Seattle Art Museum 2

SAM has rooms full of fabulous First Nations art. One display by Jack Daws - INCONVENIENT TRUTHS - had the American flag bottled up in a jar and an edifying declaration from Chief Seattle in 1971.

"If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that these rivers are our brothers and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give to any brother.

The white man does not understand. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a wanderer who comes in the night and borrows from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has won the struggle, he moves on. He leaves his father's grave behind and does not care. He kidnaps the earth from his children. And he does not care. The father's grave and the children's birthright are forgotten by the white man, who treats his mother the earth and his brother the sky as things to be bought, plundered, and sold, like sheep, like bread, or bright beads. In this way, the dogs of appetite will devour the rich earth and leave only a desert."

Seattle Art Museum 1

SAM was showing an impressionists exhibition called "Intimate Impressionism", which was a catalogue of masters from the 1800s. Many of these works are so known to me they are almost cliched, but it was something else again to see the originals. The PORTRAIT OF MADAME HENRIOT by Pierre Auguste Renoir was a joyful image filled with bright light. BEHIND THE SCENES by Jean Louis Forain though vaguely creepy, with a tuxedoed old guy standing behind a lush young performer backstage, was beautifully composed with the left side light and the right dark. I drank in the various compositions, like that of THE TOWPATH by Johan Barthold-Jongkind with its diminishing row of trees to the vanishing point and his clever use of a limited pallete of green, tan, blue and white. Another standout was Eugene Boudin's CONCERT AT THE CASINO OF DEAUVILLE, I loved the lumpy iron work around the bandstand and the luminosity of his painted frocks.

I have no aspirations (or sufficient talent) to paint in this style, but I'm happy to learn more about art by wandering through the halls of art museums and galleries. It also puts me in mind of some wise words from Howard Hodgkin,

"Your talent stays the same, your critical eye gets better. "

Chihuly Garden and Glass

A spectacular site specific permanent exhibition of Dale Chihuly's glass art, including a glasshouse and gardens. I liked how much randomness played a part in the work. Clearly skilled in the process of blowing and shaping glass, when he was collaborating or leading teams he allowed happenstance to inform his artistic vision. It was a great reminder of the power of repetition, how a lot of something is really impressive, it looks like a lot of work because it is. The Persian Ceiling on display contains over 1400 individual pieces.

He has collaborated all over the world working with various glass or crystal makers, such as Waterford in Cork, Ireland. Chihuly has made site specific installations in Finland and Venice - floating glass objects down rivers, hanging them from bridges or trees, placing them in forests or seal-like on rocks. He uses mesh to tie the objects into their larger forms of organic shapes that sit in the landscape naturally.

Patronage

Visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery I read about the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), established to build a railway line down the West Coast. The chief of the CPR was an advocate of arts and culture, so offered free rail travel to artists exploring the country opened up by the CPR. The art form these explorations was exhibited at events organised by the CPR - they were used astourist promotions of this age in the 1800s, used to entice settlers and tourists alike.

This led to a vibrant art scene with some artists spending months with indigenous tribes, consequently being influenced by each others artistic practices. I fell in love with Lawren Harris and his ability to craft what look to me to be very contemporary lines and colours in the 1920s. Emily Carr's work was similarly attractive, she and her sister ventured to Canada in 1907, remaining part of the creative establishment. Her paintings and writings explore the exotic mystery of Canada.

Also in the gallery are fabulous ancient and contemporary indigenous works. I was fascinated to notice that the pigment in the masks from the 1800s were as vibrant as those of the modern carvers. It seems there is a relatedness between Pacific nations, I can't help but notice stylistic similarities between Canada, Hawaii and New Zealand. A fantastic use of colours, patterns, symbols and totems.

Reminiscence

Went through the exhibition Remininscence at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts. It celebrates 100 years of Australian visionary Judith Wright. She actively advocated for naturebeing instrumental in saving the Great Barrier Reef from oil drilling and Fraser Island from sand mining. Wrights other motivating force was concern for the lot of indigenous Australians - she had a long friendship with Minjerribah poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal and fought for land rights with Nugget Coombs.

