Seasons and the Creative Mind
Have you ever heard that dogs know their human is coming home, well before they arrive? I have no concrete evidence to prove this is true, but I am pretty sure my Buddy perks up a few minutes before my DH gets home.
Not wanting to compare myself to the greatness that is my dog, I do think I have that same feeling about Spring getting closer. Just the thought of Spring makes me happy, it’s been the coldest February since I was old enough to care. I’m not blessed with dog telepathy, but there are little clues that spring is near that I’m picking up on; morning sun, longer days, and well, I’m starting to think about flowers again.
It’s been a bit of an artistic crisis, because I haven’t painted any flowers since October. I wondered if I was bored with flowers, or if I was just ready to explore new themes. I didn't connect the dots this winter, as the theme I began exploring in my paintings was quilts, which I painted in deep dramatic colours I typically ignore. This got me thinking of Eastern Wisdom as well as the Traditional Chinese Medicine principle of “nourishing yang in spring and summer time, and nourishing yin in autumn and winter time”. Perhaps painting flowers in the winter is not in harmony with nature. They don’t nourish the yin, the way a warm cozy quilt might, which is better suited when the weather is so cold and dry.
Another theory is that creation is about reflecting on what we see. Wintertime, has much beauty to offer, just consider the recent excitement over a frozen Niagara Falls, or the beauty of The Group of Sevens' paintings of Northern Canada. Winter is beautiful, albeit not floral.
With my feeling that spring was closer, and with sun rays beating through my window insisting I wake up, I entered my studio and without plan or intent, began collaging flowers, and in one moment, my crisis ended, and understanding of the seasonal nature of my art emerged. It was a great painting session, I imagined that I was invoking spring, in the same way Southern Native American tribes would dance to invoke rain. Since painting these flowers, the forecast hasn’t changed, it’s still freezing outside, the ground is still covered in snow, but I am starting to feel more energized, happy and am daydreaming of springtime strolls. We will be creating abstracted florals in my Mixed Media Class tomorrow, I’m hoping that my Spring Fever is contagious! (If you are interested in classes or future updates, sign up for updates on the contact page.)
