In the painting, Spirit Tree, I pay homage to the invisible forces around us. In the foreground, three smaller trees blow in the breeze, green, full of life. They might be the offspring of the huge tree-shape above. Like a parent, the enormous gray tree looms over them. The larger tree’s absence of color implies […]
I grew up in Seattle, across the street from a lake. Because I spent most of my childhood swimming in that large basin of water, it became my second home. When I dove in, I went so deep I touched the bottom and felt the crawdads playing. Fish swam nearby. Lily pads grew around me.
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When I’m at the ocean, I stare at a long roll of water. It’s already built up to a swell, reached the apex of its rounded height, and now begins to break as it moves onto the shore. Often the beach is curved, so when I gaze at its entire length, the waves seem to
I don’t have to meditate to increase awareness; if I set my intention to do so, it can happen no matter what is going on. Traditionally, meditation is seen as the best way to enhance reflection on thinking patterns. When still, one naturally notices thoughts drifting through the mind and can observe them, rather than
In the drawing Music Meditation by artist Kaethe Kauffman, musical notes surround the meditating figure. She sits in repose, her hair in a casual ponytail. What is the importance of melodies to this meditator? In temples across the globe, one of the traditional offerings to buddha consciousness is music which can suffuse the performers and
In Kauffman’s painting, Autumn Trees, yellow and orange branches blow in the wind, arcing in obeyance to the earth’s raw power. The two trees seem related to each other. Perhaps they are older and younger sisters. It appears that the large tree shields the shorter one from tempestuous gusts. In between the two, an intriguing
Root Energy Turquoise is an ink drawing of a tree, including its underground roots that expand toward a water table at the bottom of the picture plane. The drawing employs an intense use of lines. Thousands of tiny ink lines comprise the trees’ leaves, trunk and root system as if all are bursting with visible
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The other day, someone I just met, a young woman named Sarah, told me, “I’m a deep person,” meaning that she considered herself to be insightful and intuitive. I responded with a muffled, “Oh,” and swallowed a laugh. It seemed to me that only a shallow person would proclaim herself to be “deep.” I met
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When I gaze at clouds, it seems that a brain switch flips and allows me to suddenly see dogs racing across the sky or sheep grazing in a field. The same thing happens when I doodle thousands of tiny ink lines on paper. When I stop and let my eyes wander around the random field,
The art process can lead an artist into unexpected byways. An innocent contemplation of harvesting autumn fruit took me in a surprising direction. The end of summer means ripening fruit on the trees and expanding squashes, like pumpkins, on the vines. As they reach maturity, I become excited. Harvesting yellow and orange squashes, red apples,
