Monday, May 4, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Imaginary Friend
Scoll down for upcoming workshops
I sometimes fantasize my way into history. I am an eavesdropper to artists co-mingling in dim lit and heavy wallpapered salons.
My latest imagined intimate conversation over the deeper yearnings of our creative souls is with Mark Rothko, sipping wine, or in his case scotch and water.
The late Mark Rothko was an abstract expressionist who painted the abyss in large fields and blocks of color in the 1940’s and 50’s: contemplative, full of sublime silence leaning towards depth of emptiness, masterful spiritual expression.
The late Mark Rothko was an abstract expressionist who painted the abyss in large fields and blocks of color in the 1940’s and 50’s: contemplative, full of sublime silence leaning towards depth of emptiness, masterful spiritual expression.
He claimed once that art was not meant for public consumption. He said:
"When a crowd of people looks at a painting, I think of blasphemy. I believe a painting can only communicate directly to a rare individual who happens to be in tune with it and the artist.”
I love him for that statement. I see Mark as a true romantic with a desire to rendezvous with simpatico souls.
"When a crowd of people looks at a painting, I think of blasphemy. I believe a painting can only communicate directly to a rare individual who happens to be in tune with it and the artist.”
I love him for that statement. I see Mark as a true romantic with a desire to rendezvous with simpatico souls.
And the irony of Rothkos’ statement is that in his later period, his paintings were so immense in size that they really could only be viewed in museums.For this we are grateful. This ironic twist gives access to those of us that have the antenna to feel the immense power and presence of his work.
Like Rothko, I paint to co-mingle with divine grace. Yet I sometimes forget as I struggle to belong/not belong to an art world that leans so heavily on bankability (we need to make a living) and the ever consuming production machine. To be seen rather than to really take the time to cultivate what we see creates half baked ideas thrown out into the world too soon.
I too forget that long periods alone with my paintings and thoughts are the way to rendezvous with the divine, and when I do, my paintings flourish.
Over the years my most realized works always seem to find their way, like that finely tuned antenna, to the person they belong to.
The most profound of these experiences was in 2002. I was painting in my Portland, Oregon studio for an upcoming solo show at a local gallery, Mark Woolley. Five 40x36 panels were leaning against a large white wall.
One particular painting, crimson red, mixed with sap green for depth, was morphing and changing. I let my thoughts drift.
Free flow thoughts- Cardinals - the Catholic kind - allegations coming out of New England about abuse. Thoughts, mapping, weaving, taking on a visual language looking like cells of a body, how we get sick, cancer.
When the painting was done it became the show card and was reprinted as a 2x2 inch square the day of the opening in The Oregonian. Nancy, a psychologist and poet, was drinking her morning cup of tea when she came across the image in the paper.
She was the first at the gallery that day. She bought it immediately.
Later, I received a letter in the mail. It was a poem. Nancy described to me her battle with cancer. At the time of the writing it was in remission.
She said to me that the moment she saw the image in the newspaper she knew it was painted just for her. A gift, a healing.
With that I have never been more proud to push and wrestle and build my way through a painting. And sometimes I still I forget- the rendezvous with creative grace.
Yet, I keep plodding -showing up however clumsy- waiting for the conduit of spirit to shine it’s way back in.
Thanks for reading,
Stern Contemporary opens - Santa Fe Group Show December 6th
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
C O N F I D E N C E
C O N F I D E N C E
C O N F I D E N C E
* please scroll down to the bottom to get a full list of exhibitions and summer/fall workshop schedule
Our backyard had a large sprawling lawn that butted up against a canal
that I was sure was full of people eating alligators - I was terrified.
In the winters my grandparents would escape the New England cold of Rhode Island for the sunshine state. My grandfather was a retired physical education teacher and I was a budding gymnast.
Our green grassed backyard was the perfect place to saunter my cartwheels and practice my moves.
I took to hanging upside down and sideways quite easily, but when it came to the idea of spring boarding and twisting my body backwards into the air- you might as well of thrown me in the canal with the alligators, same kind of hand sweating heart racing fear.
In the late afternoons in plaid bermuda shorts, white tee shirt and baseball cap my grandfather would set up his green plastic lawn chair on the back patio. Sitting, cane twisting in his gnarled fingers, he would wave his cane like a baton and conduct my performance. But mostly what I remember of him is his words of encouragement to boost my morale.
He would say - now what’s the word? I remembered it was very long and began with a capital C.
He would then slowly say C O N F I D E N C E. It’s just a word but my brain was distracted just long enough to do the thing I feared. This word has surfaced many times in my life since then when faced with the fear of "I can't. "
Recently, I was asked to speak in front of an audience of 120 on the creative process. I was hand sweating- heart racing- terrified. Yes I teach in front of people, but speaking to a large audience seemed much more daunting. While telling a friend “ I can’t" do it, she mentioned that the quickest way to move into the natural flow of our lives is to do something just beyond what we think we can do- which reminded me of what I learned from my grandfather at seven. Confidence might just be a word, but changing “I can’t" to “I can” is a powerful cognitive shift which can trick us out of our comfort zones -so we can be terrified and do it anyway.
I survived standing in front of a crowd in the end and realized I actually enjoyed it.
A new flow to approach in the future with added confidence.
Paint Big and More -Anything Goes May 2-5 Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM
1 space left.
Open
Studio Sale / July 14th 1-6pm - (2:00 pm art talk-) a variety of large
and small pieces will be made available at studio prices for purchase.
July 18th- 20th- Mantecon Studio
The Space Between Painting and Intuition -Sep 26-28 Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM with, Lauren Mantecon & Stacy Phillips
Big- Small -Big- Approaches to Mixed Media Painting June 24-28 Cullowhee, North Carolina
The Alchemy of Mixed Media– October 12-13 Weehawken Art Center Ridgeway, Colorado
Ongoing Wednesday Open Studio - Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM 1:30- 4:30
catered to your own individuals goals. This could be setting up accountability
schedule , critique of work , writing statements, researching ways to get your work out into the world.
