Nurturing the Woman Inside

I have been thinking about my motivational ideas regarding my artwork and the new piece I have begun. The hidden garden of a woman, the secret garden, the inner self. That place where only those with an invitation are allowed to enter, and readily kicked out if they trespass in too bold a manner. I have been trying to express that inner reality, my feminine ideas sculpted by my adventures with the moon lodge, Jung, O’Keeffe, growing up female in an American patriarchal society. It is important to me to try and express all the ideas I have entertained into the physical form of a piece of art.

This morning I watched a documentary of an English woman, who was always an artist inside, but needed to conform to societal expectations of her era ~ the wife aspect of being a female; raising children, laundry, cooking, cleaning ~ her loving husband encouraged her to go to art school and she became an artist. A very good artist, who painted the dilapidated houses of London. Unfortunately, she had a stroke which left her quite debilitated. She struggled to paint again but the stroke left her with essential tremor, and her shaky hands could no longer hold the brush steady. This film left me with the idea of not taking for granted that I will always be able to paint. Things happen ~ we are not immortal.

I bought some more decorative paper, and a new panel support. The panel is gessoed, I have chosen the paper and color pallet, and printed the main figure on mulberry paper. This piece will involve my admiration of Hokusai and the Ukiyo-e floating world. This morning, I watched a Museum of Fine Arts-Boston lecture about Hokusai, the Ukiyo-e block prints and the use of strong lines and color. I didn’t know this but Prussian blue became the rage. I bought a bottle of liquid acrylics yesterday in that same color ~ universal synchronicity. I worry that the use of an image of a Japanese woman will be branded as cultural appropriation. But really, it is exploring the inner landscape of a woman ~ perhaps a Geisha ~ who lives two different lives. The outer societal constraints and her inner world.