"Inviting White: Cottage Reflection"
WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.
Thanks for joining me here on the blog. This episode is about embracing the season.
A Canadian winter is a lot of things and white is definitely one of them. In a world of white we dive into the magic of the landscape on a day where boundaries merged with atmospheric change to insulate the view. The view viewed through a window to wind sculpted snow banks and variations on a white theme from the warm side of the glass became the inspiration for a reflective pause.
Easy does it is definitely the theme of our self care practice this time around. I hope it provides a little respite for a few minutes in a world where our only constant is change.
Listen in on the recording to take a few restorative moments for yourself.
We’ll get reflective as our vision narrows yet somehow simultaneously expands.
1
This episode is about embracing the season and Inviting the light
I was at the studio when I sat down to prepare this episode.
Where I live we were in the midst of winters white.
Some might think it strange that my art work doesn’t really feature white considering I am surrounded by so much of it for a large part of the year. Believe me I am very familiar with White in the landscape.
I may even have been known to complain about the cold on occasion but the winter does have some positives. It allows space for some prime work time for me. The winter is a time of year when I’m not distracted by the garden and outdoor activities.
Our family has always tried to embrace the season whatever the weather but I will admit that sometimes even walking outdoors can get a bit complicated on the prairies, if it’s available at all. I wasn’t born with the balance gene that is bred into Canadians and I can get tripped up by the season. Ice isn’t my favourite so instead I find I am drawn indoors where I get to cocoon a little in my bright and sunny studio that offers a cosy contrast to whatever the weather can dish up outside.
2
I’ve been a morning swimmer forever
I get my physical exercise on the yoga mat before my swim in the pond at the “Y” on weekdays
Winter can be winter on the other side of the glass walls at the y too but there is something really satisfying about driving to the Y in the early morning through brutal cold on icy roads before diving into the deep end of an indoor swimming pool, where the air is humid and friendly faces are all around
In the pond as we regulars call the pool at the YMCA I can be in my own lane, undisturbed, with the rhythm of the stroke and the muffled sounds of trailing bubbles as my morning soundtrack.
Just like the my morning swim that takes me to a different zone, The action of painting can be like that too. The process takes me to a place where the world quiets and I am fully present in the process
Engaging with a surface at the studio is an active and colourful antidote to a long Canadian winter where the white of the winter also creates a neutral backdrop and allows me to focus,
I am grateful for the time I get to take action on All the ideas I have banked through the summer when I’m busy in my garden or on my faithful lake bike or waking a beach or trail,
3
White appears in my painted as under layers but not usually as a feature in the surface. Instead my paintings are generally known for their colourful presence. Lately though, I am trying new things and winters white may become more of a player on the surface?
New work seems to be incorporating more contrast and I’m also adding softer tinted layers with transparent gesso to encourage visual space in what can often be a busy surface
These decisions for me as a painter are personal decisions that are leading me to try new things but whether you are a painter or not the choices we make each day however small can change the path we take and
as a result, lead us in new and undiscovered directions.
4
Many would call that change which technically it is, but right now I like to think of it as growth
Taking chances, being playful and experimenting with small additions to my creative tool box
I have no expectations for these new works but I am enjoying the process of being present as I work on them and i am looking forward to seeing where these new choices will take me
I’ll keep you posted as these new projects develop and resolve
5
Thinking about meditation and the ability the practice has to quiet our minds and take us to the places our soul yearns to explore, got me thinking…
The meditation in this episode was inspired by an experience in real time. It was a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a Canadian winter at our cottage which sits alongside lake Winnipeg on the prairies
As I watched the winter on the other side of the glass a narrative developed
So, For this practice on the podcast I invite you into the story of my space and thoughts as they evolved
The softness of the winter light coupled with imagination invited the noise and speed of the world on the other side of the glass to soften and slow and that’s what I hope this recollection will do for us all Allow us a moment of respite from the busy lives we have chosen, to pause, to rest and reflect
The meditation begins in the recording with an invitation to take a few restorative breaths to alert your system this time is for you as we step into this reflective moment together. Simply press the arrow in the embedded player above as we pause to settle in for a few minutes of self care.
we invite personal expansion within this enlightening resonance
6
No two moments are alike at the lake and the one I am about to describe was like none I had experienced before
In that moment the view was comprised of a marshmallow moonscape where shadows were painted mauve and drifted across the wind sculpted snow. Light snow dripped in constant crystal waves that fell across the yard in sheets ,obscuring boundaries. Even the snowmobilers had abandoned their trails across the frozen lake in the enveloping quiet.
Imagining white…
What is your experience of a peaceful landscape? What does your imagination conjure for you when you imagine white?
