I was delighted when someone commented that my art expresses “energy”—so delighted that I painted the above watercolor and titled it “Energy”. But I was also mystified. I really don’t think I have much energy! (For more of my personal energy crisis and health related subjects see http://richesinglory.wordpress.com/ )
How wonderful to know that there is a soul and spirit energy which has nothing to do with whatever is going on in our bodies! Soul and spirit are the grist of life, and the attributes thereof can carry us as long as we live—if we maintain our priorities and focus!
Within the confinements of age and incapacitating illness the great French painter, Matisse (1869-1954), continued expressing his soul energy in cut paper collages—right up until his death in 1954.
Art history contains examples of artists who went on working, although at a less intense level, after they became partially blind. Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) is an inspiring example. Per Wikipedia, “In 1972, O’Keeffe’s eyesight was compromised by macular degeneration, leading to the loss of central vision and leaving her with only periphial vision. She stopped oil painting without assistance in 1972, but continued working in pencil and charcoal until 1984.”
I believe that the older we get, the more we need an intense passion in life—and at least one creative activity that we can take with us wherever we go. I spent about one-third of the days and nights from September, 2010 until June, 2011 at a nearby hospital. Several of these occasions involved surgery and recovery for me. But most of the days and nights were spent camping in my husband’s hospital room, where he underwent a number of serious leg surgeries and heart procedures.
These times were productive for me. My knitting and art supplies were ever at my side, along with a few books. I slept on a futon in Joe’s hospital room, and kept my stuff on my own little corner table by the big windows. In the daytime, I knitted and read—and many a night I sketched and painted at my little table before going to sleep to the sound of dripping IVs and clicking computer monitors hooked up to my man. Joe and I were together, and God gave me peace in the midst of these storms. My lack of physical energy was compensated, and my mind was challenged, by producing colorful art in yarn and on paper.
Energy! The less we think we have, the more we may have welling up inside—just waiting for some creative venue of expression! 🙂
Margaret L. Been, ©2012
The Messy Palette . . . 