Thursday, April 5, 2018

Fissures

So much poetry in the dictionary entry for fissure:

a long, narrow 
opening 
or 
line of breakage 
made by 
cracking 
or 
splitting, 
especially in rock 
or 
earth. 

So much poetry in fissures themselves. Since my earliest days, I have been drawn to rock, drawn to the fault lines and fissures in rock. On vacation in the small village of Feltzen South in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, two summers ago, I was wowed by rock formations at Ovens Park. They were poems writ large.

So, I tape out a quadrilateral on my Core Values grid and get out ink and paint. Start working my way along.

tape out a quadrilateral in the grid,
lay in some lights and darks
add color
ink in some fissures

12 comments:

Simone said...

I love to think about rocks and their beautiful patterns as large poems, written on the earth. I'll probably be in the South of France within 3 weeks or so, and I will remember your story about the fissure!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Simone, thanks so much for your response—I love to imagine your having a new appreciation for fissures in France, seeing them as poetry written on the earth!

carol edan said...

I just finished listening to a Ted talk about the connections we have with the universe and ourselves. You image and your fissures sort of reminded me of this infinite connection we all have with our surroundings and how what we do,our breathing, our creations all have this connectivity! Question, why use tape when working on one grid? Maybe they want to reach and touch their neighbors?

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Carol, I love the connectivity factor!

Partial answer to question: The entirety of Core Values is interconnected in the earliest layers with gesso, mark making, and collage. Now, different connections are being made, with some patches interwoven and others standing shoulder to shoulder. But, the universe of this painting as a whole is yet young. Stay tuned!

Thanks for sending a link by email to the Ted Talk.

Lola (Jen Jovan) said...

Whoa! That ink made it POP! Thank you for the dictionary poetry....gorgeous.

Carolyn said...

Dotty, The delightful suspense of this Core Values painting enlivens me completely!! Where is she going next? Thanks so much for your daily wonderings!!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Isn't the ink just magical? Glad you like it. And the dictionary poetry. Really spoke to me.

Thanks, Jen.

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Hi Carolyn, always a fun surprise to have you pop up on my screen : )

So glad you're enjoying the Core Values adventure. It is turning out NOT to be what I'd imagined when I started it. If you pop back over to my 4/3 post ("Finger Painting"), you'll see I wrote a reply to Laurie this morning that traces its evolution and my thoughts to date. Enjoy! I'm grateful to have you following along.

Janet Bradish said...

When your painting has a good start the possibilities are endless - adding the black ink makes things pop and gives you so many places to add on. I have already see the latest of this core values piece and it is stunning.

Sheila said...

What JOY you bring to my day Dotty! Memories of days spent in the canyons, climbing over rocks, and collecting them. What fun the huge board has been :)

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Good starts. Sometimes I can set a good start in motion intentionally. Sometimes a random start turns out to be a good one. No guarantees in MY studio! Adding the ink was fun—it offered a fun blend of doing what I wanted and going where IT wanted: perfect!

Thank you, Janet!

dotty seiter: now playing said...

Sheila, I love hearing that my painting is triggering memories for you of days spent in the canyons climbing over and collecting rocks. I have such strong memories of childhood clambering on rock. I love the conversation between eyes and feet that allows for navigation.

Also glad you're having fun following along with this huge board.

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