11th Anniversary Milestone - How My Father's Passing Created Spirit Boats

Paul Ewing and Jennifer in studio- Photo by Michael Fong-

Today is the 11th anniversary of my father, Paul Ewing's passing and the honoring of his spirit has never died.  He was an exceptional teacher, friend and supporter for me. Sigmund Freud has said "I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection".  Be cause I had a strong and supportive father, I had a huge jump start in life for which I have not enough words to express my gratitude.  If only I could have bottled some of this very necessary and positive energy to give to my friend's who needed authentic fatherly love, it would have made a huge difference for them also. There was not a day in our long time together that I did not feel his love and deep caring for myself and my sister, Patricia. Paul and I were very close and  understood each other in the most important areas of life.

My Spirit Boats were first created to mark his life and keep his spirit alive by collaging his notes into the first paintings I did after returning from the life altering time at his deathbed. It was one of my greatest gifts to be there when he died, to see the bright light open for him to pass, and for me to witness this light as it propelled me into a new reality.  Until this time, I was painting Italian scenes and not going deeply into my own psyche. I was working from the external world.

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

Carl Jung

What did the boats really mean and where I would go with the boats?  Over the past 11 years, I have been on a quest to find answers. My dear friend Connie Graud of the Living Shaman Museum http://www.livingshamanmuseum.org/ first described me as " a Spiritboatist on a journey to honor her ancestors through her art" in our exhibit together in 2014 http://www.livingshamanmuseum.org/2013/11/healing-boats-gallery/ and it has been my mantra ever since.   

My paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture granted me this new identity which I grew into over time. To begin, the boats were painted in mostly bright colors that incorporated Paul's notes, then I shifted into bold expressionist paintings with a vibrant energy. My love of paint was so therapeutic that it helped me heal from the grief in a relatively short time. After a year, I realized that I had transcended the old me and was on a new journey to explore how far the boats could go.

Soon I discovered a way to work with sculpture, confronting the solid physical state of the boat as a powerful totem. It feels like I am accessing the ancients who first made their boats to go out onto the unknown. I had no idea how intense it could be to work with a very ancient archetype. The paintings are like dreams and the sculptures are vessels in the flesh, and both offer a way for the viewer to make their own journey in safety. My prints explore the space where the Spirit Boat lives.

I love it when people come to my shows and ask questions that reveal their longing to be connected to the energy flow they feel around the boats. It is a way for me to help others to see more through this metaphor for movement and transformation.

It is time for me to go even further and move the boats out into deeper waters as I desire to speak, tell stories and hold workshops for others to find the power of art in their own lives. It is a huge bounty that needs to be shared and cultivated as we all can use a positive father figure and a Spirit Boat.

Paul Ewing- photo by Michael Fong