Earth

Last night I saw a beautiful silent film called Earth by the Russian director, Alexander Dovzhenko, 1930. In summary;  "A village collectivises its agriculture; a tractor arrives amidst resistance from the serfs and the dramatic climax mixes revolutionary rhapsodies with mystical identification with the land."  I was deeply moved by the silent black and white images of the people's faces, the intensity and poetical beauty of the whole work. I continue to paint the landscape but am increasingly drawn to the connection between land and humans. My ancestory is Mennonite for 8 generations (or more) back on both sides of my family.  My great grand-parents all arrived in Canada from the Ukraine in the 1930's and I have always had a visceral attachment to anything that speaks of a peasant connection to the land.  It is this "mystical identification with the land" that I wish to further explore.  I have added a blog link to "Russian Films" as I continue to explore this connection in more depth.

Studio Mates

These two beautiful, strong women are my studio mates, Vicki Tansey and Winnie Lafferentz. They are both committed artists, devoted to their art and process. Vicki is a dancer, performance artist, painter and a loving compassionate soul. Winnie creates figures on recycled materials that evokes a haunting and powerful image of the human soul in all it's poetic modes. She has a gentle and lovely presence about her. I love these two women and together we fill our studio with a vibrant, creative energy!

Dancing Without a Partner

This painting has about three other paintings underneath it, just like me, layers and layers of stories, but somewhere underneath the layers is my true Being trying to shine through. These other layers create a beautiful rich texture to work with though and I love the final result. Underneath is a forest, some rocks, moss and a lot of sadness. This delightful play of dancing light is what burst forth one day after the canvas had sat unfinished in my studio for months and months. It quite literally danced itself into existence!

Dance

Dance, when you're torn open,
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting,
Dance in your blood, Dance, when
you're perfectly free.

-Rumi

Longing

Longing, felt fully, carries us to belonging. The more times we traverse this path--feeling the loneliness or craving, and inhabiting it's immensity--the more the longing for love becomes a gateway into love intself. Our longings don't disappear, nor does the need for others. But by opening into the well of desire--again and again--we come to trust the boundless love that is it's source.

Opening

There is a way

of breathing

that's a shame

and a suffocation

and there's another

way of expiring,

a love breath,

That lets you

open infinitely.

This human shape

is a ghost made

of distraction and pain,

Sometimes pure light,

sometimes cruel,

trying wildly to open,

this image tightly

held within itself.

-Rumi

Thus spoke the sage Rumi:

Reason is powerless in the expression of Love.
Love alone is capable of revealing the truth of Love and being a Lover.
The way of our prophets is the way of Truth.
If you want to live, die in Love;
die in Love if you want to remain alive.