WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

”Warm thoughts on the paint wall on a cold winters day take us on a visual journey.”

SYNOPSIS (48)
Y2E5 “Wise Words: Presence”
Publication date March 21st 2023

“Each day is an opportunity to begin again, to forget the troubles of yesterday, to abandon our attachment to the promise of tomorrow”

Getting quiet and being still sounds simple but it can actually be quite complex

The queen of distraction gets lost and found in this episode. Organization may not be my forte but it seems when I am ready for the words I have written while getting in touch with the deepest parts of myself the universe will find a way for them to literally cross my path

Rediscovering meditative notes on presence when I am ready to accept and share their resonance was a reminder that today is where we begin

Nowhere is there more promise or potential

Join in to the mindful self care moment at … in the recording to seek and find:
Presence, possibility and peace as we take a literal breath and engage in a simple process to alter the course of our natural rhythms and connect to the wisdom the resides at our core

The creative action in real time invites some reflection as works in progress at the studio flow through the lovely subtleties of initial marks…only to crash and burn when judgement is applied.
Add your own expletive here!

In the meditation that accompanies this episode on the podcast we repurpose those flames and take a stroll down memory lane to a crisp evening in the fall. The story leads us to pause around a campfire, to visualize the snap and pop of poked logs in a contained circle where we too pause to be present and to invite the aromatic medicine of the sacred fire within.

With this self care pause we’ll aim to slow down, to dip into the creative magic of being still.

We talk about paintings blooming and then crashing and burning on the paintball in this episode. It’s never the plan but unfortunately it does happen, possibly more than you might imagine. The image above is a detail of the right hand side of the “Pink Pair”, whose early marks were fluid and energetic yet soft and subtle. I had put the canvases aside and come back to them as I reacquainted with my space after an absence.

Burning with Passion…

I was excited to get back to work at the studio after a holiday absence but there was definitely some rust in the muscle memory to deal with. Getting back on the creative horse is the best way to deal with that. It’s like taking that plunge and getting back into the swimming pool, but not necessarily diving into the deep end. This session was more like wading into the shallow end to rest the waters before I got back to the rhythm of my practice. It’s definitely a process that builds and it doesn’t happen overnight.

The pink pair moved through several stages. This is one of the midpoints when i started to lose it by over doing it. In life as in art less can definitely be more.

Every painting period develops its own characteristics. I might begin with an intention but the process of solving a visual equation in acrylic colour often creates its own path. As go back to work and got more comfortable with my process I wanted to ground myself in the feeling of a loaded brush addressing a static surface. I gave myself permission to begin again on what I like to call a “painting start”, a canvas pair that had been under painted but abandoned or left to cure for any number of reasons.

I never approach my work with the expectation of producing a masterpiece at days end, and its just as well as i would be bound to set myself up to fail before I had even begun. If I allow myself to be present in the process each painting session becomes an opportunity to make more choices, to play mental mind games in colour, and to allow the composition to unfold.

The Pink Pair Left Side 20” x 40” acrylic on canvas 2023. This is where this part of the composition left off . There might be minor tweaks yet to come but I will do my best to leave well enough alone having lost and regained this pair once already.

“Choosing to take a particular path in a painting is making a choice. Not making a decision is also a choice.”

I have made many choices in the production of this pink pair for example. They had beginnings in an earlier season and have evolved. Some of the decisions I made in the process may not have been my best choices but in the cumulative process of painting, where every decision is impacted by those that came before it and will impact those that will follow, we are bound to have some blunders.

With this pink pair the ebb and flow of the creative process was in full swing. At one point i ended my day deflated and disappointed that I had worn my “Over Painting Crown” ( I hate that tight fitting accessory!) and lost the early subtleties that were leading the composition forward.

When I resist the urge to clean things up I produce some of my best work. In this instance I totally F…ed things up. Like any passionate golfer a bad day on the course is better than any day away from it and so too the painting process draws me back every time. I try to see my blunders as an opportunity for new decisions on the paint wall that might lead me down a new and unexpected path.

As Forest Gump reminds us “You just don’t know what you’re gonna get”, and that’s half the fun of the process., of eating chocolate and painting.

