Taking pause creatively, the Meditation Series..

MAKING CONNECTIONS…

With the summer coming to a close I have been looking back over the season reflecting on the creative pause I devised for myself . The process has me wondering, How do you fill your creative cup? What is your avenue to presence? What helps you to relax, restore, and recharge?

I got intentional and turned my nurturing nature inward.

This post shares the story of a project I challenged myself to take on in the summer of 2023. It turned out to be an interesting twist on my creative process and painting in particular, both processes that have always been my path to presence.

I don’t know about you in the summertime but I can be quick to answer the call of my garden and accept and extend invitations to gather with friends and family. I love my communities and I love to connect. While I have done a lot of nurturing for others this summer I devised a restorative game. The result is The Meditation Series, a large group of small works on paper. Read on to discover the game I played to fill my creative cup to overflowing.

Establishing a Challenge…

WARNING: Please be advised, this meditative project began without any intention beyond being present and engaging with materials on a surface. You too might be inspired to slow down and take a creative pause..

Marks and the making… getting intentional about being unintentional.

In the beginning…

 I began the summer by getting serious and asking myself a question. Where do my creative intentions lie?

Then I had to get intentional. Time management and focus are not the easiest tasks to navigate in Manitoba’s short and lovely summer but I did intend to get creative with a portable project I could easily access wherever the summer took me. At first I was a bit of a bag lady, packing up and schlepping my box of materials between my studio in the city and the bunkhouse at the cottage. My good intentions were not initially successful but after a break I eventually found my groove.

Plan, what plan?

Once I prioritized my creative intentions I allowed myself to engage with materials and get to work at play. I played with media on paper without a specific outcome in mind, casually devising all sorts of playful parameters for my daily dose of creativity.

Taking Action…

Initially I taped large sheets of watercolour paper to the wall and added gestural marks in paint to get the process started. The following day I divided those sheets into uniform 6” x 9” sections that fit nicely into a padded grocery bag. It was that change in size and orientation that began my game with contrasts,.

Process, is a process…

I allowed myself to get quiet with materials at hand. I paused with the soft and delicate marks made with pencil crayon, I dabbled with stencils, I masked areas off with tape and painted swarths over multiple surfaces, I used a restricted colour palette, I used every crayon in the box. Each day was different but each day I was intentional about engaging with materials on a surface. Some days I added a layer to everysingle piece in the series while on other days I worked on a smaller group until I ran out of energy or time. Some studio or bunk house visits were peaceful and restorative, some felt more successful until I returned to them on another day to think of them as more of a hot mess.

Each day I checked my judgement at the door.

Success is a relative term. The project was enlightening, though, and it was also very challenging. I had to resist my own judgement and sometimes just get out of my own way. I tried hard to allow each piece to become what it was meant to be and at the end of the summer I am excited to share all the pieces of the creative puzzle I have been tripping over all summer.

Seeing the full series matted up and named feels surprisingly good. In fact the process surprised me. Looking at the matted compositions I am reminded of the journey they went through to get to this point. Some of the most challenging pieces resolved into strong statements and though I may have lost the subtleties I admired in some of the early layers, each stage contributed to the surface of the final product. In life as iin art, nothing exists in isolation.

That realisation reminded of the wise words of a long ago soccer coach who addressed a young team of eager young girls with the unforgettable line,

“Everyone reveals their gifts when they are ready”

The pieces in this body of work revealed their gifts when they were ready. Given time, and an opportunity to play we can all develop in our individual ways. The layered marks of the finished surfaces have contributed to the narrative. They are a record of presence, and of being present in a daily practice of creative mediation.

I didnt always have the “Right” studio equipment but this little stand in palette felt just right for my mediative project while in the bunkhouse.

My support staff…

While at the cottage I worked amidst the action taking place within view of the bunkie. The antics of Peter the rabit, who we suspect originated in Teletubby land, were entertaining. He watched me warily at first with his trained side eye but eventually got so used to my presence that he would casually turn his back to me and sprawl out on the grass where I was comfortably ignored.

The bunkhouse. Peter Rabbit’s lawn out front. The bird bath is nestled in the front of this flower bed hidden by the rambunctious susan’s.

Robins and goldfinch skinny dipped in the birdbath as the sun warmed their pond and neighbours and hummingbirds popped by to say “Hi”. I worked hard at being aware of all the activity going on around me but tried equally hard to not to be distracted by it. Some days this was easier than others.

“It took some time to allow myself this luxury, to work intentionally, yet, without intention.”

“Your best work is always the work you do for yourself”, my husband reminded me as I began this series of smalls on paper. They were not intended to become a public offering but their eager personalities have them jostling with each other to get out of their box to meet new friends.

Meditation Series in progress, making marks and living life in the details.

Getting in the groove. What lights you up?

When I create an opportunity to get to work I light myself some incence, tune into a podcast or listen to some instrumental music. Piano inspires me to take a deep breath and get down to business and I am quickly drawn into the process of problem solving in colour. Engaged with materials where time can literally fly by is where I like to be.

Work at play took on a meditative feeling this summer and became the name of the series. A meditative practice goes along with the ebbs and flows of our lives. Sometimes it’s easy and helps us to feel naturally expansive while at other times I can end feeling small and elemental and very connected to my woodland garden, Peter the rabbit and my hummingbird friends. At other times it can be difficult to leave the daily distractions behind. And it is all perfectly Ok. We are all human after all, navigating our human journey as best we can.

