“Learning to Fly”

 Finishing “Project Angel” with the completion of the rope.

 This morning Wilma had an appointment at the house, so I took the opportunity to go out for breakfast and write my blog. It is Canada Day Weekend and it was very quiet on our streets as I drove out. I passed two dog walkers who both smiled and waved enthusiastically as I drove by. Wow, a little more “friendly than usual” I thought, and I don’t even know them. On the corner I saw a gentleman with a very large bubble ring, producing a huge 3 foot bubble just as I drove by. Was it just me or has this long weekend infused people with a special “joy serum” causing them to wave enthusiastically or create bubbles just for fun?

If this takes hold, I can see someone going absolutely crazy this weekend and just for fun, I don’t know,....even, firing off some fireworks!

As you can see I finished the “Project Angel” piece with the completion of the rope. One day I planned the placement, rolled the coil clay rope and set it on the piece as planned. The next day after it had dried a little, I did the detailed work, which took about four and a half hours to do. Now I simply have to wait for it to dry. I plan to bisque fire it so it will be ready for the show in Altona in a week or so. I most certainly will have it to be ready for my Art Talk on July 17, 7pm in the Curling Club Facility next to the Altona Gallery. Then it will be included in the show till August 5 when it ends.

I have been thinking about my “Art Talk” a lot. What will my approach be? There are certain ingredients that make up an Art Talk. These may include a little background history, what inspires the artist to do the kind of work they do, how the art compares with what other artists might be doing, plus could include anything unique about the artist or the work etc. etc.

What is unique about my art is that it comes from a very “spiritual” place. One thing I usually do is have “IHOP” worship music playing while I work. My work comes out of my spiritual journey and the resources guiding that journey. As a result there are a lot of emotions it seems, manifesting themselves in my work. Many of which I am not really aware of. I am constantly surprised by viewers responses to what they see and feel about my work.

Anyways, as I’ve been looking for guidance about my Art Talk, I became aware of a song being played called “Don’t be Afraid to Fly”. My heart jumped at it and my ears began to tune in...I loved the concept. Flying is such a metaphor for new things, going beyond the normal, attaining new heights in life or in some aspect of ones life. Like now it’s graduation time and the new grads are going out into the world, spreading their new wings and learning to fly, so to speak.

Nature is so amazing, where the mother bird must overcome her own fears and doubts about the risks but at some point must give that young bird the push off the edge of the nest it needs to commit to flight. I saw a video of a Mother Eagle who had to push her child over the edge and the hesitancy with which she did it, but finally, she did it. All of this is intuition, but the two things come together; with the greatest loving act in giving her child the gift of flight comes the greatest feeling of fear of failure. What if it won’t work this time? Yet she is impelled by the urges of nature to overcome her fear and give the kid a final push over the edge. Without that the eagle will never become that iconic thing we all admire, the sight of that beautiful powerful soaring eagle in the sky. That is what he was made to do.

I will be chewing on that for a while. For me, getting into my art was the simple, fearsome, complicated process of learning to fly! I’m not soaring yet, probably never will...but even this wobbly uncertain flight of major discovery and risk is soooo heart thumpingly, exhilarating... and scary... but intuitively confirming in my spirit that it is exactly the right thing I should be doing! Wow!

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount of with wings like eagles...”

Isaiah 40:31