jen
10/29/2018 10:02:29 am

Oooooh thank you, Dotty! The impossible balancing act - action and inner stillness both - exactly what recent events call for.

And GJ...whoa. I am captivated by the simplicity and bounty at once.

Reply
Carl Stoveland
10/29/2018 03:41:23 pm

Wow you even make a time bomb whimsical! I plan to look for that book. The pile of reading material queued up on my iPad is growing and growing.

Reply
jen
10/29/2018 05:34:20 pm

ha ha! Well, I have decided to embrace the whimsy when it appears. And the book! It is now on my list, too!

Reply



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Here's the blue wild, where
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(by poet Mary W. Cox)
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