"Are you and I a once-loved land peopled by tribes and trees; doomed by traders and stock-exchanges bought by faceless strangers."

excerpt from TWO DREAMTIMES (1973)

The exhibition shows work by artists Fiona Rafferty and Frances Smith that has been inspired by the writings of Judith Wright. It was fabulous to finally know something about Judith Wright and why we might name an arts centre after her - I am now curious to seek out the writings of this maverick.

Fishing for ideas

Re-watched one of my favourite art films today about Ian Fairweather. It beautifully interweaves scenes of nature with images of his work, so that you imagine the connections between the two and maybe get some insight into his unique way of looking. After his nearly disastrous raft adventure in his early sixties, Fairweather found his home on Bribie Island. At the age of 62 he developed a new painting style that swept critics swooning in its vortex. The comment that struck me today was to do with his lack of interest in the finished work "his path to heaven was in the doing", Betty Churcher said "he painted in a trance-like state".

I was talking about this with a friend recently, about how I am so happy with the satisfaction I gain in the doing, that the result doesn't matter to me. Don't we love it when we discover an echo of ourselves in someone else. I sometimes think that's all we are on the lookout for in life - confirmation of our outlook. So I'm heartened by Fairweather's boldness and late blooming discovery of a winning style. Just a few more years.........

Crocheting on paper

Drawing these small circles is a tranquil activity. My hand knows the form so well that I can enter a state of flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term 'flow' as a psychological term and has written extensively on his research in this area which falls within the realm of positive psychology. Finding flow is "an intrinsically rewarding or optimal state that results from intense engagement with daily activities". It can also be described as being in the zone and Csikszentmihalyi says that when we are in a state of flow our performance is at it's highest. This can happen if you're free to totally concentrate on the task.

So, though these tiny circles appear to be a lot of work and certainly did take time to draw over consecutive days, the process of doing had the same effect on my mind as meditation.

It must be a sign

My sketch of "An Allegory of Prudence" by Titian and workshop (1550-65). This triple head of animals- wolf, lion, dog -represented PRUDENCE in late 16th century imagery. The three headed man represents past, present and future.

"Learning from yesterday, today acts prudently, lest by his action he spoil tomorrow."

It was interesting for me to contemplate this work in the National Gallery. It reminds me that we all stand on the shoulders of giants when we think that we create something new. Earlier this year I made a piece called HUMILITY which also explores the theme of symbolism. I am always curious about ways to combine words and images, how to represent what I learn from reading into visual imagery. Would Titian have allowed me in his workshop to study this?

Blue and White

Blue on white, has a beautiful purity. It's Delft pottery, it's shibori, it's Willow porcelain, it's clouds in the sky and waves on the ocean.

Cobalt was first used in glazes by potters in Iraq and China. Early examples of these wares were found from a ship wrecked in the ninth century. Initially, these were considered garish compared to the pure whiteporcelain plates being produced. Soon though there was a flourishing trade in these goods and so we have had this aesthetic planted into our visual literacy.

Triangulation

A while ago I scanned an article that talked about a new theory that proposed that a circle was actually a type of triangle. I don't remember any more about it than that, but it has stayed in my mind. Being interested in shapes this idea has seduced me into exploring the possibility by drawing. These shapes are definitely triangular in nature, yet I can see that if I push the three points into softer curves it could eventually become a circle.

Khan Academy tells me that you need to define 3 points to make a unique triangle or circle. Triangles are used as symbols in eastern and western philosophies and religions. In the west it is used to represent the holy trinity, while in the east it symbolises the connection between mind , body and intellect. Often a triangle is encompassed by a circle, which it turn represents a source of power, like the sun.

It's wonderful to discover how a snippet of information is processed by your thoughts over time to help generate your curiosity and creativity.