You might imagine this white as a sheer white curtain that drapes softly across your view or a translucent sheet that fluffs and flows and floats down to rest upon the landscape like a translucent bedsheet cast across a soon to be made bed.
That Saturday morning felt kind of magical as I looked out across sculpted snowdrifts and falling snow. I paused and waited, paid intimate attention to the atmospheric changes that took place before me, became a witness to the creation of a tonal retreat where less felt like it was absolutely, spiritually more.
As the horizon blurred I found my gaze resting in the infinite absence of colour before me.
“I paused, my vision narrowed yet at the same time somehow expanded.” It was as though all barriers dissolved and I saw only the luminous glow of the peaceful white light before me. The magical lightness of the light around me become the light within. I was no longer at home where the horizon levelled my gaze, I was, simply home.
7
The following quote evolved out of my own written, meditative practice. It resonates for me as I hope it will for you too and feels like an appropriate way to end our time here together.
“All is available In love And in Light In love, We are the light“
I hope you have enjoyed a lovely light filled pause and that the images and notes here on the blog are helpful. If you are finding something that resonates for you on the podcast I hope you will consider inviting a friend to join in to your favourite episodes. Every download or review helps this podcast to grow. I wish you peace and ease and hope you will take opportunities to pause and be totally you, often
Until we meet again.
Amanda
White has not been a major player in my work but this whispy sky is from a small painting called “Pink at Ponemah”. The brushstroke tempered the colour in the sky just like the falling snow did in the reflective story I share in the recording on this episode. “Pink at Ponemah” was featured in episode #9 in case you would like to go back and hear her story..
This episode is about embracing the season and inviting the light…
I was at the studio as I sat down to prepare this episode. Where I live we were in the midst of winters white.
Some might think it strange that my art work doesn’t really feature white considering I am surrounded by so much of it for such a big part of the year. I may even have been known to complain about the cold on occasion but the winter does have some positives. Most importantly it allows me space for some prime time to work at the studio. In the winter I’m not distracted by the garden and outdoor activities.
Our family has always tried to embrace the season whatever the weather but I will admit, sometimes even walking outdoors can get a bit complicated on the prairies, if it’s available at all, particularly for someone like me who was not born with the innate sense of winter balance my children have inherited.
While my fam loves to skate and ski i prefer to cocoon a little in my bright and sunny studio that offers a cosy contrast to whatever the weather can dish up outside.
This detail is from “Prairie Girl” the very first painting I discussed on the podcast in episode #1. White in this painting was being used to erase what I thought needed a new beginning. That act was a reminder that small changes can leave a lasting impact. In this case, the white tempered the elements that were bothering me. I am pleased to tell you I also learned to leave well enough alone. lol
Being who we are…
I’ve been a morning swimmer forever. Water is my elemental home. I get my physical exercise on the yoga mat before my swim in the pond at the YMCA on most weekday mornings.
Winter can be winter on the other side of the glass walls at the “Y” too but there is something really satisfying about driving to the “Y” in the early morning through brutal cold on icy roads and then diving into the deep end of an indoor swimming pool, where the air is humid and friendly faces are all around.
In the pond as we regulars call the pool at the YMCA I can be in my own lane, undisturbed, with the rhythm of the stroke and the muffled sounds of trailing bubbles as my morning soundtrack. It is wonderful thinking time.
Just like the my morning swim that takes me to a different zone, The action of painting can be like that too. The process takes me to a place where the world quiets and I am fully present in the process.
Engaging with a surface at the studio is an active and colourful antidote to a long Canadian winter where the white of the winter also creates a neutral backdrop and allows me to focus,
I am grateful for the time I get to take action on all the ideas I have banked through the summer when I’m busy in my garden or on my faithful lake bike or waking a beach or trail,
“Mojito” was one of 4 paintings on paper, 22 1/2” x 30”, that featured snow. White wasn’t so much a feature but more of a suggestion inferred by shape. Mojito and others in that colourful winter series can be found on the podcast in episode #12, “Cocktail Hour” if you want to hear a little more about them.
At the studio…
White appears in my paintings as under layers but not usually as a feature in the surface. Instead my paintings are generally known for their colourful presence. Never one to say never, lately I have been trying new things and winters white may become more of a player on the surface?
New work seems to be incorporating more contrast and I’m also adding softer tinted layers with transparent gesso to encourage visual space in what can often be a busy surface.
These decisions for me as a painter are personal decisions that are leading me to try new things but whether you are a painter or not the choices we make each day however small can change the path we take and
as a result, lead us in new and undiscovered directions.
White gesso is where all of my paintings begin. The gesso is the first layer that forms a barrier between the porous substrate which can be paper, canvas or birch panel. In this case it was a small wood panel.
