Growing downwards
The taproot I have been following recently, is the one that trees’ energy follow in winter. Life is hidden in the underland, while on the surface, brown is the king of colours.
I took some time away from the “online surface” for travelling down. Walking away from the noisy, shallow space of the everyday scrolling, left space for peeking through a deep hole and I was a curious “Alice in this underland”, so I jumped down and discovered… that down there imagination was GMO free!
Without being connected to social media, life tasted like organic grown food.. and there I found deep thoughts and even deeper connections, revelations and a forgotten self, at the root of the soul. There, awaited a deep cave where the old hidden tears of not “fitting” in this system became… a clear mirror.
It makes now perfect sense not to find a place in this society! The artists’ job doesn’t flow horizontally, Monday to Friday with the same schedule and “tick boxes of tasks”. It goes in cycles, AND moreover, in depth. Like a big dive. When you come up again… you need time, to recover from what you experienced, the treasures you found, the mysteries you witnessed.
Artists (or maybe just the ones like myself) work on a vertical axis, capable of travelling up and over the high peaks as well as diving down through the core of the human experience. Here time has a different sense and use, shaped by our own soul’s nature and not a “one size fits all”. I think that our society have erased this kind of framework, preferring the horizontal one of “ plowing for quick harvests”. Which, turns out… it impoverishes the land. Even the one inside.
To make this journey into my underland possible, I took with me one “working tool”: rest. Rest (an individual experience that takes different forms for each of us) was the key for discovery. The real fire starter. The only thing that can create sparks, regenerate life. Not for more productivity, but for connecting to ourselves. Rest as a working tool is an oxymoron that I invite you to try.
Silently nourishing that inner hummus, fertile land that comes under layers of leaves, is everything our western culture tends to avoid. Because it takes time, is not shiny, not shareable, it doesn't even have words at times. The growth under our feet has immense potential, even science can hardly grasp it. But is there, that life really starts.
FLORA
While on the journey above, I painted a lot. Again on wood panels after about 7 years of hiatus , reclaiming my love for fine arts. This resulted in FLORA, a series of new original work on my beloved theme of flowers, which will be displayed at the Quay Arts from 3rd to 31st May 2024. It is open every day from 9 till 5 and it is in the main cafe. I will also lead a workshop based on this theme where I will talk and show my process, on Sunday the 5th May from 10am till 12,30 . You can book your spot here.