Secrets
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We submit to a type of death when gazing upon that which we should not.  Just as when we hold a secret we submit to a type of death because it is in the holding of the secret that ours live are forever altered and true freedom can never be attained. Nothing goes away and all changes with secrets.

A person with a secret is like a person with an object in their hand that they must conceal each moment of their lives.  The very nature of every movement and thought is altered. Depending on what the secret is and how it is held the impact can be very large or small. 

Transparency; the place where the things you can’t fully remember and what you can’t forget collide in an awakening, and where the intersection of years brings you to clarity of moment, when the mirror of transparency appears, a personal transparency, where all is clear, understood and felt. Transparencies, when the one in the mirror and the one reflected are the same.

 

In Italy, there is a practice among lovers to connect a lock on a bridge and toss the keys in the water.  Once the lock is secured, the keys are tossed in the water, never to be retrieved.   This promise of love begs a question.  Can a relationship remain as constant and strong as this lock on a bridge?

Words are spoken that can never be taken back again.  This is part of human communication that has impacted human relationships since time immemorial.  The phrase “I love you” when spoken can never be taken back, just as the keys tossed in the water can never be recovered.  Three words forever change the two people within the relationship.  What if the other person can’t return the love, what if one or the other does not understand the love given, is frightened by it or is confused?  Locking ourselves together through eternity by voicing three words bares the soul, whether receiving or voicing those words. 

Games People Play
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What would this “game of life” lack without your presence?    Is life just a series of bigger and bigger games that people play in order to advance?     Who wins, what are the prizes, who decides the winner?

Does our essence determine how we enter the game?

Essence is the truth of what we are, what is our own: our latent and innate tendencies, our inherent gifts, our sympathies and antipathies.  Essence is what we are born with, but how does that essence affect how we play the game or if we even enter the game?

In “The Game” do we have moments of recognition, where we find our inner selves reflected in the outer world? Is this the moment when the game ends and authentic living begins? Are authentic people winners?

Sometimes we want to give up, run away and leave the game but the game is everywhere; leaving the game is leaving life itself. The game does not stop; night or day, the game continues.

It continues in many ways each day, including the possessions game, which takes over some lives and some cultures. The quest for more, the buying and accumulating, takes time from becoming an authentic person or interacting with authentic people.   Each possession we bring into our lives requires something of us and takes time away from relationships.  The game becomes more complex when possessions and people interact.

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Flow
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Using the fish to explore the concept of flow is a natural link.  The collective effervescence of fish moving together belonging to a group with concrete real existence is symbolic of humans absorbed in a task.  As humans we are most satisfied when we do something for the action itself rather than for some other motive.

The moments of flow can also be called a liminal moment; those moments apart from time when you are gripped, taken, when you are so fully absorbed in what you are doing that time ceases to exist.  “The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult or worthwhile.” p.3 Flow by Mihaly Csikzenthmihalyi  It is the autotelic moments in life those of self goal that are meaningful. 

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Dangling Carrots- Fame, Fortune, Happiness
Self-motivation, understanding of one’s own place in the universe and social responsibilities as a member of a population must be balanced for growth to be measured in more than just an economic sense.

There is duplicity inherent in the image of a carrot dangling from a stick. The deliberate deception may encourage forward progress of an animal, but is unlikely to work for very long in the real world.  Humans in search of fame, fortune and happiness will chase a transparent dangling carrot that is seen by no one but the pursuer. 

To reach fame, fortune or happiness, the mirage that is constructed in the mind of the aspiring individual will block out enough of reality to overcome obstacles to the goal.  There is no concrete definition of “making it”, each person’s defining moment of “making it” is different. 

Fame, fortune and happiness are never fully attained in all people’s eyes. Each person reaches for his own dangling carrot, which is a completely intangible and sometimes illogical destination.  What is duplicity to some may be satisfaction for others.  It may be necessary to continue to chase more elaborate and new dangling carrots in order to continue to strive and not stagnate as a person both spiritually and physically.  

Touch
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The tulip provides an artistic way of exploring various types of touch, and the impact that touching has on our lives.   A touch can give us a concentrated sense of life, an energy transfer like nothing else can.  The touching of souls, minds or hearts that are seeking contact with another is life altering.

Every action produces an energy that will vibrate in eternity.  Like a pebble in a pond, the rings of energy keep moving outward from the initial touch, whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual or mental. However, learning to touch the silence within ourselves and be comfortable with our own company is a lifelong task. Touching and being touched is what makes us human and makes us thrive when times are challenging.

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Daimon  Other images in the series



Tulip bulbs are used to represent an attendant spirit, a genius in this series; daimon.  The word daimon derived from the Greek language and represents the positive aspects in the culture of demons.  Demons were considered intermediaries between the gods and humans.  Each person possesses an inner image of completeness, an essence, just like a tulip bulb holds within it the essence of the flower it will be. Subtle intimations from within mark our true destiny and reveal our true selves.  People, like bulbs, are developing, growing, changing even if we don’t see it.  Each day brings subtle changes that push a person into new directions and challenges just like the bulb reaching upward to the sky.

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Connections Other images in the series 

This series explores connections in my own world from the wisdom of a professor, to the innocence of a child that I teach each person changes who I am and who I will become.  The unconditional acceptance of a person allows a connection or a common thread of interest to grow and to become a strong bond and time and distance does not sever.

Sir Francis Bacon said that the worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship. Without connections to other people and their emotions we are destitute

Lives Overlapping
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There is a trust in some people that blurs differences and blinds prejudice. Humankind pauses and looks in before entering, as though trust has been lost from natural design. Windows provide distance and a perceived involvement, yet the viewers do not know what the situation is until they participate fully.

Windows allow people to look out, but they also allow people to look in. Why do we look in? Do we want to see that other people are not so different from us? If there were windows on people that allowed us to see into their intentions, motivations, aspirations or potential, humans would we understand each other better. We install windows on superficial items like cars and houses, yet we cover up what is most important and don’t realize that our lives are very similar and overlap in many ways.

Lives overlap all over the world. We hang out our laundry to dry metaphorically and physically and hope that the overlap with others with bring a sense of companionship and understanding.

Abandonment 40 x 30"
Pastel on paper

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Trapped
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Many times in life we try to trap or hold onto something longer than we can. We try to control scents, people, moments and feelings.  We try to trap moments through photography and smells through perfume.  The perfume jars are a symbol for this attempt to trap the scents of nature in a jar to use later.  When that bottle is opened and the perfumed is applied, the scent is lost to the air.

A perfume lingers after the person wearing it has departed.  The scent may be in the room, on a piece of clothing, or on a pillow they used.  This evokes notions of enduring strength and remembrance.  Perfumes thus symbolize memory.

Spanish Blue 24 x 18"

Pastel on Paper

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Standing Alone