“Change is our only constant”
Many would call those painterly choice4s a change, which technically it is, but right now I like to think of it as growth. I am taking chances, being playful and experimenting with small additions to my creative tool box.
I have no expectations for these new works but I am enjoying the process of being present as I work on them and I am looking forward to seeing where these new choices will take me.
I’ll keep you posted as these new projects develop and resolve. Feel free to check in @mandartcanada on instagram anytime or drop me a line if I forget to post exactly what you are wondering about.
The view from my temporary winter desk at the cottage during a daytime snowstorm tempered the landscape white. Drifting sheets of falling snow reduced visibility, dissolved the horizon line and reduced the depth of field my vision could process. This pic was taken after the snow had stopped and the skies had begun to clear. earlier in the storm I could barely see the trees in the forground.
The same lake view at twilight on a clear day with the rich blue sky of winter on the prairies. Don’t be fooled. A bright blue sky in the depths of winter often means the temperatures have dipped. Without cloud cover to insulate the earth at ground level it gets colder. Who could imagine the weather warming up to snow? The horizon and the expanse of frozen Lake Winnipeg are visible here unlike the white out of a storm.
Thinking about meditation and the ability the practice has to quiet our minds and take us to the places our soul yearns to explore, got me thinking…
It was a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a Canadian winter at our cottage which sits alongside Lake Winnipeg on the prairies. As I watched the winter on the other side of the glass a narrative developed. For this practice on the podcast I invite you into the story of my space and thoughts as they evolved.
The softness of the winter light coupled with imagination invited the noise and speed of the world on the other side of the glass to soften and slow and that’s what I hope this recollection will do for us all in the meditation. I hope it allows you a moment of respite from the busy lives we have chosen, a moment to pause, to rest and reflect .
The meditation begins in the recording with an invitation to take a few restorative breaths. To listen in simply press the arrow in the embedded player above as we pause to settle in for a few minutes of self care.
“We invite personal expansion within as we rest within this enlightening resonance”
One of the few examples of winter white in one of my paintings. This little gem is “An Everywhere of Silver”, 16” x 16”, acrylic on panel. Listen to her story on the podcast in Episode #22. Available on all platforms or scroll down the list of blog posts to find it right here on my website.
No two moments are alike at the lake and the one I describe in the recording was like none I had experienced before.
In that moment the view was comprised of a marshmallow moonscape where shadows were painted mauve and drifted across the wind sculpted snow. Light snow began to drip in the morning and developed into constant crystal waves that fell across the yard in sheets, obscuring boundaries. Even the snowmobilers eventualy abandoned their trails across the frozen lake as the enveloping quiet took hold.
Imagining white…
What is your experience of a peaceful landscape? What does your imagination conjure for you when you imagine white?
You might imagine this white as a sheer white curtain that drapes softly across your view or a translucent sheet that fluffs and flows and floats down to rest upon the landscape like a translucent bedsheet cast across a soon to be made bed.
That Saturday morning felt kind of magical as I looked out across sculpted snowdrifts and falling snow. I paused and waited, paid intimate attention to the atmospheric changes that took place before me, became a witness to the creation of a tonal retreat where less felt like it was absolutely, spiritually more.
As the horizon blurred I found my gaze resting in the infinite absence of colour before me.
“I paused as my vision narrowed, yet at the same time somehow expanded.” It was as though all barriers dissolved and I saw only the luminous glow of the peaceful white light before me. The magical lightness of the light around me become the light within. I was no longer at home where the horizon levelled my gaze, I was, simply home. At one with all that is.
This detail comes from a commissioned painting that resides in a Winnipeg Law Firm. It is an example of two things: my particular use of white in a prairie sky and also the show through of a previous iteration on the surface. Not every work takes a straight path from A to B sometimes they take a few trips through A to B, C or even D before they find their feet. I can’t recall what intention this piece began with but I do love the way marks made for another purpose find their way to the surface to become the “poppers” that lead the viewer through the composition on the surface. Life. The journey.
Thank you…
The following quote evolved out of my own written, meditative practice. It resonates for me as I hope it will for you too and feels like an appropriate way to end our time here together. after chatting about white light.
“All is available,
In love
And in Light.
In love,
We are the light.“
Ahh, Exhale…
I hope you have enjoyed a lovely light filled pause and that the images and notes here on the blog are helpful. If you are finding something that resonates for you on the podcast I hope you will consider inviting a friend to join in to your favourite episodes. Every download or review helps this podcast to grow. I wish you peace and ease and hope you will take opportunities to pause and be totally you, often.
Until we meet again.
Nameste, Amanda