Beyond the Sum
From James Bradley’s novel, The Deep Field:
I do not know what art is
but I do know there are things—
objects,
arrangements
of words
and space
and colour
and sound—
which seem to move beyond
the sum of their parts,
creating something greater,
something that transcends the pieces
from which they are formed.
I have been floundering, slumping, feeling at sea recently, aware of faint stirrings to go to my studio while simultaneously feeling unable to get myself there.
BUT, happily, this morning the pull was stronger than the self-sabotage of resistance. I took the second half of the piece I generated a week ago, cut it in half, and began developing it further, suddenly tapping back into the wordless communication between materials and muse that I’d experienced last week.
I responded to what was in hand with what I had at hand—synapses firing all the while—and stopped when the work felt complete. Then I puttered with various paper supplies, glues, and my paper trimmer to create a card.
I had no idée fixe as I worked, in fact no particular idée at all. But I look now and find myself transported to the setting of a lighthouse in Owl’s Head, Maine, in June 2024, with blustery winds and scudding gray clouds foretelling imminent afternoon showers.
Transcendence!
2.5 x 5″; iridescent gelato color sticks, water-soluble
colored pencils, gesso, oil pastels, and India ink on card stock
enclosure card
2025
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13 responses to “Beyond the Sum”
Glad that inspiration pulled you! I love the colors, and the landscapy feeling!
Simone, I was SO glad inspiration pulled me into action! Lifted my spirits!
I’m disappointed, though, not to have been able to get a satisfying photo. I tried using my scanner but it surprised me by not being able to pick up the iridescent/”neon” colors in this piece at all, and it was very difficult to get an adequate photo by hand. Frustrating!
Thanks, Carol. As I mentioned in a comment above, I was very frustrated not to be able to get a decent head-on image of this painting, so I’m glad you were able to see through the image I DID get to notice that the card sports a diptych painting on a flat enclosure card; the left hand bit is about .25″ wide, the right hand about 5.5″—I liked the (slightly) disrupted cohesion of the two parts together.
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Roseanne, thank you. Your words about percolation are an invitation to, in the words of Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, “praise what is. To be in service to the continual unfolding that is the nature of, well, everything.” And then to, in YOUR words, “really enjoy the play between color and texture and movement.”
In response to that invitation, in MY words, I say, “Yes!”
Sheila, first, your collages in your February Creative Gathering have been strong and captivating! NO clue in them perceptible to me that you might be having any feelings of floundering or being unable to get yourself to your studio; my hat is off to you for showing up and creating!
I could so identify with you about getting caught up for several minutes staring at a painting, with eyes moving around, taking it in again and again. Thanks for letting me know the linework in my piece above had your eyes traveling to and fro, to and fro : )
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Your work often pulls me like that.
Thank you, Dotty. It is so nice to hear that the doubt is not showing up in the work. You need to know your descriptive and delightful observations nudge me on, Dotty. Thank you, my friend! xoxo
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