Art as Liminal Space exhibition: Nov 5 – Dec 13, 2012

Exhibition card for “Art as Liminal Space” 2012

I have a painting that was accepted in the upcoming alumni exhibit for JFK University:  November 5-December 13, 2012!  There is a reception which I plan on attending on Saturday, November 10th from 6-9pm.  If you’re in the area, I hope you have the chance to come by and see some great art, meet the artists, and hear some insights into this process of artmaking.  The address is 2956 San Pablo Ave. 2nd floor, Berkeley, CA.

My Artist’s Statement for this show:

When I find myself in liminal space, looking for something unknown in the unnamed, I see Spirit breezing by in one form or another.   Occasionally it’s crystal clear but for my paintings as of late, the images are vague and ethereal.  Still, there is Knowing.  In this place I am forced to slow down and be aware of what is going on around me even if I can’t see it clearly.

During this journey in sunset coloured liminality, I am in a space of familiar creatures: furry and mysterious with sharp teeth.  They dance quickly between the doorways but not so quick that I glimpse the edges of a fox tail inviting me to follow.  I must let go of where I came from to be here, yet bring it all back when my brush touches canvas:  this is a memorable space even in its mutability.  This loose mix of consciousness is something I try to bring with me outside of the studio, into my world of daily life and to those who are willing to risk a moment to enter the imagery I have returned with.

Flyer for “Art as Liminal Space” exhibition 2012

From the flyer:

Liminality has been defined as the “realm of pure possibility.”  When speaking in terms of art as liminal space, art becomes a rite of passage, a sensory threshold by which we can traverse shifting levels of personal conscious awareness.  In JFK University’s Arts & Consciousness program, the consciousness transforming perspective of art as liminal space is emphasized.  Therefore, this exhibition focuses on work by Arts & Consciousness alumni that is liminal in nature.

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Do you speak Fox?

There is a certain moment that happens now and again… It is quite a distinct feeling when it occurs.  I have felt it often, though not as often as I would like lately.  However, it has just breathed itself, over me, whispered from a fox’s lips:

It is finished.

This painting is finished.

In the minutes before anxiety lays against my skin, oblivious to the many layers of warmth I am wearing on this blustery, artic day.  I want my brush to move the paint just right and I call to spirit to make it so.  I sway from the canvas to the palette, thinking I should move the two closer but make no effort to do so.  I am in the moment of this spell and I don’t want to do anything to break it so I continue the dance like the branches of the trees in the wind outside my window, just outside of my peripheral vision.

My movement stops as the wind becomes the whisper.  I step back.  Are you sure, I ask?  It is finished.  Just fix that part that has worried you.  See?  We are done.

This moment is subtle and powerful, all wrapped up in one.  This time it has been months in the making:  a terrible journey to arrive to this order and peaceful place.  The song plays.  He sings it.  I can hear it because I remember that I speak the language of Paint, of Fox, of Spirit.

Close up of this painting, newly finished, soon to be titled.

February 8, 2011 in the evening.

*This is the same painting posted earlier in “Even in a Nina Simone Remix..”