Monday, December 11, 2017

Brush Creek 3


Ah, Back to Brush Creek. Undisturbed time in a beautiful place, talking with like minds, what more can a person want?
My days were structured. I would rise at 3:00/3:30 AM (I was still on east coast time so I decided why adjust? More focused time!) Walk at sunrise, most times with my friend Lori. Except the one memorable time when I was alone. (That is when I met the mountain lion. I'll save that story rather than getting segued now.) Return to work.  Lunch with others at noonish.....more work. Dinner at 6 ish. Talk, sleep and do it again. BLISS.
During this time I accomplished 12 finished paintings. Rarely can I do that. The reason was- I only used one brain the entire time. Never needing to stray from my painting brain was amazing. During the usual course of the day I (and probably you) wear many brains. For me it's painting, teaching and home/family. Not having to switch brains was bliss. It meant I was always thinking about my work, never straying from its problem solving.
 After many fruitful discussions with the other artists I discovered things that may be obvious to others, but not me. First, our group consisted to a good mix of people. Intentionally they do not group like with like, instead it was a group of diverse interests- Adam(composer), Lori (short story/essay writer),  Laurie (documentary film maker and writer), Ivy (graphic designer), Ryan (photographer) and Crystal (fiction writer.) The one thing we had in common was that no work exists without tension. Music, writing, film, music, you name it, tension must be there to have interest. It's what creates energy. I have always known the way I make tension. If you are interested I will post that list at another time. But now, I added another..... strength vs fragility.

Another nugget of wisdom from the residency. Always continue your search but be open to realizing it was really a different search you were on... not the one you first thought.

3 comments:

Mitch said...

Unbelievably beautiful work! I don't know if I recognize the metallic look of these current pieces - you have developed a patina that seems impossible to achieve, and yet gives a timeless feel. The second piece especially, the tension between the "rosy-fingered dawn" and the greenish cast of the sky adjacent, while the land itself is bathed in a warmer Sienna-like tone. So very beautiful!

Donna T said...

Thanks for sharing some of your new work here, Loriann. I wish I could see them in person because they are amazing! I can tell you really opened the floodgates of creativity at this residency. I thought you only encountered skunks out in the wild?!

loriann signori said...

Beautiful description Mitch! Thank you for your thoughts and for taking the time to write them!

I wish you could see them too.... and yes, I have expanded my wildlife repertoire.... who knows what will be next?