July 22, 2022 Weekly Musings
Posted on July 22 2022
Announcements:
Visions Are Like Maps of Me Receives Merit Award
"Visions Are Like Maps of Me" has won a merit award at the Manito Art Leagues recent exhibition in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin
Northwoods Art Tour 2022
The summer North Woods Art Tour is right around the corner! July 22-23-24. This video gives you a little taste of what it feels like to get a behind-the-scenes looks at some of the North Woods' finest artists studios and galleries, including mine!
Click HERE to view Christine Alfery's
Northwoods Art Tour Galleries 2022
Musings:
Dragonflies and Daughters
This musing first posted -June 7th 2020. Memories are our history. This memory never leaves me. Recently my daughter sent me a photograph of a dragonfly landing on her head when she was paddling one day. This memory never leaves her either. I painted another picture of this memory, took many artistic liberties here – but still it is the memory.
I shared this painting with my daughter – still loving the connection the two of us have with dragonflies. I wanted to know her reaction. But, I didn’t expect what I got as she said, “It’s cute!”
If there is something a serious artist never wants to hear is that her work is cute. So, I immediately started to revise the work to make it more serious. Go figure – one little word did it – cute. I am including the two versions of the work, version 1 and version 2 with this musing. I thought you all would like to see them both. Version one obviously doesn’t exist anymore except in a print. But, then I’m not sure I even want to print it. Ha ha – the vanity of a serious artist.
Oh my gosh the dragonflies came out today. So many good memories of dragonflies. I remember when my daughter was still a child - we sat on the beach for a whole day watching them emerge and climb up the boathouse wall.
Emerging Dragonfly by Christine Alfery
Their wings drying in the wind.
The urge to help them along - but leaving them alone.
The colors - the wonderful, wonderful, beautiful colors.
Ever since that day my daughter and I have a special bond with dragonflies - and I have painted many of them. You can see them on my website: www.christinealfery.com.
Dragonflies are filled with hope - and for me love - and new birth. They just make me feel good inside - and they are now 1000's of them flying around in my backyard.
Such a glorious moment - time to pause.
Spirit: Dragonflies and Daughters
Featured image: Hope
This work took on a life of itself. It wasn’t until I was working with the shirt and for some reason, adding turquoise to the color palette that I understood and accepted the piece as it wanted to be. Turquoise isn’t a color that I normally work with, but there it was. I wondered why I had chosen it now so I looked it up online. Besides the normal gemology stuff, turquoise is very symbolic for many cultures. According to what I found in my research, it is a stone that travels far back into history. Some believed that the stone had the profound power to protect. I laugh at that, the painting seemed to be protecting itself, “Enough, enough,“ it said. But turquoise has a tranquil energy, and some say it is associated with enduring love. I think I need to get some turquoise. Turquoise also represents calmness, serenity, peace of mind, mental clarity, intuition, joy, balance, strength, invincibility, wisdom, tranquility, protections, good fortune, and hope. Wow, I think I will use more turquoise, what an amazing color! It certainly makes a major statement in this work along with the orange background and red hat. The spirit of this work lies not only within myself and my history but also lies deeply in my daughter’s history. It is part of her foundation and her spirit, as it is mine. In the actual spirit of the work, there is no resemblance of my daughter except for some of the colors I used and except for the idea of daughters and dragonflies. Like the turquoise stone, it is the “idea” of this work. With both, there is enduring love. There is a peace of mind, balance, strength, invincibility, wisdom and yes, indeed like that day my daughter and I watched dragonflies emerge and dry their wings on the beach, it is filled with tranquility.
The Spirit of the Artist
Featured image: Sunset At The Lake II
The spirit of the artist is just that, the artist’s spirit, not another’s, just theirs. With so much division today, it is hard not to be totally immersed in politics and taking sides. But I think always of how destructive that is. It is so much harder than just respecting the other’s opinion and not making it a game of winners and losers. We haven’t changed much over history. We are easily entertained with sports and competition. We shout and scream, feeling good when our team wins. But if you think about i, honestly, we are being controlled and lulled into following the herd.
I believe the political attitude of an artist should be a simple matter. I refuse all collusion with social and political forces, and that is hard to do – I know I have been there. Those forces represent regression and servitude. By servitude I mean not doing what is best for myself first and then helping others. If I can’t help myself first, then I am not prepared to help others and to serve others, I am merely following. I never wish to become the tool of another. For being their tool takes away my own uniqueness and individuality.
My commitment in life is to creativity, my own creativity, and to progress and change. Think about it. If we all lived creatively and valued creativity, how different the world would be. My work itself is created in the spirit of freedom, unique individual freedom, and unique collective freedom. Freedom of spirit and its vision. How does and artist visualize freedom and write about freedom? How is freedom defined in your mind, in your spirit and in your soul? Imagine how it would be if we all lived surrounded by freedom, and our spirit filled with the concept of freedom. I’m not speaking of the freedom that is illusionary and created by another to control, but the sincere, authentic freedom of our heart and soul.
Two Ships
History is but time remembered. This time remembered is part of us all. Art at least my art just captures my time and the things I have experienced and that have become a part of me.
As an artist I love being connected to the poetics of time. It makes sense for me because basically, I am a romantic. Many times I have imagined myself steering two different ships. With one, I am traveling through historical time and space, going back to my foundations and my history. I love being connected to the time and poetics of the past. The other ship is moving forward with my imaginings and future time and space and what could be. There are conduits between my two ships and I am the artist guiding those conduits. I imagine fibers of some yarn being torn apart slowly, slowing until the last thread releases. It is a tight rope for sure but the journey is glorious and freeing.
When Holly and I flew into Las Vegas to drive to the Grand Canyon, we were two ships, I have been to the Grand Canyon many times, but this was Holly’s first visit. My history and the history that Holly created with her first visit, added to both of our histories and foundations. We shared the poetics of the past and present, imagined, dreamed, had silent moments, met with tribal members of the Havasupai and the Hualapai native American tribes, but also met tribal members from the Navajo, Hopi, Paiute and Zuni. We were told stories of their histories and beliefs, which were part of their foundations and histories.
We mixed. They left a major impression on me and inspired me and future work. For Holly, she created beginning memories, and extended the memories that she has of traveling with her mom.
Beautiful, beautiful times.
New Works:
Legend: Creation of the Turtle
