Pages

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Meditation Sunday - Faces Behind the Mask and Paint

We each present ourselves to the world uniquely in our dress or costume... but beneath lies the dreaming soul, that spark that enlivens our being in the world... The mask/shield sculpture in this picture I created in 1998 as part of my training in art therapy. I used and shaped leather over a life plaster cast of a person's face and used an overall palette of gold, red and black. Found crow feathers and a smaller sculpture of my beloved cat are incorporated onto a natural wood spiral symbolic of my journey with an attached "medicine bag" of more symbolic objects inside. This has never been shown nor hung in a gallery, instead it hangs in my house so I can see it every day and remember my dreaming self that it represents... I was fully employed at the time in a very legalistic career, while art had always filled my spare time, and I dreamed of becoming an art therapist. I completed a program and became a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist in 2000... because of my belief in the power of art to heal, and that undefinable sacred place that creating something takes me to, "the zone". I continued that career, but I added teaching Creativity and Coaching peers to my repetoire. Now retired from the career, creating art is a full time passion. And the dreamer is still here.

Meditation
Who is your dreaming soul beneath the everyday face that is presented? And notice how does this spark change and evolve over time? Reflecting over all the years, it is the same me beneath everything, still there... but perhaps my "outer face" is more in harmony with my "dreaming self".
Now, here is a fantastic You-Tube Video. Unfortunately, my audio is still not working so I can't vouch for the music as I can't hear it, but "The Omo River People" video presents stunning faces with body paint and adornment, all masterfully photographed by Hans Sylvester. The Omo River is in southern Ethiopia. I love these faces, they are so soulful, and the eyes are truly captivating. Enjoy and contemplate who you are and your place in the world...

8 comments:

Gwen said...

Great Sunday meditation! The music is great, by the way. What a beautiful video, I am so glad you chose it. I really loved it. Lots of inspiration...

HeartFire said...

Thanks Gwen, I'm glad the music is good, just got to figure out my audio problem soon, so annoying...
Aren't those faces a wonder, so artful, beautiful..... I find them inspiring too.

Binky said...

Fantastic! I'll be watching that gain.
The music was beautiful and fitting.

Meri said...

The mask is magnificent and the meditation is magnificent as well. By the way, don't know if it applies to your house, but my audio stopped working for no apparent reason and I finally discovered that my naughty kittens had frolicked on the keyboard and managed to mute the sound system. When I figured it out, it was an easy fix.

HeartFire said...

Thanks Meri!
I wish it was cat dancing, but it's been out about 3 weeks or so. My Skype phone wasn't working as well as it should, so we fiddled with the settings & plugs, forgetting to write down the original settings where it at least worked, and now it doesn't work at all. Will probably take some dedicated time, trying every setting and plug combo! Ugh.

JonesMoore Studio Art, Lisa JonesMoore said...

I love this video!

pattrsnd said...

I love this piece! Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving your kind comment...it's very much appreciated! That blue cast was because I made the mistake of leaving my white balance on tungsten after photographing a few paintings.. I tried to fix it in photpshop...but the results were pleasing anyway! :)

HeartFire said...

Lisa, glad you liked this one...

David, thanks for looking & comment on my art piece. I think I'd call your photo "mistake" a happy accident, that blue cast has a great look to it....