13 APRIL, 2018
In the Flow
What the Water Gave Me is a collage I made when I was missing the ocean. It's one of those rare pieces that seemed to come out of nowhere, without much conscious thought. This phenomenon is sometimes called "flow"- a term that was coined by psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, whose research subjects "...often described their experiences using the metaphor of a water current carrying them along." I feel very lucky and blessed when this happens, though I'm usually shocked by the length of time that's passed while I was immersed in the work.
What the Water Gave Me
mixed media collage on vintage book cover, 6 3/4 x 10 1/2 x 1/2 inches
ingredients: antique and vintage maps and ephemera, shells, paint chips, feather, lace
“Artists, especially painters, got so immersed in their work that they would disregard their need for food, water and even sleep. Thus, the origin of research on the theory of flow came about when Csikszentmihályi tried to understand this phenomenon experienced by these artists.” (Wikipedia) The components of flow are no doubt familiar to many artists. Among them are "intense and focused concentration on the present moment" (check!); "loss of reflective self-consciousness" (check!); and "a distortion of ... one's subjective experience of time" (check!).
If you're an artist, or someone who engages in creative work of any kind, I know you've thought little time had passed while you worked, only to look up at the clock in total shock to find that it's now five-thirty, when you thought it was only two. If you're interested in learning more, read Mihaly Csikszentmihályi's book, Finding Flow.
Missing the Ocean
If I haven't been to the ocean in a while, I feel like part of me is missing. No one describes it better than Mary Oliver:
The Sea
Stroke by
Stroke my
Body remembers that life and cries for
The lost parts of itself-
Fins, gills
Opening like flowers into
The flesh…I swear I know
Just what the blue-gray scales
Shingling
The rest of me would
Feel like!
Paradise!
..the very bones! How
They long to give up the long trek inland, the brittle
Beauty of understanding,
And dive,
And simply
Become again a flaming body
Of blind feeling…
Vanished like victory inside that
Insucking genesis, that
Roaring flamboyance, that
Perfect
Beginning and
Conclusion of our own.
I just had to share this song, coincidentally called "What the Water Gave Me" by Florence and the Machine.
Enjoy!
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