Friday, January 11, 2019
FOOLS BELONG
One of my mentors and teachers, the late Angeles Arrien, cultural anthropologist, educator of indigenous cultures and spirit weaver, had the gift of gently nudging her students from places
of fear to the embodiment of being visionaries.
I fondly remember her rubbing her delicate hands together and in an ever so coy manner -shrugging her shoulders up and down; and as if she magically becoming an elf, would say in a sing song voice – “Don’t move the way fear wants you to, instead begin a foolish project, Noah did”.
She was referring of course to the story of Noah and the Ark,
in which a flood is on the horizon and Noah receives a vision to build a vessel.
Angeles’s statement is one of the most visual and auditory memories I have of her.
And over the years I have referred to it in cheering myself and others on with creative endeavors.
But, what does being a fool really mean?
A fool can be one lacking in common powers of reason and understanding; but can also be fearless in revealing emotion- and helping people laugh at absurdity and hypocrisy.
For me, I have felt the most foolish in life when experiencing the sensation of being a mis-fit and not belonging. This is usually the feel of a deep divide of not belonging to the self.
And when I am separated from self- I am thrown into fear.
Feeling a deep inner sense of belonging is a life long practice for me.
Noah was a visionary- he saw the future forward. He belonged to himself enough to move beyond fear- fear of overwhelm of outer stimuli of an approaching flood. Noah's ark can be viewed as a metaphor for the collection of humanity where difference is embraced: as well as a vessel holding and brewing our creative ideas into focus.
In the tarot deck the fool represents new beginnings- stepping off the edge and having faith in the unknown, belonging to the entire universe. The ultimate risk taker.
What might actually appear foolish could be just what we need to step into the abyss and unknown.
I am currently completing a body of work in the studio for and upcoming solo exhibit - opening March 8th "Anchoring the Light "- Friesen Gallery, Ketchum, ID; and imagining the connective links of what is done and what can be carried forward as I dream and vision my next foolish project I can nurture into being in 2019.
What is going to be your foolish project as you move your vision forward this year?
Calendar of Events 2019
Abstract Expressionist Painting
Feb-2-3 Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM-
Full - Waiting list
Solo Show- Opening March 8th "Anchoring the Light "- Friesen Gallery, Ketchum, ID.
Paint Big and More- Anything Goes May 2-5 Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM
Why Color is Important May 18 Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM - one day workshop
Painting Your Inner Wisdom: A Shamanic Journey- June 6-7 Mantecon Studio, Santa FE, NM
with Lauren Mantecon & Robin Cunningham
Big / Small/ Big :Abstract Painting June 24-28 Cullowhee, North Carolina
The Space Between Painting and Intuition -Sep 26-28 Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM with, Lauren Mantecon & Stacy Phillips
The Alchemy of Mixed Media – October 12-13 Weehawken Art Center Ridgeway, Colorado
Advanced Studio Art Practices Nov 7-9 Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe + three half hour check in skype sessions over six months.
Ongoing Wednesday Open Studio - Mantecon Studio, Santa Fe, NM 1:30- 4:30
Virtual Studio Mentorships- Buy a series of personalized sessions
catered to your own individuals goals. This could be setting up accountability
schedule , critique of work , writing statements, researching ways to get your work
out into the world.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
The Natural Order of Things and Being
In my upstairs bedroom I have a large south facing window that looks unto a majestic honey locust tree. She looms over my balcony with delicate quivering leaves. In the summer, a deep sap green, in the fall, golden yellow. As of now her leaves have begun their departure as the post fall winds will leave her bare.
I want to be more like her, anchored and organized in her rhythm of time.
But, I am not like her. I am messy, and more than I care to admit, ungrounded and often an enemy of time.
Over the years I have come to realize that this beingness of mine is where the primary thrust of my creativity comes from.
Even at eight and nine years old I remember ferociously scribbling on paper in what resembled abstracted tangled knots in the shape of ovals. I then set myself the task of filling in the gaps with multi colored ink pens. Searching out the order in my chaos.
We all have dominant ways of being in this world.
And in being human, crave to know the “other”. It’s the magnetic force of opposites attracting in relationships.
I have witnessed that search for the “other” in my teaching practice. I somehow give permission for the mess, as participants search to expand their boundaries of known expression.
Recently I have come across three styles of being that makes sense in not only the context of relationship but in the way we can describe the order of creating, especially in the context viewing the organizational sense of a painting or composition.
In a book entitled “Wired For Love”, psychologist Stan Catkin describes three poignant visual metaphors for distinctive ways of being in the world.
Anchors. Islands. Waves.
Three nouns that not only provide us access into a deeper understanding of feeling, but also three symbols that work in the visual narration of describing the principals of design.
In a painting we look for an anchor that might hold our attention in space. A wave moves our eye along so we are not stuck on one aspect in a composition, moving our direction and flow, and islands create the content, the main event.
It’s a generalization but in the sphere of human interaction; anchors search out ways to loosen their grip and move into bolder expression - islands explore different terrain i.e… materials and content to work, waves work to hone in their emotion and focus.
I am a messy, emotional wave. I search out anchors to bring me back to intention and islands so I might have something to crash into.
In an ideal world it’s like my honey locust tree, longing to sway with grace when change comes, yet remain fully present and grounded while recognizing the importance of our form and content and as a gift to the world. A steady pace with the natural order of things, our environments and each other.
Upcoming Workshops:
Soul Work in Action: Exploring Women's Spiritual Hunger with Paint November 2nd and 3rd, 2018
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