bringing attention to the everyday to elevate it to the sacred ...

My roommate during my artist's retreat is very eloquent, as well as being a beautiful person inside and out. She described my work saying, “You gave a clear and compassionate vision for bringing attention to the everyday to elevate it to the sacred.”

That statement sums up my creative vision. Bringing attention to the everyday is a constant thread throughout my creative journey, from creating an international business selling jewelry and gift items made out of ‘used’ bottle caps to an 8 foot dress sculpture out of eggshells. 

Thank you Siobhan for such a succinct description of my creative process.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, in San Gimignano I started this series of site-specific mixed media collages. I created around 20 of these pieces, and was reluctant to stop.

Of course I had to bring back some of my found treasures. Needless to say, I was waiting for customs to question my need to bring ‘trash’ back with me. But that’s the point, it is not trash to me.  

Fortunately I wasn't searched or even questioned. So I have a few of my treasure with me, however I feel that an interesting element of this series is that it is site specific so I am applying to the Gallery 263's  2025 Artist in Residence to see what the streets of Cambridge might inspire! Wish me luck & peace.

For you, a reading from John O'Donohue ...

"For the Artist at the Start of Day" 

by John O'Donohue 

May morning be astir with the harvest of night;

Your mind quickening to the eros of a new question,

Your eyes seduced by some unintended glimpse

That cut right through the surface to a source.

May this be a morning of innocent beginning,

When the gift within you slips clear

Of the sticky web of the personal

With its hurt and its hauntings,

And fixed fortress corners,

A Morning when you become a pure vessel

For what wants to ascend from silence,

May your imagination know

The grace of perfect danger,

To reach beyond imitation,

And the wheel of repetition,

Deep into the call of all

The unfinished and unsolved

Until the veil of the unknown yields

And something original begins

To stir toward your senses

And grow stronger in your heart

In order to come to birth

In a clean line of form,

That claims from time

A rhythm not yet heard,

That calls space to

A different shape.

May it be its own force field

And dwell uniquely

Between the heart and the light

To surprise the hungry eye

By how deftly it fits

About its secret loss.


"For the Artist at the Start of Day" 

by John O'Donohue, 

from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings (Doubleday, 2008).

There were so many inspiring elements my artist’s retreat in San Gimignano which I hope to incorporate into my everyday. One I hope to continue is starting the day with an inspiration poem, blessing, prayer or prose.

Michael Dowling always seems to know what to read to his groups. This was true in all the classes that I’ve taken with him, and so true during this retreat. We, as an artist community, would meet every morning with a reading and conversation, an ideal way to start a day of creating.  One author that Michael shares often is John O'Donohue. I have found his words very inspiring.

Many times I would transcribe the reading in my sketchbook as I found that writing the words out helped me to really understand ideas and such.

I hope to do more inspiring morning reading and wish to share some here.  And more of the magic that I discovered on my retreat to come!!! 

peace

Look at the little things ...

feel free to print this calendar for y9our personal enjoyment

“Find magic in the little things, and the big things you always expected will start to show up.”

― Isa Zapata

Your #virginiacreates May calendar is coming to you a bit late because I was on an artist's retreat in San Gimignano, Italy and, blessedly, I had little WiFi.  The retreat was run by Michael Dowling of Spoke, www.spokeart.org, an amazing organization that I highly recommend you look at the work that they do!!! 

This month's #virginiacreates calendar is featuring one of the collages that I made during my retreat.  Inspired by a story that Michael shared on our first morning.  He spoke about a woman who was committed to an asylum and who collected stuff out of the trash to embroider and to create with.  The asylum staff saw this habit of going through the trash as proof of her mental sickness and medicated her.  This story broke my heart on so many levels.   I am a woman who has used trash and debris in much of her work - from an international business of making jewelry out of used bottle caps to a room sized installation centered around a n 8 foot dress sculpture made out of used eggshells. 

the magical city of San 
Gimignano   

So on my first day of retreat,  I wondered the magical streets of this medieval town with Michael's story replaying in my head.  Soon my attention was drawn to a discarded museum ticket and this series began.  Below are some more of these collages.  Most are created on 4x6 watercolor paper, though as the series progressed I was just working with my found treasures, creating unique art objects.

peace

many of the 'collages'

property of Virginia Fitzgerald

property of Virginia Fitzgerald