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April 2014


4.1.2014


4.2.2014


Happy pre-blossom, air warmer,
grass brown, but a few green sprouts,
birds fighting, squirrels digging,
kids in the yard, and one last
patch of ice to melt Day!

Three deep breaths is the proper celebration.
4.3.2014


Courting Spring
4.4.2014



Water Moving Downhill


As simple as
As natural as
As unstoppable as
Nothing else possible
The natural order

Given Earth,
The water cycle,
Topography,
Porosity of soil,
Cohesion of water molecules,

The stream behind the barn is swollen
With water moving downhill,
Awakened by gravity's constant pull,
And the rush of the rapids
And the calm of the pond.


4.5.2014


4.6.2014


4.7.2014


4.8.2014


In the morning
as the world opens...
4.9.2014



Dissolution arising
Naturally encounters resistance

While the absence present
...or the present absence
Shapes the path

4.10.2014


Getting ready for takeoff...
4.11.2014


4.12.2014


Azaleas peaking.
4.13.2014


Spring cycle, memorable patterns, new growth.
4.14.2014


Irrationally Intertwined
4.15.2014


4.16.2014


4.17.2014


Emptiness and Compassion
4.18.2014


Louisiana gravel
4.19.2014


We left a brown carpet,
And returned to a green meadow.
4.20.2014


Squared away
4.21.2014


Earth is our idea.
4.22.2014


Removing hidden obstacles.

I find oneness
so greatly dependent
on the degree to which
I can abandon myself to the work.
4.23.2014


Amplifying Presence

Making art is chaotic. I often find myself overwhelmed by the
all consuming intensity of the process. One month ago I
finished a super-sized artwork that was in production for
almost six months. This work is the culmination of many
cycles. One cycle that had lasted seventeen years
unexpectedly came to fruition in this piece. I was elated.

By early April, the inevitable post-production let down began.

What would I do next? What did I have to say?
Would it be any good? Would anyone buy it?

I was not worried. When I need a map of the creative process
I turn to the 10 Zen Ox herding pictures.

I trust the creative process.

In this very open, in-between time, before I plan the next large work,
I promise myself that I will do more than just visual art;
I will also be mindfully aware of each stage as it unfolds.

So far, so good. The process has been closely adhering to the map of
the ox herding pictures. Each stage I've seen so far is summed up here:

Stage 1) Late March/Early April - Seeking the ox - For several weeks I was in dissolution, seeking a direction, unable to find the path.

Stage 2) Mid April while traveling home - Finding the tracks- A few
new compositions, some ideas begin to form and fit together,
I get excited about how the charcoal looks on primer,
and suddenly I have a path to follow.

Stage 3) Early this week - new imagery and good ideas for
the next large work. This is stage three of the Ox herding images when the ox appears, and, as if on cue, the image above appeared.
Now I must amplify that presence, grab it by the horns, and bring it
into the world.

I leave you with the verse that often accompanies the third ox herding image:

A nightingale warbles on a twig,
the sun shines on undulating willows.
There stands the Ox, where could he hide?
That splendid head, those stately horns,
what artist could portray them?

4.24.2014


4.25.2014


4.26.2014


4.27.2014



Releasing both
resistance and insistence
allows a drawing to emerge.

Releasing resistance
is naturally
letting go.

Releasing insistence is patience.
Drawings don't like
to be told what to do.

4.28.2014


Figure and ground embrace.
4.29.2014


It rained all day.
4.30.2014