WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

In this episode we chat about the painting “with Heart and Soul” and the idea of ritual in the work of art. We find the intention of an action is key and nobody is sitting around eating cake waiting to be inspired.
“Wonderland” is the main topic of todays chat. It is part of a recent batch of paintings trending large on 4 foot panels in my tiny studio space. This diptych takes us on a journey through process, like Alice’s, but without the use of hallucinogens.

Music as muse helps to silence life’s noise and transport us to a crossroads where we are not lost but found, fully present. I always paint with a music in the background. Join in to discover some side notes on the evolving soundtrack that plays in my studio practice. You might learn which David, Joni, Jack, John and Richard currently serenade this soul practitioner at the studio.

The meditation is 10 minutes long today. It begins at 8:41 in the recording. Process and practice are at the core of this invitation that allows a glimpse into a very personal and formerly private meditative writing ritual.
Connecting to the wisdom we all have access to is the end goal here. I hope you will listen in to rest your heart in the details of your own story.

WONDERLAND: HEART/ SOUL on the paint wall at the studio. Acrylic on panel, Each panel 48” x 48”, 2022
This is not the final version as I do remember adding some late marks while the pair hung on the outside of our cottage during the WAVE Interlake Artists Studio Tour in June of 2022. There’s always just one more thing to add that will either make a composition sing or kill it. I’m happy to report is continues to sing.

Thanks for stopping in to check out this weeks episode featuring WONDERLAND.

Today’s theme seems to be RITUAL. When I looked up the definition of Ritual I found the intention of the action is Key. Most activities are considered ordinary unless the action has an air of seriousness about it that makes it somehow sacred.

Ritual can also be described as an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set manner, or sometimes as a habit, a pattern or a practice.

When I think of my studio art practice I know I follow prescribed patterns of behaviour as I engage with materials in process. My actions could be called patterns when I reach for a favourite colour or tool or purchase a particular brush or brand of paint because I like the way it feels. I think we could all probably find ways that we have each embedded subtle and not so subtle rituals into our everyday lives.

WONDERLAND in the very early stages. I love the energy of the beginning stages when the action is rapid fire. My intention is always to cover the surface, to play and hold no attachment to any outcome. This is the stage where the composition starts to flesh out and lead the way forward.

Over the course of the last 20 years or so I would say I have definitely had plenty of time to practice, to engage, to explore and to create. I don’t know if that makes my work ritualistic or not but it definitely feels more elevated than an ordinary personal activity of mine. Plus I love what I do. Does that count?

In recent work this past year I have noticed a tendency to paint large. 4 foot panels have regularly bloomed on my paint wall. Perhaps it is the season for large squares to appear solo or to join together into pairs to create diptychs? The process of creating them gets both my mind and body moving. I tried to apply my usual process to the pages of a sketch book this past July. I wanted to be flexible and portable over the summer. It was a challenge and an activity that was quickly abandoned. I have many sketchbooks on the sidelines waiting for me to adapt to their size and media but so far I think it is something about the scale that stifles me.

How about you? Do you have routines you have attempted to alter? Hopefully you had more success than I did.

WONDERLAND Ultra Detail. I love the energy of the brushstroke. Sometimes i look reflectively at my paintings and think i should add or change something but then i gather my senses and realize each painting is a record of a moment and the decision i made at that point in time should remain.

Recently back at the studio after a break I have been painting again and am working on smaller panels in groups of 18” x 24” and 20” x 36’s. These sizes are available most importantly which is key at the tail end of a pandemic when supply chains have been problematic. They are smaller than the 4 footers, I can manage to schlepp them easily in and out of my car but they are also large enough that when gathered together into pairs and trios I am afforded the freedom of movement not found within the warping pages of a sketch book. It has definitely been fun getting back to work.

In this episode I want to share one of those 4 foot pairs that have become a big part of my practice. The diptych is called “WONDERLAND: HEART/SOUL”, and I completed it at the end of December 2021. It’s one of my favourite recent works and I am seriously searching for a spot at home to install it. I called it Wonderland with the help of friends on social media who thought the imagery was like falling into a different world, just like Alice’s. I loved that sentiment but you should know there were no psychadelics involved.

The act of painting and the creative decisions I make in the process do transport me into a different world as I work. The actions that created this painting, “Wonderland”, really are the result of “an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a prescribed or set manner”. Painting begins with routine for many artists, for me it is metaphoric music to my ears. It is also a regular weekday process for me and mostly it is undertaken to a soundtrack.

