Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM
Inquisition
Crossed arms, rounded over.
Reach. Can’t. Reach. Trying. Reach. Where?
A vast sky of beauty above,
and grounding below.
A thread holds me firmly in place.
Not soaring, but not planted either.
A thread?
“I am not a thread,” says the chain.
Its links securely trace the nape of my neck
to the foundation of my rib cage
“Where do you come from and why are you here,” I ask.
To which the chain replies, “Where do YOU come from and why are YOU here?”
In my studio techniques class, our professor guided us through an active imagination meditation. She asked us to look at which area of our soul may need more attention, more love. Trusting in the art process we each created an image that represented what came to us in the meditation.
We were then asked to choose one part of the image and amplify it. What else is there? What can we add or take away from the image?
Once again, we were asked to amplify a part of the image. Does it have a different feeling? Does it offer any clarity?
We now had three 2-dimensional images. For the last part of this process we were asked to create a 3-dimensional object from the images. I created a ball and chain – a weighted response, indeed.
Others may have reached more of a resolution at this point. My images are very much a work in progress. I was surprised to see what unfolded through freely creating. Inquisitively absorbed, I am asking my ball and chain, “What function do you serve? What has been the purpose of you in my life?”
To uplift stagnation, delve into the unconscious mind, move through murky feelings, or to seek inner guidance, I highly recommend exploring this art amplification process. What surfaces may come as a surprise to you. Be gentle, take a break if you need to and allow the process to unfold. If you feel inspired, please share you work with us!
