[The Man-Who-Won't-Say-Yoga-Pants and Swirly. Photo taken by Andrea Kreuzhage.]
The show this past Saturday was oh-so lovely ~ a gentle, positive re-entry back into the routine of creating and showing my work in a gallery space. Aside from last fall's Core Show, this was my first show in almost two years. Not only had it been a while since I put together a collection of work, but it was a new kind of work ~ no specific theme, no labeling and no trying to tell the viewers what, exactly was on my mind as I created the works on the wall ~ as if to simply say, "These were the works I created ~ interpret them as you will."
[Perusing the artwork. Photo
taken by Andrea Kreuzhage.]
I was proud of all the creations on display last weekend, but there was one piece in particular that pulled me into that magical, unexplainable space of timelessness, where, without being able to explain exactly why, I knew I was being supported by the gods as I worked on it. It sounds so corny and over the top, but as an artist these are the moments that remind me ~ in my heart, in my bones ~ why I do this work. It is to experience this magic, and in feeling it, following it and creating in it, I share it, and (hopefully) give viewers a moment or two of understanding that there are powerful currents of beauty flowing all around us everywhere we go.
[Transform :: Mixed Media on Wood Panel]
I am smiling as I now report that this was the one piece that sold the night of the show, and it was sold to the parents of an extraordinary ten-year old girl who, every time I looked over at her, was standing immobile in front of the piece staring at it. Her parents purchased two other works of mine at my first show in 2006 which were specifically for her, so I'd say she is now a bona fide collector of mine. I can't wait to sit down with her and talk to her about the piece, and what it was that spoke to her so urgently. In the meantime, I will share a quote that a friend sent to me a couple of days after the show, which does a much better job of explaining what I tried to convey about this piece. It speaks to the difficulty of such an explanation, of trying to fit something into the space of words that can't really be articulated there.
"...In the simplest terms, I think we might say that when a situation or phenomenon evokes in us a sense of existence (instead of some reference to the possibility of an assurance of meaning) we have had an experience of this kind. The sense of existence evoked may be shallow or profound, more or less intense, according to our capacity or readiness; but even a brief shock (say, for example, when discovering the moon over city roofs or hearing a sharp bird cry at night) can yield an experience of the order of no-mind; that is to say, the poetical order, the order of art.
When this occurs, our own reality-beyond-meaning is awakened (or perhaps better: we are awakened to our own reality-beyond meaning), and we experience an affect that is neither thought nor feeling but an interior impact...They function evocatively, not referentially; like the beat of a shaman's drum, not like a formula of Einstein. One moment later, and feelings are in the public domain, and they will be either sentimental or profound, according to our education.
But according to our life, we have had, for an instant, a sense of existence: a moment of unevaluated, unimpeded, lyric life - antecedent to both thought and feeling; such as can never be communicated by means of empirically verifiable propositions, but only suggested by art." ~Joseph Campbell
[Bold highlights mine]
i hope you'll have prints of this new work. I absolutely love it and am enjoying it as the background on my computer these days!
Posted by: Lexis | August 16, 2010 at 03:32 PM
You look gorgeous and your work does too! xo
Posted by: Thea | July 23, 2010 at 02:37 PM
Hope you giving yourself a big pat on the back....
Posted by: Nic Hohn | July 22, 2010 at 04:26 PM
As a fellow artist- I totally love what you wrote here! Great blog post- very inspiring!
Cheers,
Jane
Posted by: Jane | July 22, 2010 at 12:55 PM
wow, you look amazing!! what a beautiful couple. i too love that piece of art, but then again i love ALL your work!!
xo and smiles~ jill
Posted by: jill | July 22, 2010 at 07:56 AM
Lucky little girl... And lucky Mr. Yoga Pants, too! You look lovely. And, most importantly, HAPPY. Love the work. The colours make me swoon.
Posted by: Suzy | July 22, 2010 at 07:40 AM
I really miss you guys! You look absolutely stunning! and I'm so excited about your piece that sold...although I'm eyeing one of them in the background :)
Posted by: Melissa | July 22, 2010 at 05:36 AM
yoga pants...
Posted by: ann | July 21, 2010 at 08:56 PM
I got such a lovely surprise to see L here - I miss that old dog! More photos of L, please! Kidding. I know he's modest, cough cough.
You look amazing and I just loved reading about your experience creating that piece. The ten year old girl obviously saw what the gods were trying to do through you in that one.
Posted by: Marianne | July 21, 2010 at 07:25 PM
wowie. both you and your piece are stunning...im digging the colors you are diving into. you look HOT and the man may not say yoga pants, but he can make a mean steak tartar AND knows how to drive a cycle into the kitchen without crashing anything!
love you both
Posted by: jen | July 21, 2010 at 06:59 PM
WOW over and over. So jealous of a ten year old girl all of a sudden.
:/
xoxo
You rock!
And look hot in the dress...L is a lucky dude!!!
Posted by: Gillian | July 21, 2010 at 04:50 PM
Congratulations Christine, you inspire. Your work is beautiful and Anne is right, you look stunning in that red dress.
Posted by: Steph | July 21, 2010 at 04:31 PM
Bravo! Beautiful art and a gorgeous pic of you and the Mr. I see you're wearing your Wonder Woman bracelet - so appropriate! xo
Posted by: Tara Bradford | July 21, 2010 at 03:52 PM
um that red dress is amazing!!! YOU LOOK GORGEOUS! put this pic on facebook right now!!! I LOVE IT!
Posted by: anne | July 21, 2010 at 12:36 PM
I love your artwork. it gets the energy flowing throughout my body when i gaze at the different colors and designs. Amazing! Will you be making prints of the originals?
Posted by: Heather | July 21, 2010 at 11:05 AM