Each feeling, and day, is equally valid.

One decision leads to another…

Moving forward in any endeavour is about making choices, one choice at a time. I enjoyed living in layers, holding one chalk pastel or pencil crayon at a time in my hand while I worked.

Incremental marks.

A batch of trimmings from a spiral bound notebook became stencils that provided for quiet , introverted moments with pencil crayon. These quiet moments matched the scale of these paintings. In those moments I changed colours as I changed surfaces or when a lead broke or wore down. I was aware of compositional placements without intentionally striving to create a representational composition.
Later these stencils were used with acrylic paint and some of them broke off and became collaged details.

“The process is what my soul craved.”

A day in the studio with acrylic paint on the palette.

Beginning in batches and adding to the collection as I felt I needed to meant two large sheets of watercolour paper turned to three and four and before I knew it I had many pieces on the go. The change in scale was significant when compared to the 4 foot panels i had worked on through the spring. This change required a change in location, painting at a table instead of standing at the paint wall and was major adjustment for my practice and focus.

“In life and in Art, our only constant is change.”

As I got intentional about the project I embraced the idea of change. Reframing change as evolution might help you as it did me. I try to give myself permission to accept where a compositions takes me and to be accepting of the realization that there is more work to be done in being present when they take me down a new and unexpected path.

Words are important to me. Text became a large part of this process.

The power of words…

Words were embedded into the fabric of these surfaces and became part of the story of this project. The text carries my meditative notes with the finished products. ”On a different channel”, is what I like to call it, when the universe fosters a silent conversation that I transcribe with media on a surface.
These “notes” were added across pieces without a concern or intention for legibility .
Text was added in pencil crayon, painted in washy liquid acrylic and finally made with paint pens when multi layered surfaces would no longer receive the subtlety of pencil crayon. The narrative eventually reduced to be simply, a motif, and a reminder of the many layers that make up the individual and our individual creative processes.

What’s in a name?

Finding the words to distinguish the sounds in the choir was a process in itself. Naming a series is one thing, that’s a simple descriptor of an intention. Labelling the players in all the subsets was a bit more of an effort that evolved out of lists, conversations and an afternoon or two spent with the thesaurus and the world of similies. After naming came photography and then the file conversions and the inevitable tech hurdles before matting and packaging completed the project. All in a days work, but there were many of those days.

“All good things must come to an end.”

Where some of the action took place…

Beyond the bunkhouse the summer view is always an inspiration. The Village of Dunnottar’s iconic swimming pier out front at Ponemah is shown here. Of course you’ll find it at the end of a rainbow.

Prairie skies are in a constant state of flux at the edge of Lake Winnipeg.

Being present in my Painting Practice…

Seeking presence and striving to be present in the moment are the work of our age. A quick little meditation is a lovely way to begin a painting day, or any day for that matter. If you are new new to this blogpost you might like to check out some of the backstories of art and the making on my podcast “Wisdom at the Crossroads”. Each episode ends with a short meditation designed to help us all to be present, wherever we are. Head to the podcast page or follow the prompt below to find out a little more of my personal rituals.

Final marks

Endings and beginnings…

There was a begining but not an intended end date to this project but for me there appears to be a series of seasons or chapters that have become part of my art practice. This series flowed with the summer so it is fitting that it is complete in time for the WAVE Artists Studio Tour on Septrember Long Weekend where they will be making their public debut.

Listening while I work…

During the process I spent some lovely time lakeside where I had a chance to get quiet and tune in to tune out.

I listened in to the Wonderland Episode of my Podcast. You can listen in below or find “Wisdom at the Crossroads” on your preferred platform. “Wonderland” the painting will be on exhibit at our family cottage during the September ‘23 WAVE Tour.

Experience the Meditation Series…

When the WAVE Interlake Artists Studio Tour rolls I hope you’ll join us in the bunkhouse to experiance the little space where much of the magic happened.

September 2 and 3 2023, 10 am- 6pm.

Have you met my guest?

As a special bonus in 2023, CJ Tennant Jewellery will be joining us in Ponemah for double the colour fun. CJ is bringing her tickle trunk of gemstones for us all to play with. She’ll be set up in the entry of our cottage which she has lovingly renames “The Lobby”. We’ll look forward to seeing you as The WAVE tour rolls.

“WONDERLAND”, 48” x 48” will be joining us in Ponemah during The WAVE. She is the star of the podcast above.

Finally, a thank you..

Thank you, for reading to the end of this blog post. I wish I had a sticker or a gold star for you. If you have questions or comments please feel free to drop me a line or find me on Instagram between posts.

To keep in touch…

Sign up for my newsletter. It’s free, and a reliable way to stay connected. (I’m talking about you Instagram algorithm!) What to expect when you sign up for my news? I like colour and I like words so there will be lots of that. I’m also my own boss. I try to produce a monthly note. Sometimes the studio holds me hostage so my newsletters will be as little as seasonally and occasionally biweekly. There is absolutely no chance of me inundating your inbox.

Next steps…

Where can you go from here? You can go back to the Gallery Page to view available art work on this site or head to The Pulse Gallery Winnipeg to see what paintings of mine they currently have on display.

And until the next time we meet up here or during The WAVE, take good care, be you, and be creative, however that looks for you.

All best, Amanda