Archive for August 2008
Part Time Muse for sale, one owner, good mileage.
The role of a muse is an endless chase, but a better role I know not. Once you taste the nectar you can rarely go back, yet I have occasionally tried to dip my little toe back into the murky waters of “real job title” life, but, its just not for me, its an overly chlorinated pool that just stings the eyes too much.
The moments of rebellious toe dipping generally happen when my role has reached the point it has as of this moment, the point when you have seen your cherished owner fly to the highs of creativity and surpass the need of any outside stimulation, a bird basking in the perfect environment that they were created for, sun, wind, freedom.
At the point of take off, the point a muse must constantly be seeking to harmonise the surroundings and circumstance to create, the muse is temporarily unemployed, no, temporarily retired is more accurate, and it is a strange moment of satisfaction mixed with boredom.
The satisfaction is not an issue as you can imagine, but the boredom is, hence I have decided to offer up my part time retirement as muse in waiting for an artist in search of such services a muse has to offer.
To apply for my services write in no more than 400 words “why you need the service of a muse”.
Please use the comments section of this post for contact and application
Just Published! The children’s book of Religion, by James Slevin
Introducing to you the newly self published book of the Secret Gallery,
“The children’s book of Religion”
and all a child needs be told about Religion
I would like to offer up this FREE e-book for download. It is totally free, no strings attached.
Please give it to anyone you think could do with it.Peace and Love to all.
If you would like to download this amazingly FREE book please click here
Heart Art
It may sound really soft, but when I paint I try to tap into my heart. When I feel most connected with what I am doing, it is as if the marks are directly coming out of inside of me from my heart and down my arm, through the brush! I don’t try to think when this is happening or intellectualise it, just feel it. I am often on the verge of tears while I am painting not because I am sad but because I have been opened. It is similar to the feeling you get when you hear a powerful, moving piece of music. I don’t know if anybody will ever feel this when they look at my work, but for me it is a signal that tells me to listen carefully I am onto something. Two writers that make me feel emotional about art are: Jeannette Winterson in her book Art Objects and Herman Hesse in his amazing book The Fairy tails of Herman Hesse, who is my favourite author. Hesse wrote a story called The Painter and also a story called If the war continues, which I also think is incredible! I also have to mention Derek Jarman here, when I was in college a great friend of mine introduced me to his book Modern Nature since then I have been a big fan, he lead an incredibly creative and heartfelt life.
Shelters and spaces to dream in
During this saturated cloud of a summer I am hugely grateful for these strong old stone walls. Though in sunnier climes I do recall enjoying a more out door life where shelters could be under trees, in valleys and other places in nature. When we renovated our adobe house in Spain we wanted it to feel and be as natural as possible. I love when inner spaces and outer spaces merge. In the painting Refuge I wanted to get across the feeling of living in nature, well sleeping, dreaming and washing I like to idea that it can still be quite elegant! In the painting, a white bed cover with a delicate floral print and white four poster bed-like mattress sits on the earth, with a similar style jug, towel and wash basin en-suite! This scene takes place under a tree on the brown earth, but the bed cover is not all covered in mud! I love the total impracticality of this! This is one of the reasons I love painting, because it does not have to be real, in the way we often think of reality, and it does not have to hold up a roof!!
The Secret Gallery gets ready!
There hadn’t been very many visitors to the gallery lately, it felt like allot of effort to keep the doors open for maybe no callers! I had started to let the gallery become a home, and a pretty messy one at that! This has changed as of yesterday, and we are back in organised mode! I have been reminded to get ready first and the rest will follow! Sometimes I think that it is the very part of me that allows me to paint and be creative that make me very chaotic and is not a great business head! just as well there are two of us! Yesterday was a grand combination of cleaning, clearing, feng shui, lessons in computer skills and creative play which took the guise of placing coins, shells and little precious things in the cracks and cubby holes in the old stone fire place, like offerings. This also reminds me of some of the bars in Galicia, Spain, where they put coins in the walls. I am not sure why they do this, maybe somebody knows?
We have started to extend the gallery outside as well! A line of shells and drift wood that resemble both a tide line and a ladder that runs down the garden path. The first day we enjoyed watching the birds exploring their new perches, I hope they approved! Today we open at 9am, so we hope to see more than the birds, though they are always welcome too!
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