Why do we need art in our lives? Whether you make art or appreciate it, art is important because it connects directly to emotions. Art moves you in ways that craft, with its emphasis on form, function and technique, does not.
That is not to say that craft is ‘bad’ and art is ‘good’; but to make a distinction in the why of both. Beautiful craft can also be art. I have a felt shawl which is wearable art to me. Yet the bespoke craft items I own do not move my emotions.
Why am I thinking about this today? It is because art is personal. Whatever is happening in your life or whatever emotions are playing out within you at the time of your creating, somehow find a way into what emerges. I think of Louise Bourgeois's giant spider sculptures. They tower over people offering multiple viewpoints of relationships and motherhood. They radiate with emotion.
As you can see from the sketchbook images below, this pulp paper painting started off as an idea developed from the outstretched branches of a tree. I’ve been making work about trees for the past year since returning from taykana/Tarkine in Tasmaina.
How like trees our human forms are, how connected we are to this important life form on our planet. Trees bring us oxygen, their presence is a balm for the soul. They are intermediaries between the earth and sky, homes for birds, insects and multitudes of underground mycelial networks.
With Rising Tide, i started with the green tree outline, the blue sky surrounding it. Yet when I began pouring the yellow body infill, it took on a life of its own. Out came the gorgeous crimson/orange pulp for the sacred/sacral chakra. The womb grew larger. A heart emerged, blood starting coursing through the yellow body fluid pulp.
I felt the title of the work emerge as I worked. The rising tide of people standing up, getting angry, taking action. I felt the surge of blood rising, the life force of women pulsing. Turquoise blue highlights became dancing sky sprites, joyous and playful.
What started off as a tree took on a life of its own. When I look at the still wet image on the screen, I wonder at its inception, at its longing to burst out from a sketch into its own entity. I wonder at how it will dry and possibly fade. To know it and live with it so vibrant as it dries is to wonder at art and act of creation.
Sketchbook pages showing development from right to left from a tree to a figure