Going on with a theme

Mixed Media Painting "Finding More"

Many people ask me "are you about done with "Spirit Boats"? "Are you ever going to make art around something else"? I believe in staying on top of self examination. Re-working a series of paintings is a good time to pay attention to habits. Lately I have really enjoyed working on top of older canvases that I felt were not fully resolved. New ideas keep coming to me.  But I pause to ask- am I still as engaged with the boats as I was even last year? Have they become too repetitive for me? Would there be some other archetype or subject that would hold as much?   In 2005, when I began painting my way out of grief after the loss of my father, I felt like I could go forever because there was so much opening as one painting led right into the next. It felt like I had a growing family of boats with cousins and cousins of cousins forming tribes. But after nearly 10 years of steady painting with side trips into the land of sculpture, printmaking, installations, drawings and exhibiting work, I find that there is even more to be uncovered. There is a huge source of universal wisdom in these boats that I can access by dropping my ego and letting go of the outcome.  Then the paint flows naturally and I don't get frustrated by forcing things.  Time spent in painting has provided a private sanctuary for me. It is time when I find my voice and grow my language. Other aspects are coming forward now in the shape of Spirit Arks and even ladders.These are new areas where I can begin to bring in associated ideas and forms in relation to the boats. On the flip side, there is a public part of me where the boat making is sculptural and I can share that happily with others in workshops. Other boat makers find that the boat gives them a wonderful place to begin a unique and totally personal journey to the positive side.
As I go forward, I take my boats with me, whether they are painted or made in 3 dimensions and they continue to serve me well