Orientation and Encounter
This current body of work is an exploration of the experience of Place -- in this case, inspired by Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM. "Place" includes the specific history of the built environment, the land that it sits on, and the resonance of the activity of meditation for which this place was made.
Field research includes hiking the land with sketchbook and pencil, making drawings, taking notes and creating maps, all of which eventually make their way into the larger paintings. The process of orientation is essentially relationship-building with a place.
When I noticed a free-box of zen books left at Mountain Cloud, I brought them to the studio and began using their pages in the pieces. Even though the carefully chosen selections of text on the subject of meditation often become obscured by drawing and painting, I see them as an important layer in the build-up of the character of these pieces.
Meditation is a way to know myself and my relationship to the world in an essential way. This series of paintings marries the exploration of meditation with the process of creativity.
There is crossover between meditation and creating art. Some similarities include total immersion, and the necessity of acceptance. But one difference has to do with choosing. Whereas in meditation, there is observation and awareness, in art making there are constant decisions; this line longer, darker here, or a patch of blue there. It’s an ongoing balance of listening and acting.