During covid I discovered podcasts so listening to a faux colleague while I worked become a thing. As a “Soul Practitioner” I am low on the scale of workplace interactions so I have found that helpful but music is still my go to studio companion. In the early days I was weirdly addicted to David Bowie. Any Bowie fans out there?

David serenaded me into the night when I worked in my downstairs sewing room as our young girls slept. At the studio on my CD player, yes I was old school, and may still be? I rotated through periods of John Mayor, Jack Johnson and Joni Mitchel among others. I have named many paintings after song lyrics as well as a trio called “Gardening with David and Joni” from way back that refers to the artists I listened to as I painted. Bryan Ferry… Bryan Ferry in his Roxy Music stage brought instrumental soundtracks into favour not to mention Avalon, hmmmm….

Here I am at the studio laying down first marks. This is a screen shot of a short video of my process but in this blog I was limited by my tech skills and couldn’t figure out how to add a video. If you know let me know.

Inspiration is everywhere and sometimes I come across it in the most unusual spaces. Like on one long ago visit to Australia to see family we found ourselves at the Curumbin Markets on the North coast. As visitors we followed our experienced family on this holiday ritual and maneuvered a prescribed path in a set manner that began with turning right at the entry. I tend to get distracted, surprise surprise. Tuning out was one of my super powers after years of kids in sport, constant volleyball whistles at National tournaments and hours in the car with excited teenaged teammates or duelling sisters spouting “She’s looking through my window” from the backseat. And no, I am not making this up.

I can also be pretty quickly tuned in when my imagination is engaged. Silencing the noise around me in fact I think is part of my natural creative process that settles around me as I gather focus and come into flow. Our travels through the market that day brought us to the most incredible calamari vendor who cooked very simply on a single burner. Oh my goodness it was sensational. While scarfing down the calamari at the market I remember hearing delicate piano music in the distance and I found myself drawn like the pied piper towards the notes aloft in the air.

I met Richard Goldsworthy there and bought one of every CD he had on offer. His creative output became the backdrop to mine once I returned to my Winnipeg studio. I played only his Cd’s, on repeat, for literally years, eventually wearing them out until there was one last soldier serenading me. On one adventurous day I thought I would try to switch things up but when I replaced the Richard Goldsworthy CD with something else the CD played would not work at all. I returned the Richard Goldsworthy CD and it magically played?? Even my ancient CD player was reluctant to let that soothing serenade go. You will be pleased to know I have updated myself and downloaded all of his CD’s onto my iPhone. (Look at me moving into the 21st century with no CD player required)

What’s your favourite soundtrack? I’d love to know.

You know I love to view life in the details. This little vignette from WONDERLAND shows that less can definitely be more. This is the view I see while working at an arms length from a surface. We need to take a few steps back in real life to let the perspective settle and allow for the eye to fill in some of the details.

Music is part of many rituals and ceremonies. In my studio familiar sounds resonate and set the tone for the creative day to follow. Time can stand still and I find myself lost in the process. Lost is maybe too harsh a word as really I find myself at the paint wall hyper focused and fully present, less lost I guess and more found at the crossroads where action and presence meet. I guess I am one of the lucky ones who gets to work and play in a literal wonderland.

At the studio this week my time has been disrupted by an absence, unexpected travel takes us out of familiar routines and wakes us up to the landscape around us in new ways. You've probably gone to new places and found yourself focused on unfamiliar details .or inspired by something you saw or experienced. I think I am drawn to see the world in its interesting details and then to transcribe some of that into various aspects of my art process from there. Lately though I have found my computer is joining me in my space as I am focused on writing and contemplating what is next for my paint wall.

Wonderland has taken up temporary residence in my husbands office.( i.e he is storing it for me on his lovely large
neutral wall. My work benefits from the ability to view it from a distance as well as up close. As you can see from the details each viewpoint is very different. This detail has become the newest addition to the MANDART GREETING CARD BOX.

Well, that’s the end of todays backstory. Thanks for tuning in to this episode. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine by listening in to the podcast, or catching up through this blog. If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review. You can listen to the full episode anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week’s meditation begins at in the recording. I hope you’ll take a listen…and until next time, stay well.

Amanda

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