Since I was a child, "art" has been a way for me to dialogue with myself. The process helps me digest the plethora of sensory input, emotions and the physical realities of being in a body.
My making is fueled by a longing to lean closer into the mystery of things. The materials I choose take on emotional qualities. Transparency, veiling, cracks, openings and texture are some of the the ways I ponder physicality and impermanence; all pervaded by the immensity of consciousness available to us.
"To the extent that I managed to translate emotions into images- that is to say, to find the images concealed in the emotions- I was inwardly calmed and reassured." Jung
Entanglement, size, shape, weight, placement and the tactile become the language of experience. Perception is turned inward. The process is an intuitive but physical dialogue with what lies just below the surface of everyday life.
In the current body of work, newspaper is used as a means to be with the heartbreaking stories we all hear. As in the Buddhist practice Tonglen, ; my intention is to take in the story, let it sit, and send a deep breath back or a moment of light. The sets of beads are made from stories I’ve collected, torn up and transformed into prayer beads as an attempt to recall the sacred in all of us.
I am pleased to share my work with you and grateful to all the art, artists and teachers that have communicated with me in this fantastic language.
“If i could say it in words there would be no need to paint.” Edward Hopper
IN THE GALLERIES............
PANDEMIC DRAWINGS
I worked with trusting my "hand". I worked on getting my mind out of the way and not censoring immediate responses. I became aware of what felt like "authentic" marks and followed until the process became self conscious. During the pandemic this seemed like a timely exercise in trust and opening. The resulting drawings were often amusing to me and seemed reflective of my pandemic emotions taking temporary form. I found them good company.
WORKING WITH NEWSPAPER 2020-2023
The materials that are chosen act as metaphor. Newspaper represents what the "outside world" thinks. In this time of divisiveness, I wanted to use a symbol common to our shared humanity...the blood cell. I used enlarged images of human blood cells and then paint to create breathing space.... to bring me back into my home, my body, my priorities. In the more current work on newspaper; I use the Buddhist practice of Tonglen to be able to open to the sad news of our day, and send back a deep out breath.
TACTILE EXPRESSIONS / NEW WORK
I’ve been reading the book “IMMENSE WORLD” by Ed Yong. He describes in detail, how different organisms perceive their worlds. Our “world” or the environment as we perceive it, is referred to as your UMWELT.
My umwelt is strongly influenced by my tactile sense. As I move through space, I feel the texture, density, lightness, weight, roughness, softness , etc. of the environment. I can barely walk without touching things. (I am often in trouble in Museums)
This recent work is influenced by that sense of the tactile. Inherent in its making is curiosity and a longing to discover new wordless ways to express my layered experience.
The push and pull between what I think I’ll do with chosen materials and what they dictate, becomes central to the process.. Though that dance, I can arrive at what I consider a VISUAL POEM; a momentary settling of my collected sensual experiences into a material form. Size, shape, weight, placement and the tactile become a language of emotion and experience. It is not a land of logic; but an environment of intuition.
Corporeality and spirit combine in what translates as an inner world actualized for this moment.
It can be so satisfying.
SCULPTURE
I worked with the house form for several years. It became a symbol for my body, the place I reside. The materials were chosen to convey the feeling I was working with in each sculpture: the emotion "passing through". I worked until I felt a sense of resolution. At times I am following a known thread into an outer territory and sometimes I am pulled along, following without any idea why. Sounds like life, eh?
Rumi's words on the websites opening page, was discovered toward the end of the house sculpture exploration and surprisingly expressed the process beautifully.
INSTALLATIONS
These installations were mostly created in collaboration with a dear artist friend for SOMARTS Gallery in San Francisco; This yearly event was curated by Renee Ynez
6x6 inch woodblocks:
FINDING CENTER
WORKING WITH DREAMS
In Finding Center , I began with carving into the center of each wood piece. The small size and veiled center is intended to draw you in close. We see the outer appearance, the surface. What lies in the inner depths?
I hope that you respond to some of the work; I would love to hear from you, if you do and what moves you..
Thank You
Ellen