This is spectacular, Duane. “You move through the world that breaks you and return to the silent space of working. You use the hurt as material and you turn it into something tender and honest and beautiful.” I think a lot about this…is it the maker’s instinct to do this? Is it something they fall into as a way to simply process experience? At the very least, not everyone has the awareness that this process is even possible…that connection and beauty rise out of the muck. No matter what, it reminds me of the gift that it is to be able to walk between the boundaries of beauty and brokenness. Thank you for sharing, sir.
Michael! You get it completely, and I’m not surprised at all! If i wasn’t convinced that you and I were cut from teh same cloth already I definitely am now! Thanks for this amazing comment! “Beauty rises out of the muck” - Yes! There is no other way. No mud, no lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh would say. I think it is within the maker's instincts to see this and do this naturally. It is not so much choice but necessity. It is a matter of survival. We don't know how to function within the world any other way. We are blessed to be able to hold gratitude and grief tandemly. Thanks again my friend!
Our inner world and its private joys of creation, ways to healing - in its alchemy turning base metals from the outside world into gold, is all the more precious because we have come into there from the world outside.
But travels into the outer world are necessary to seed the blossoms of the inner.
However - always advisable when crossing that border into the outer world to make sure that you have amulets from your inner world tucked into your pockets.
“amulets from your inner world tucked into your pockets.” - Oh my goodness Kay! This is such a wonderful addition to this line of thinking! Thank you for this! I really wish I had thought of that when I was writing this! the touchstone and talismans that keep us safe, held, and grounded!
the line between worlds … I now that place. I seem to linger there often. I love the idea of it becoming « a place of refuge ».
I agree with you, Duane! I think one of the roles of artists (any of them, painters writers dancers…) is to keep at the fringe of society. That’s what makes them able to offer their distanced view on the world.
Wow. The chair, the one with all the moons- loving all these and what they represent. I don't really have the right words to describe the vibe, but that's nothing new! Ha! Well done.
Aww Jill! Thank you! Some of these I was hesitant and unsure about, because they’re a little to the left of my normal, but I love that you love them! Thanks Bestie!
Thank you! I’m playing with some different structures. Trying to incorporate more of compositional looseness in ways. And I’m obsessed with stacking and layering neutrals, haha!
Such a beautiful description of making as ritual.
Thank you so much Cesca! I appreciate you!
This is spectacular, Duane. “You move through the world that breaks you and return to the silent space of working. You use the hurt as material and you turn it into something tender and honest and beautiful.” I think a lot about this…is it the maker’s instinct to do this? Is it something they fall into as a way to simply process experience? At the very least, not everyone has the awareness that this process is even possible…that connection and beauty rise out of the muck. No matter what, it reminds me of the gift that it is to be able to walk between the boundaries of beauty and brokenness. Thank you for sharing, sir.
Michael! You get it completely, and I’m not surprised at all! If i wasn’t convinced that you and I were cut from teh same cloth already I definitely am now! Thanks for this amazing comment! “Beauty rises out of the muck” - Yes! There is no other way. No mud, no lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh would say. I think it is within the maker's instincts to see this and do this naturally. It is not so much choice but necessity. It is a matter of survival. We don't know how to function within the world any other way. We are blessed to be able to hold gratitude and grief tandemly. Thanks again my friend!
I love the other world, “the world that restores everything stolen, in dividends.” I share what it brings to me, regardless of cost.
I feel the exact same way Paul! thanks so much for reading! I appreciate you my friend!
Love you, Duane—love your work, too!
Love you too Paul, with all of my everything!
Thank you for this, Duane.
Our inner world and its private joys of creation, ways to healing - in its alchemy turning base metals from the outside world into gold, is all the more precious because we have come into there from the world outside.
But travels into the outer world are necessary to seed the blossoms of the inner.
However - always advisable when crossing that border into the outer world to make sure that you have amulets from your inner world tucked into your pockets.
“amulets from your inner world tucked into your pockets.” - Oh my goodness Kay! This is such a wonderful addition to this line of thinking! Thank you for this! I really wish I had thought of that when I was writing this! the touchstone and talismans that keep us safe, held, and grounded!
Thank you Duane for writing a post so brilliant that the line just came to me!
It’s team work!
the line between worlds … I now that place. I seem to linger there often. I love the idea of it becoming « a place of refuge ».
I agree with you, Duane! I think one of the roles of artists (any of them, painters writers dancers…) is to keep at the fringe of society. That’s what makes them able to offer their distanced view on the world.
Yes! we are voluntary exiles. Perhaps, we are in the world but not of it, in a manner of speaking. The periphery can become a sanctuary.
Wow. The chair, the one with all the moons- loving all these and what they represent. I don't really have the right words to describe the vibe, but that's nothing new! Ha! Well done.
Aww Jill! Thank you! Some of these I was hesitant and unsure about, because they’re a little to the left of my normal, but I love that you love them! Thanks Bestie!
I agree. The choice of the photo with that vintage green.. and the work on the white scraps!!
Thank you! I’m playing with some different structures. Trying to incorporate more of compositional looseness in ways. And I’m obsessed with stacking and layering neutrals, haha!