Transcending Words— At the Principle Gallery Show 2022
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.
― Rumi, 13th Century Persian Poet
Words. All the words that have filled the air in recent times.
Words used as tools and not as forms of expression.
Words used to incite. Words used to place blame and evade responsibility. Words used to deceive, used to cloak ill intent and moral failings.
So many words.
There comes a time when words fail us. A time when we need to set aside all words and observe the world around and inside us. To gaze with open seeing eyes.
A time to simply absorb silence.
For me, this morning seems that time. Even these few words seem like a burden when all I want to do is look deep into the green foliage of the forest surrounding me.
Or into the distance at a rising sun, like the Red Tree in the painting above. Austere and unencumbered by the meanings and weight of words.
Just as it is.
Maybe that should be the title of this painting. However, the words I chose are instead Transcending Words.
As Rumi also wrote:
In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves.
I am ready to stop my weaving for a bit, ready to see the pattern improve.
The painting above, Transcending Words, is 18″ by 36″ on canvas and is part of my 23rd annual solo effort at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. The work is in the gallery and the show opens Friday, June 3, 2022.
Redtree Times 