Joy

Today was a blissful, dreamlike day.  It came easily. It rolled out of the universe and into my lap.  I didn’t even ask for it.  I didn’t warn it I was coming. But it was ready for me.

Nothing particularly special happened.  In fact, it was bookended by some tricky and emotionally fraught episodes.  Stuff to concentrate all my energy and empathy on.

Nothing special happened apart from the Joy of simply knowing what I am doing; what I am about.  I listened to a podcast or two (the robcast is great), got my hands messy and got totally lost in the sheer joy of painting.  No questions asked.

I came across an Instagram post last night that outlined the artist’s struggle to  make “beautiful, feminine art” in a sphere which does not think this kind of work is serious. It resonated with so many of my experiences of being told my work was “too decorative” ‘too twee” and “too reliant on words”.  I realised actually that most of the people who told me those things were  part of the established,  male dominated world of Art. It was a mini epiphany. I reminded myself of all the artists I have loved and drawn from through my journey, Joseph Cornell and his amazing boxes, Tom Phillips and his altered books, Gustav Klimt,  master of over the top decoration (all that gold!), Gillian Ayres (colour!), Alice Kettle, is Alison Woloughby, Janet Arkell, Elizabeth Blackadder, Jackie Morris.....and I realised I have gathered things from each of them.

I remembered my battle cry from before the Fine Art took over......there is no such thing as “High Art” or “Low Art”, no such divide as “worthy, serious and meaningful” and “fun, playful and exhuberant”, no artificial wall between ‘Art” and “Craft”. There is only human expression of the human experience.

My work doesn’t stand alone and all of these artists are testament to the worth of beauty in Art, the power of Joy expressed.

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It I’m realising that I have freedom to enjoy making Art.  I know that sounds obvious, but perhaps others who have strained through higher education and come out the other side bruised and confused as I did, with a whole array of things to unlearn will understand. 

I’m beginning to love it again.

At the moment it’s punctuated with some pretty hard stuff elsewhere in life. But, goodness, that makes the Joy moments more intense!

There you go.  I told you there would be ups too.