Sunday, September 02, 2007

"Rising"

13 comments:

Zhoen said...

Wonderful.

Cate said...

I love this. It is so organic and symbolic. Such a strong feminine statement. It is good art too.

herhimnbryn said...

Glorious.

beadbabe49 said...

painting, pastels, colored pencil?

Darkmind said...

So how many gallons of mother goddess does it take to put out a Pralay? Or is it her fault in the first place? Interesting image...an original work?

LJ said...

Hi everyone and thanks for the feedback.
BB - Pastels so thick there was a dust pile at my feet when I finished.
D - I can't answer the first two questions. It's where she is and she's rising up.
I had been reading a book on art therapy that advanced the notion that there is a shaman archetype residing in all of us and that if you draw or paint by "listening" to what the drawing wants you to do, you can contact that archetype and let it speak. I started with one sweeping blue line - which became the figure's back. I just kept putting lines or areas of color and seeing what they felt like (being).
It was done just before I made a huge, difficult change in my life.
I drew nonstop for about five hours - and I didn't think about the symbolism while I drew.
I still wonder about the fire myself.

phlegmfatale said...

exquisite colors!

JoeinVegas said...

Wait a minute - pastels? not beads? Multimedia person?

Darkmind said...

I thought it might be an original work. I can almost see the self portrait in it. The tall woman with red on top...And the difficulty shines through. I see this blue liquid woman (liquid taking the shape of its container and having no shape of its own, perhaps a metaphor for catering to others without addressing the self). The woman is rising up, but is hunched over, bearing a fiery hell on her back, and at the same time appears to be trying to lift the world with her as she rises. On the right side, leaves...a forest, perhaps indicative of a period of growth, or at least the memory of that period. On the bottom, a swirling pool of five faces. Probably family or people close enough to be thought of as family. They are definately important to the woman, as they are directly connected to her and form her base. On the right, a mountain. One might assume stability or foundation, but I get the feeling it is more like the rock in the phrase "stuck between a rock and a hard place". The woman almost seems to be trying to jump over it, but is weighed down by the people in her life. She is trying to leave the layabout dead weights and climb over that hurdle-against great risk and adversity, taking prosperity with her, but is held back by the weight of obligation, familial stability, and social responsibility. She has to chose between staying where she is and suffering, or giving up what she is trying to bring along after jumping that hurdle. Classic delema of progress...Or at least, that is my guess...

LJ said...

Thank you Phlegmy. JoeinV - Yes. Medium doesn't matter.
D - Dead-on. Absolutely dead-on.
Thank you for taking the time to analyze.

Cate said...

Darkmind... very insightful.

Marigoldie said...

Wow, LJ. I'm amazed by this. I like Darkmind's assessment too. Beautiful work.

LJ said...

Thank you Marigoldie. It's the only drawing of mine I've kept and framed.
And although D didn't know the history surrounding the time in which I drew it, he was right on the money.
I was astonished.