11/09/2016
Rachel would have been 90 years old today. She’s been very much in my thoughts throughout this election season. She was a refugee of WWII, a “displaced person” a naturalized American citizen, a feminist, an artist and teacher who loved this planet fiercely. I was happily imagining the thrill she would have had seeing Hillary Clinton elected, and now am grateful she is not here to witness the unthinkable outcome. Our company held workshop last night, tried to make art out of collective despair, gave up, gave in to it and went home. Rachel would not have liked that. I was not able to be the galvanizing force she would have been.
I took comfort remembering her lessons on “Power with a capital P” Earth power, the power of the cosmos, vs. “small p power” which I’ve included here.
We’ll come back together and keep the art alive.
Today we mourn.
Tomorrow we mobilize.
Love,
Kate
POWER
“The people who come to a workshop such as mine are artists, would-be artists, or artists “manqué”. Whatever the case, they are here because something in them has ventured from the beaten path and onto the pebble-strewn road. There is a fairy-tale that talks of a “hero” who goes on a quest. His first test is coming to a fork in the road. The road at right is nicely paved, smooth, and straight. The one at the left is covered with pebbles and sharp stones, up and down mountains, and curls around boulders. The hero ponders and then chooses the pebble road on the left. Things are stark and difficult, but his resolve is strong and he eventually reaches the boon and is able to vanquish all dragons and monsters in his way, grab the boon (a treasure, a magic object, a princess…) and race with it back to society. The “bad brothers” who chose the easy road on the right are lured to a tavern on the way, drink themselves into a stupor, and miss out on the adventure and the treasure. Such is the metaphor for the life of the artist. It’s the hard road, and it’s the boon, AND the return to society!
So I like to consider that all my students are artists, and that they are drawn to the hard road. They may never be rich, but the boon they bring back is of another nature entirely, and far more precious than money. I like to think of that boon as being what I call Power with a capital P, as opposed to power with a small p. The small p power is the one that has gotten a bad rep. It is ego power-over, power-against, power that uses and abuses, power that links us to the destructive aspect of Earth and Nature. Power with a capital P is the energy one gathers from the Earth itself, which empowers us to create, thereby connecting us with the creative, rather than Nature’s destructive field.
When we are able to pull that Power into ourselves, we become what we aspire to be. We are able to bring forth objects or actions that are heroic by definition, and sometimes remarkable. The true heroes of society are those who have brought forth the inventions, discoveries, new forms, beneficial human works and relationships that have advanced our lives and our ability to understand and connect with Nature as a whole. Those persons are visionaries who can tell the difference between works that are valuable to the whole Planet as well as to its human inhabitants, and those works that enrich human beings momentarily at the expense of other beings and of the Planet in its entirety. It is a very fine line and a hard realization to come by. It is so easy to feel good without thought of others, be they people or ecosystems, for instance. Or whales. Or foreign cultures. It is hard to separate our hubris from our accomplishments. It is hard to make art when wondering “What for?” “For who?” It is hard to keep going if our work is misunderstood and denigrated, as has been the case time and again with artists who were true innovators ahead of their time. These people, whose works are now so highly prized and priced, are the ones who stuck to the pebble road in spite of the blisters. They are the true heroes. That is one aspect of the pebble road. There are others. How to tell which road when a wonderful result comes from a twisted and flawed action? How to tell the difference between political compliments and sincere acclaim? How to recognize honesty or how to choose between two lesser evils?
I do believe that artists are people with a sense of responsibility, simply by the fact of having dedicated their lives to creation. That responsibility begins with ones own person. I believe that artists are conduits for the inventiveness of Nature, of the Cosmos; that artists, in a modest way, are human incarnations of the Power of the Universe. Just as athletes should feel responsible for the health and strength of their bodies as the instrument through which their talent flows, so do artists have the responsibility of keeping themselves healthy, strong and clear, in order to be able to transmit to the world the visions of their life adventure in art. Many artists don’t see it that way. They feel the sting of being disrespected and rejected by society, or accepted and adulated for all the wrong reasons, and may fall into despair. This despair brings on palliatives that are in themselves destructive and vicious. Many artists drink, take drugs, and abuse themselves and others. I feel for their pain and understand it. It is very hard being a person who brings forth something from nothing. Who among us doesn’t fear the blank page or canvas, the block? Who doesn’t fear being or becoming a sorcerer’s apprentice? Or who does fear those things but continues anyway? Simply putting out what is in us doesn’t necessarily make it good. The angel and the devil must fight it out, sometimes to exhaustive and exhausting ends. Has any non-artist ever understood the artist’s angst? The constant quest to attain a perfection that is unattainable? Such is the artist’s fate. A torture of Tantalus!
I don’t consider myself a philosopher or a seer. I am an artist who gives space and time to other artists to allow us to walk the pebble road our own way and bring back whatever boon is destined to be ours.
When I look at the faces around the circle, I see hope, fear, expectation. They hope for answers and an “Open Sesame!” to the grotto of wonders. I tell another fairy tale: the hero is a child who lives with his or her parents in a hut at the edge of the forest. Life is simple, predictable, no surprises. One day, the hero hears “the Call”. It can come in various forms: an old person, a little person, an animal, a golden ball that starts to roll… The child follows the invitation, answers the Call. It takes him or her into the rabbit hole, or deep into the scary forest, filled with dangers. But eventually the answer comes; the boon is discovered and brought back. The trick is to ANSWER THE CALL. Many of us get that Call at some time in our life, and ignore it. That is a bad mistake. I have experienced that tragic error and had to pay for it. Whatever was to be mine in understanding and accomplishment became elusive and faded away. It took me many decades of hard work to recapture it, and not in its initial clarity and thrill. Not answering the Call may also be dangerous, and engender neuroses, accidents, and defeats. The access to Earth Power is the panacea. However, it must be used judiciously. Spread it around! Be not Power-full, but Power-flowing! And don’t show off or brag! Especially not with family or friends. You are shifting levels, and metamorphosing into a new being. It is heady stuff, but very scary for those who liked you comfy and just as you were. You may have to hide your light under a bushel when you are with people who can’t follow your path. It’s the humane thing to do, unless you find yourself obliged to drop some people from your life. That may be painful but necessary. You will know when it is happening. Just pay attention, be awake and aware, and don’t succumb to pity or denial. Each of us has lessons to learn, one way or another, those who soar as well as those who drop by the wayside.”
