Germination

Well, I went to see the RSA New Contemporaries Exhibition. Some interesting pieces and a couple I found a bit disturbing. But needless to say that is just my POV. My favourites pieces had to be those by Jonathan Richards http://www.jpfrichards.com/. I loved the way that the stretched linen (painted with acrylic) on canvas reminded me of the fragility of filo pastry, and that something folded and white could engage me to the extent that I didn't want to stop looking at it. Strongly resisted the urge to touch. This is one of his pieces, but my favourite was a smaller canvas with a lot more folds that were tucked and twisted under and through.

Duncan (2009) - Jonathan Richards

My current project is about what it feels like for me to be free of depression - moving from a place of restriction and darkness to one of openness, light and growth. I've been looking at plants pushing through fences (one of my sketches below) and open and closed doors. I've also planted some lupin seeds to watch new growth and I'm so excited, my first seed sprouted today and pushed its way up through the soil. Below is a photo of the little seedling. As an aside, one of the doors this week was one at St Triduana's Chapel. Apparently St Triduana was one of the virgins who accompanied St Regulas to Scotland in the 6th Century. The story goes that while residing in Angus, she was pursued by Nechtan, the local chieftan who was struck by the beauty of her eyes. Her response to this unwanted affection was to pluck them out and send them to him impaled on a thorn. I've been trying to figure out whether a simple "no" just wasn't working or whether she was trying to point out that admiring her solely for the beauty of her eyes was a bit shallow. Either way, it must've hurt both of them quite badly. Maybe it was for the best??