Pare down to the essence, but don’t remove the poetry. This is the heart of wabi-sabi according to a slim volume by Leonard Koren I am currently reading. And a rule of thumb I've long applied to my work (although not always successfully).
This time of year, instead of resolutions, I like to choose a word to focus on. My word for 2019 is strength. Strength to withstand when the work isn't going well and the doubts creep in. Strength to make the right choices for myself moment to moment, knowing when to be alone and when to go out into the world, when to stay up late and when to rise with the dawn. And strength in the literal sense, which I need for the series of larger paintings I am working on.
Choosing a word becomes a place one can return to over and over, unpacking and redefining throughout the year.
In the studio right now I am reflecting on the words of the late Icelandic painter Georg Gudni, who said of his work (inspired by his native landscapes), "You go past the materials and into the painting itself." That sort of transformative experience is the essence of the best art, I think.
[PAUSE]
Pause is both noun and verb, action and place. It is a temporary space of residence; a form of resistance. To hit the pause button is to slow down, to quiet the mind, to be still, to listen. This blog is on making - art, time, space.