Pearl Grit
Artist notes:
This series grew as a pearl over many years, two blocks from Times Square, NYC, with a sea of humanity rushing by. Each work is built up with multiple layers of oil glazes, scratched through and veiled again in transparent paint to make them glow from within. The overarching concept became a metaphor for the creative process of how an oyster makes a pearl by repeatedly coating an irritant.
Ruminating on the series, and each work, these writings emerged:
Pearls are gems made by an animal like honey from a bee.
Art and invention are in the realm of humans.
Wrestling perfection is an endurance sport.
Grit is experienced as expletives.
Practice is enlightenment.
Sand in the Oyster
Introduce a need to make.
Surrender to the discomfort.
Nurturing a project in the private cell of a workshop’s heart
may be unattractive from without, but resplendent within.
Each attempt refines the blooming opalescent iridescence,
attending to a rock.
Breaking Ground
Ground breaking – Earth shattering – Paradigm shifting
Culminating vision, intention, & preparation on paths our ancestors illuminated.
Forces converge at that pivotal moment of certainty to galvanize conviction.
Embodying the decision changes what IS into what will become.
Succeed or fail, action ignites intention into an inspiration to the future.
Daydreaming
Before & after are united as footprints of a story,
This is a construction site for a cathedral to the imagination.
Encouragement empowers an idealistic child nested atop a pedestal.
Moving ideas around mentally, mastery is gained through doing.
Youthful adventures conjure a pearl of wisdom for an old sage to recall his life.
String Quartet
Golden strings swell
carried away into a heavenly blue
gushing emotions that harmonize motifs into a web of allusions
sufficiently ambiguous to hint at latent meaning.
On the Edge
Transforming through action,
frequency generates energy.
Dancing with infinite possibilities,
embodying the future transcends into light
Eclipse
Stars shine during the day, eclipsed by the sun.
The earth eclipses the sun every night.
How we see is as important as what we see.
Spectrums of waves inform sensation.
Reality is a mystery limited by our perception.
Dark Side
The embarrassing underbelly of inner struggle bares its cross.
Intestinal fortitude, threatened with eternal darkness talks to truth.
There is no testimony without a test.
The valley of the shadow of death is where grit is most necessary,
harvesting insights to illuminate a road that isn’t there.
Emerald World
An emerald’s captivating network of fractures is a garden of imperfections.
Conflict in drama keeps us engaged.
Fruit is the culminating act of a tree.
Importance is interpreted through cultural values.
Appreciation is worth more than money.
Conducting the Wind
Sailing in the flow-state is a dance with caprice.
Controlling life is a symbiotic relationship.
Getting upset won’t help.
Aligning ideals with plans interrupted.
A perfect world balances night and day with grace.
Mountain Winds
Winds sharp as glass,
the mountain hides a pearl.
Attaining excellence is in the pursuit.
Defeats temper the victory.
Mountain climbing is an art.
The Rhinegold
New water, same river.
The source reinvents originality.
A concerted effort produces luster,
heroically delivering a pearl.
As long as the treasure stays in the river, there’s no problem.
Divining
Divining the future by making it.
Weaving plans, habits and opportunities.
Past and future align for intention to fulfill itself.
Elevating humanity to royalty by virtue of a crown.
Light waves particles into crystalline castles for the divine.
Making a Pearl
Grit, the heart of a pearl
engages the oyster’s sacred purpose
consecrating nothing into everything
making love as a religious experience
midwifing a pearl
Buttons date from 2700BC,
yet buttonholes were not in use until 1300 … 4,000 years later.
What buttonholes are left to be discovered?
