"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places." -Roald Dahl Here are glimpses of moments this week where I found a beauty in ordinary moments that slowed me down or inspired me as I walked to get from one place to another. Moments at the museum + studio that moved me to silence, revealed new possibilities, challenged me to push beyond my own perceived limitations +/or settled me into a steady creative flow. Space + time to be just about the work is opening my craft up to me in new + invigorating ways. And, moments that filled me with delight + wonder. Thanks again for following my artistic sojourn in Paris.
You can read daily reflections, preview finished works from my Paris Collection (oil + cold wax paintings on arches paper), as well as glimpse my creative process + the space I studio out here in Paris HERE.
1 Comment
Sunday, August 12 began my month long artistic sojourn to Paris, France, as the Visiting Artist at The American Church in Paris. They have invited me to visit for 4-weeks to create works exploring the theme, "When I was a Stranger" + to immerse myself in the art culture + history of Paris. I will create one piece that will become apart of their permanent collection. The other small abstracts I will exhibit at the end of my time here + make available for purchase. It feels right to be back in the City of Light + home of some of the greatest art created. Paris is every inch as magical as I remember. There is a photo just waiting to be created on every storied corner. The pristine... the rugged... I'm drawn to it all, + have every intention of walking around as many corners I possibly can during my visit. Every Sunday I will share a pictorial travel journal of the previous week; sharing moments that caused me to be still, moved me to silence, I was able to see because I was walking +/or gave me life.
It was one amazing week! When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry For the first time, I joined the summer faculty of the Grunewald Guild to teach an 1-week course titled "Visual Poetry: Mixed Media + Encaustic." The course was a process-oriented class where for 5 days 9 participants + I explored the wonders of encaustic + allowed some of our favorite poets to rouse our creative flow. The Grunewald Guild is a special place. For over 30 years the Guild has made space for art, community + growth to happen. It was an honor to receive the invitation to join the staff + share in it's legacy-- which is is deep + wide. As a city girl who has grown accustomed to steady movement, it was a challenge to embrace a slower pace. It took a couple of days to settle into the rhythm + creative flow. I was determined to lean in though, + not lean out. By Tuesday evening, my heart began to grieve our Saturday departure. The Guild had made its way into my heart. I not only got my hand covered with warm wax + paper, but I also made my way to the Pottery Studio to throw on the potter's wheel for the first it in my life. I loved it! I loved the attention it required, physicality of the process, + the feeling of the clay between my hands. One of the major highlights of the experience is that I got to share it with my partner, Cleve. It was a privilege to receive the gift of Grunewald Guild with him + even savor some moments in the beautiful emerald city- Seattle. It was a week of steady exhales + long deep inhales. It was week of getting lost in the creative process + fully living into my gifts of teaching. It was also a week of rich connection that I look forward to experiencing again at the Guild + at other art tables I will teach at in the future. Click HERE to learn more about the history + work of the Grunewald Guild.
The Guild will provide a list of their Summer 2019 courses later this year. |
Author Lanecia A. Rouse Tinsley Categories
All
Archives
December 2018
|