Focus on the Best and the Beautiful
How are you all doing out there, in your bubbles?** Separate from my bubble and yet joined by virtual ties. I love that about humanity - whatever obstacle is thrown in our way to keep us apart, we find a way to connect. And not just to connect, but to actively share positivity and encouragement. I see the goodness and the love in people rising to the surface in bubbles all around me and it is truely beautiful!
We have been in lockdown here in New Zealand for 9 days now and I have a confession to make….I haven’t been in my studio yet! I’m delaying gratification…getting more ahead than I’ve ever been with my admin and accounts…
But i’ve also been reflecting - on the changes that are happening, on the new “normal” that is coming. I’m reminded how the creative process often reflects life. The artist is creating something that looks amazing - it’s all falling into place and she can see what it will be….until, in a moment, she has gone too far and it’s ruined. There’s no way forward to where she was going with the work - she can change tack with what she has or go back and have another try. It will never look exactly the same as the first time, but she also can’t un-know the things that were learnt along the way. So it is with the world.
It is a deeply unsettling time for everyone - fear that our vulnerable loved ones may fall sick. Fear or grief for ones who already have. Uncertainty around work and financial futures. So much uncertainty.
So…I wanted to encourage you, inside your bubble, to rise above it:
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”
That’s from the bible (Message version, Philippians 4:8), but whatever your beliefs, I think that you would agree that these are wise words to live by. The punchline to this particular quote goes like this: “Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”
The Best and the Beautiful from my Bubble.
I was sitting in my bubble this morning, smiling as I admired the beautiful things that I have collected there, all made by the hands of talented creatives from around the world, and I thought that they might make you smile a little too. So here is a selection of beauty from my bubble:
Mr Caroline Burton Fibre Artist and I purchased this gorgeous landscape by Ingibjörg Ottósdóttir in Reykjavik, Iceland last year. It makes me smile because the way that she has captured the light and colours is so evocative of Iceland - I loved our time there.
I have been following the work of Monika Kralicek in Portland, Oregon for a couple of years. This alcohol ink on Yuppo piece totally caught my attention with it’s allusion to a large underground landscape. Can you see the parallels with my work?!
This bead by Caitlin Moloney fits in my outstretched hand and I think that’s one of the things I love about it. It has weight, shape and texture that all contribute to its tactility. Caitlin assembles great strings of these ceramic beads into striking “wall necklaces”.
This piece is “Libertine” by Auckland artist Amy MacKinnon. I love her illustrative style - I think that one of the aspects that draws me is that I can almost see topographic features. Maybe it reminds me of the maps that we used for surveying classes at university!
My beautiful friend lovingly carried this in her hand luggage from the UK at Christmas. I had fallen in love with it at an art show in Sudbury, UK (and walked away because I couldn’t fit it in my hand luggage!). I wish that I could tell you who the artist is. But it makes me smile because of the time my friend and I spent together last year (for both very sad and very happy events) and because it is a really cool depiction of rural England, where I grew up.
This is “Faith - Gratitude No. 7” by Amy Joy Snyder of Ashland, Oregon. The fluid texture and circular form drew me to this piece - and when I saw the title, I was sold.
I hope that you have enjoyed a glimpse into my bubble from yours - and I hope that you are feeling encouraged to see the best and the beautiful things. They are there, it is just necessary, sometimes, to bring them into focus. I’d love to see the beautiful things that make you smile - why don’t you email me a photo or tag me on an instagram post (@caroline.burton.fibre.artist on the Insta!) :-). Or tell me about them in comments below.
** For those of you not residing in New Zealand, the “Bubble” is how our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is describing the family or household group that we reside in. My bubble contains me, my husband and our 3 teenagers. No one else is allowed into our home bubble during the lockdown and we avoid being within the 2m bubble of any other person if one of us leaves the house to go to the supermarket or for a walk.