Deeper not wider
It has been a while since I have found inspiration inside the brick and mortar building with the white steeple.
It is not what was said from the stage that inspired me, but instead I took what was said and looked at it from a different angle. The sermon by a guest pastor, was on one of the Beatitudes - Blessed are the Merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. But all I could think during the endless sermon, was please show us mercy and end this thing. Just as there would be a glimmer of hope that it was ending, he would launch down another divergent path.
My husband said in the car on the way home, “He had some good points, even if they were scattered everywhere.” I agreed. I said, “If he had just taken three of those and gone deeper it would have been so much better.”
Monday morning, I was writing in my Morning Pages journal about the sermon on Sunday and the phrase - Deeper not Wider - came back to me. I realized this is exactly what I need to do as well. Stop following so many rabbit trails, pick three things and explore them deeply.
In May, I joined Alice Sheridan’s Connected Artist group. It is finally time to fully commit to this artist journey, and Alice provides excellent tools to guide the way. Since joining I have built and published my website, set up a newsletter subscription and sent out my first newsletter. These are things that I have always intended to do someday. Someday has come.
Currently, I am working on my Artist Manifesto. What are my core values and beliefs? What is my work about? What do I want my work to say? I made a list of many ideas, and then began to weed, deadhead, and prune until only the three fullest blooms were left standing.
Motivation
EXPLORING - Exploring has been part of my photography and writing since the journey began in 2012. And the whole point of exploring is to find curious and unique things right? A bit like a treasure hunt. The things I love to find are decaying, and/or abandoned buildings, gravel country roads, and flowers or the remains of flowers.
subject
FLOWERS - Flowers are alive and what I feel most attracted to in my art, it was easy to settle on them as my main subject. I love to draw them with thin, loose lines, finger paint in their silhouettes, and their organic shapes delight me. I love flowers in any season: just emerging, full bloom, or as they slip away into decay, and even in the waiting season of winter. Those abandoned buildings and gravel roads can be some of the places where you can find my flowers.
Mediums
This is where I give myself a little freedom.
Mediums will be:
Photography - it provides inspiration for my paintings and the comfort of being good at it.
Writing - I have always used writing as a discovery tool. I didn’t realize how much I need it until I started doing it again.
Mixed Media with Collage and Acrylics - This is what I have spent my time on for the last year, I have come to find my place with it. I will continue to explore deeper.
No more divergent paths for me, it is time to stick to the three point structure, and craft it into a simple and clear Manifesto:
