Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Golden Blessings

GOLDEN BLESSINGS



Daniel Seward

why are my keys covered in milk?why is my shampoo "for women of color"?where did my new hat go?what is that noise coming from the carrot?
(A small rubber toy carrot)


James Meadows

Son jumps on chest" I gotcha you ...i hug you baby sad...'
(a child safe lock)


Noavakay Knight

Come with me....
(A bouncy ball)


These are a few "Golden Blessings". It is a new project that is interactive and was inspired by a personal experience with heartbreak over black and blue parsnips. Yes, parsnips. I literally was in tears about the poor quality of parsnips offered at Hannaford Market. The disgusting quality of packaged parsnips spoke to me of the larger picture. How little love and care and nurture was given to these "tender n' sweet" (that's what the package said) parsnips. How can we live in a society that doesn't love and nurture what we consume and create. After a mini breakdown in the parking lot....I began to imagine how could I transform this, like alchemy...and I imagined that my tears were turning these parsnips in to little golden blessings. Like a fairy tale. I felt better, even though I had no idea what the blessing would be for?

A few days later I read an amazing passage in my book; 'Love Poems to God' by Rainer Maria Rilke

It said:

'No thing is too small for me to cherish and paint in gold, as if it were an icon that could bless us, though I'll not know who else among us will feel this blessing'

This reading was like reading my own mind, and it vocalized that I didn't need to know what the blessing was for.

So, I began my golden blessing project which is; I find these small discarded items when I walk...and then I match them to a person on Facebook, and sometimes I find the blessing first, and sometimes the person is in my head first that day..and what that person writes as their 'status' at that moment on Facebook becomes what the blessing is for or about. The person has no knowledge of these blessings, (until now).
I am thinking of these little golden blessings as little icons, or little magic things with alchemical properties of love and power to bless....

Along with this, I just made three little paintings that I planted seeds in. They are based on the same inspiration. that nothing is too small to cherish. Each day I will water these paintings, with love and we shall see....they are a bit of a meditation, reminding me of this principle that nothing is too small to cherish.

I am excited buy both of these projects as they both are interactive between me and nature, chance, and time.

The three little "planted" paintings with my eyedropper for watering



These 'planted' paintings are postcard size and the are made with encaustic, lentils, beans, gold leaf, paper towel, and transferred images of Haeckel's radiolarians.
(single cell marine life)




2 comments:

Gretchen Kelly said...

Dawn,
This is a treasure and so so special. I love the weird interaction with FB - it makes so much non-sense! Just perfecto!

Anonymous said...

thx for reminding me of seeing the beauty and art in the things and people around us
un baccio
x
gio'