Wherever Here May Be

Wherever Here May Be  black walnut ink, archival pen, graphite, collage  18" x 24"

In the night sky travel the reflection of whales in the sea. In the rivers flow the reflection of stars in the night sky. Neither seek the other, because in one another they are contained. Our souls are cast anywhere they shift their gaze.

We determine the characters we see in a place, in a time. We have only to feel them there; we have only to look where we know they will be. We choose our reaction deep within our soul, when we do find what we seek. We may be comforted, or jarred, or inspired, feel old or infantile, understand everything or see the world anew.

When was the last time you sought? Had the object of your seeking been missing or lost? Had you never seen it before? And how did you come to know to look for it? Did you find it where you thought it would be? Did you find it where you knew it would be? Was it what you expected? Had you had it all along?

The world we learn that everyone else sees charms us at times with its self-importance. But it withers in those moments when our hearts flutter to find the enormous in the very small, or the simple in the very complex. Our hearts can burst at a single giggle from a newborn, and we try to make them laugh, wanting that feeling again and again. And the constellations that hide in a single tiny snowflake! Have you ever felt the wild course of your thoughts and emotions focus and steady in response to a wilder sunset, or all the sounds of a symphony swelling in the climax of their piece?

Everything you could want is right here, already. Wherever Here may be.  

Saint Francis and the Trickster  black walnut ink, archival pen, graphite, collage  18" x 24"

We humans do not always see the wondrous dream we are living in its expansive, intricate, connected entirety.  We play the part of a child acting out the "what-if"; for even the most well-informed decision is impulsive within the scale of the big universe.  And so, the Trickster holds one of our hands walking with us through our lives and showing us to ourselves.  

Saint Francis and the Trickster is currently in Portland, Maine, showing in the University of New England's Art Gallery.  Anne Zill and Geri Vistein co-curated the exhibit, Coyote Connections.  more info here:  http://www.une.edu/artgallery/exhibitions/coyote-connections