The Pink Pair, Right Side 20” x 40” acrylic on canvas, 2023.
Changing perspective by viewing a composition in a different scale is a strategy I use often. At the end of the day at the studio I try to remember to take a snapshot of where I am leaving things off. It makes for an effective way to reevaluate the composition on my phone before my next studio visit. I spy a spot for a little yellow in this one but that might be the last addition before a signature is added and I move onto to new challenges..

The duo may not have followed my earlier thoughts as I had intended but in allowing the composition to evolve through the cumulative choices I make, they did come to a resolution. They’ll be available for in person visitation at the PULSE GALLERY in Winnipeg at Johnson Terminal at The Forks April 1-30, 2023.

The mesmerizing action of an outdoor fire pit is shown above. This is where our meditative moment will take us in today’s self care practice. In fact these are the cedar fronds curling amongst the embers of the fall fire I speak of in the recording. I can almost inhale the scented magic of Cedar as I recall this seasonal memory from lake country.
Its a little too chilly where I live right now for an outdoor firepit. I’d have to dig out both the woodpile and wade through 3 feet of snow to uncover the firepit in the front yard at the cottage . The Hoar frost pic opposite was taken a few snowfalls ago.

Our Meditative journey this week…

A seasonal story of fall clean up warms us up on the recording begins at …in the recording. We gather virtually around the firepit on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. Our meditative tool kit opens up to invite you to bring your creative imaginings along with you as I share a story and some prompts to join me , wherever you are and whatever the weather. This seasonal memory is shared in story format so there is nothing to but but lie back and listen in, unless you want to take me and some headphones outside on a walk with you, if that is an option where you are.

The firepit takes centre stage as we add our collected offerings to the sacred circle and invite the earths medicine to rise from the flames and warm us to the core. The power of visualization can take us anywhere we want to go when seasonal limitations prevent us from being present in the physical experience. Baby it’s cold outside as I type but our thoughts warm up our self care practice at the end of the podcast with our “Meditation”.

This pic of the cottage during a Hoar Frost was taken a few snow falls ago. The front deck is currently enveloped in a wide wind sculpted curve and is no longer distinguishable as a different level. It’s a little too chilly where I live right now for an outdoor firepit. I’d have to dig out both the woodpile and wade through 3 feet of snow to uncover the firepit in the front yard at the cottage.

Last week I mentioned I had been interviewed by the inspiring Whitney Baker Host of the “Electric Ideas” Podcast. Whitney, from the Windy City aired the interview we did together on her Podcast this week.

Whitney is a woman with a purpose and a sense there is more out there for us all. She is on a reflective journey. Connect to a sense of possibility by listening in to Whitney’s Podcast, “Electric Ideas” where each week she interviews a woman who is lighting a path and offering others hope. I was honoured to be invited to share my story of the Wisdom I leaned at a literal Crossroads when world changed. What began as a healing journey through change became the book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads” (2018) and now a podcast sharing the same name. Listen in the the interview below.

Work at the office…

Not all day of everyday is a paint day. There is business to attend to and I have been working with my website designer developing an opportunity for visitors to purchase my book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads” and Mandart Greeting Cards directly from the website. Why have I been so resistant to doing that for so long?

Chantelle Andercastle of clearquartzcreative: an entrepreneur, podcast host, website designer and now magazine publisher is a dynamo. Find Chantelle at www.clearquartzcreative.co

Chantelle has brought my tech skills a long way. We joked i could only attach a single image at a time to an email when we first met and now I am embedding data so you can listen to my podcast above or The Electric Ideas interview below. Simply press on the little arrow and send thanks to Chantelle for the convenience.

Lastly…

Since we were in a warming up mood: on the paint wall in colour and on our visual journey to the campfire, I thought I‘d end by sharing a little bit of Georgian Bay’s summer magic from a series of smalls I did in 2011.

Warm thoughts led me back to this little gem , “Cocktail Hour”, from the Georgian Bay Series of 2011. In my painting practice I like to play with colour and colour relationships by turning traditional colour practices on their head. A warm sky like this one tends to flatten the surface because warm colours generally come forward visually while cooler colours recede. By inverting that principle the depth of field is reduced

Thank you…

We’ve come to the end of this post but before we part ways I wanted to remind you, I appreciate you tuning in to this podcast and joining in on the visual part of this journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine. If my work or words inspire you please consider inviting a friend to share in our adventure or writing a review. Every shared word or post helps helps my to work reach those who could benefit by it.