Everyday Art: whale watching

Mother whale and her calf just off Muizenberg.

Instead of painting this last week, we went to watch the whales. The mother whale and calf were close to the shore. It was good to get out and enjoy nature. What struck me deeply was the transformation of the sea, while the afternoon went by, from turquoise calm to a grey, choppy sullenness. And so, as I thought about the sea, a poem emerged in my mind. Here it is:

    

The sea

The sea with its temperamental complexity
reminds me of our humanity.

It holds within, the shallow and the deep:
Once sad grey, wanting to weep,
then angry and violently mad,
the waves relentlessly rolling in,
never stopping
as the orange-sun sets with a grin.

Rough one day, the next calm:
its 'turquoise-tranquility' watched
is the traveller’s balm
while the sea storm
teams with life
it also takes a life; someone's death bed
uncovering treasures
and swallowing the dead.

Just like the sea
we live with complexity
of contrasting treasures
and desperate-dark measures:
Humanity is infinitely interesting.

:)

Conceptual Journaling

Invitation in...

You may be wondering what ‘Conceptual journaling’ is.  It is my term for conceptualizing my ideas, my processing of experiences, thoughts and feelings, through art, prose and poetry.  ‘Conceptual journaling’ is visual journaling and poetry journaling combined. I often use metaphors and symbols.

My processing and conceptualizing includes psycho-spiritual elements. While the word ‘conceptual’ refers to ideas and logic, psycho-spiritual refers to: the emotional, thoughts & behaviours, conscious & subconscious (psycho); and meaning, subjective, intuitive & supernatural (spiritual).  

Spiritual beliefs are personal. I hope my personal beliefs won’t overshadow the manner in which I present my conceptual journaling or get in the way of potential viewing and dialogue. Many of my symbols are both personal and universal so I think it could appeal to a wide audience.

I find this process is a personal and meaningful approach. It is most often a solitary journey and it appeals to me as I like spending time on my own. My motivation for showing you my journaling is that sometimes I would like to share who I am to others. I choose carefully what I share with you as some topics are private and not to be shown to anyone therefore I will either display whole books or sections thereof which I will then link together in categories.

I invite you into my world of conceptual journaling...