How about a few random, quick sketches from my Moleskine notebook today? I'm working on overcoming my fear of vulnerability and being that my sketchbooks feel private it seems a decent place to start. I stopped using pencil/eraser/charcoal long ago as I can't stand the contagious smear-factor & eraser confetti. Always pen. Fast. Energetic. No erasing.
Hmmm… Two topics are coming up: Art as it relates to life
&
An update on one of the series of experiments in the adventure of my life.
Art as it relates to life: I'm usually repelled by the latest bandwagon, preferring to take the path that speaks to my true nature. When things become too popular it's as if they lose their authenticity. But see, i'm already off-topic. And that's ok. Simply because it's not ok. So. What draws me to art is not only my history with it, having grown up drawing & painting as the daughter of an artist, but even more so, the ability art has to teach me presence. My second lesson (yes, I know, I skipped the 1st) in presence took place back in college. Though, at the time, I didn't realize I'd discovered 'presence' per se, just that I loved the experience more than anything else in the world…
There i'd stood for hours in the studio of the empty art building, late at night. floor-to-ceiling windows filled with dark evening, tall against the bright studio light. time had ceased. i'd been set free. one with brush, paint, the world, my canvas. nothing mattered. no problems. there was only purity. peace. love. gratitude.
I remember practically floating home to our off-campus house. Filled with joy. I'd found my life's calling!
I realize now that it doesn't matter what I do. It's not what but how. I suppose if I had to put it in terms of do, I want to… spend my life in presence. And for some lucky reason, painting has the capacity to illustrate that for me- what presence is. It's letting go. A freedom and easiness. Not trying hard. A commitment through simply showing up. Most importantly it has nothing to do with me. In fact, I learn how to get out of the way. I learn this through meditation also. And sometimes, yet rarely, through conscious choice no matter what I'm doing.
I'd like to continue to be a lot more open on StyleNectar, about things that really matter to me. Perhaps I'll share a poem and it will go unoticed by the masses. that's ok. Perhaps those readers who look forward to my healthed-up cupcakes will yawn at my favorite choral piece. No, I still don't think I'm going to begin photographing my food with tea-towels on a rotating variation of wood slabs. Yes, my photos will mostly be taken at dinnertime, after the natural light of day has unfortunately passed, when we're starving and just want to eat our food rather than wait for me to take pictures of it until it gets cold:-) No, probably no instagrams either.
I'm going to be me. Not that I haven't been. But I'm constantly growing and this blog is going to reflect that.
What was the other topic- I've already forgotten:-) Oh yes, An update on one of the series of experiments in the adventure of my life. As you may recall, this summer we launched head first into a Raw, Vegan lifestyle. It makes a person feel amazing! However, now that the weather is cooling and I've figured out just how much time it takes to strictly follow a raw, vegan lifestyle, I'm shifting to a nutritarian lifestyle. Basically, it's the same thing, just allowing for cooked food too! I'll share more on this later.
Until next time, here are a few quick sketches from my Moleskine which I may be turning into paintings one day soon. Oddly, the 1st two are my faves, yet they ended up posting incredibly tiny in an unfairly shrunken & sparse representation:-) If you're so inclined, feel free to click on them for a larger, better view.
I'll continue sharing a few pages here & there going forward.
xoxo
~juliane
sandy path to Madeket Beach, Nantucket, summer 2012.
some dunes, sand & ocean. Madaket Beach. Nantucket, summer 2012.
overlooking the front yard, driveway & woods, summer 2012.
partial view of cast iron urn of pansies on front steps. fall 2012.
sitting on the front steps. fall 2012.
Are you a meditator? If so, how did you get started?
Or, simply tell me what's going on with you so we can share your in your journey!
