Freely wild

Southern Iowa sunset

"The creator goes off on one wild, specific tangent after another, or millions simultaneously, with an exuberance that would seem to be unwarranted, and with an abandoned energy sprung from an unfathomable font. What's going on here? The point of the dragonfly's terrible lip, the giant water bug, birdsong, or the beautiful dazzle and flash of sunlighted minnows, is not that it all fits together like clockwork-for it doesn't, particularly, not even inside the goldfish bowl-but that it all flows so freely wild, like the creek, that it all surges in such a free, fringed tangle. Freedom is the world's water and weather, the world's nourishment freely given, it's soil and sap and the creator loves pizzazz." Anne Dillard "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"

that it all flows so freely wild...in a free, fringed tangle...freely given...do I live like that? Can I embrace the parts of my life that are a huge tangle? I work so hard to unravel it all...try to fit it into neat categories, but that is not the way He created. So, that gives me some internal freedom today-it's "OK" that on some days I create in paint, some days paper, some days an art journal page, some days nothing at all, some days watercolor or acrylic or ink or a relationship. And, some days, I just need to take the time to study the work of the master creator-to see the colors of an Iowa sunset free for the looking, to see the delicate wildflowers randomly blooming at the base of a black walnut tree, to study the endless expressions and emotions of the people in my life, to see, to live awake and present and freely wild.

In Progress

I titled my summer art show “Emerging” and I didn’t realize how much work emerging could be! Not only am I going through a personal time of growth and change, but also this fall I began teaching a leadership course for adults entitled “Emerging”(Year 1 from Vantage Point 3). All this deep internal focus and attention spent on teaching has caused this blog to fall a bit silent. But, what I’m realizing is the same thing happens in my creative cycle. I study, read, absorb the world around me, and then I go through a process of internally organizing all of that new input. Once I begin to sort it out, categorize and then prioritize-art and words seem to emerge. I’m beginning to see how I do that in so many parts of my life-including my art and teaching. I wish I would of taken the time to share more as I embarked on this journey, but it was important to allow myself the time and concentrated focus necessary. I’ve been feeling the urge to share for awhile-to be honest part of me has been resisting-you know how it is fun to keep a secret to yourself for awhile, but then I get to a point where the dam seems to burst. It seems hard to know where to start…

Over the next few days, I’ll be posting pieces from my show this summer at the Galerie of Pella and sharing a bit of the inspiration behind the art. The piece "In Progress" in my kitchen is at the top of the post. Had to rearrange my dining room for a time this summer so I had the room and light needed to finish this piece.

Freedom

Copyright Melynda Van Zee 2008
From my artist statement: This winter I read a biography of Vincent Van Gogh. The author explained “the idea of the painter-butterfly served a personal purpose for Van Gogh as well as extending the formative debates of his Dutch theological culture. Van Gogh asked ‘How many times have I passed from the larve to the chrysalis state and to a more complete state, which…has set me on the way to achieve a new circle of metamorphosis? ‘” He wrote to a friend, “I, too, should like to know approximately what I am the larve of, myself; where will this butterfly emerge from the chrysalis?”
I, too, wonder, “Where and when will this butterfly emerge?”

New News...
I’m excited to announce I’ll be in the Canvas Corp. and Mark Richards booths at the CHA show this January. I’m going to be teaching some episodes in the Canvas booth-totally cool stuff. They have a paint that works to paint on almost anything-wood, metal, tin, etc. It’s called “Diamond Hard” Furniture, Cabinet & Trim Paint. So, I’ve been playing all over my house. Painted my old coffee table and end tables black.
Here is the "before" photo of my dear old coffee table. I had been telling friends that my "vintage" table had gone from "shabby chic" to plain old shabby. It had been needing some love for awhile.

I’ve got plans to add a coat of "Diamond Hard" Berber to this metal cabinet that was my Grandpa’s.
I’m thinking about redoing our rocking chair. It was a $20 garage sale find from 12 years ago and thinking it would look cool in my newly redecorated bedroom.
The studio is busy this time of year-finishing commissioned pieces, planning for the show, and general preparations for Christmas. I’ll post as much as I can.