The process of creating art and sharing it with others is always a surprising source of joy to me. Art is a whispered promise of the human spirit which says: “Life is more than what merely meets the eye!” There is so much more in store for us, more to be curious about and more to help lead us forward in hope.
I was in a fine spirit of hope when I put together a guided meditation featuring several of my original paintings. The subjects have been called watery skyscapes by friends, because that is where I drew my inspiration. A couple years ago it dawned on me that the sky is the poor person’s ocean. No matter how poor, or “poor in spirit,” we might be, we are always near to this sky-ocean. We are even immersed in it, often without conscious awareness.
The video version of my paintings, entitled Art-Bathing Meditation, includes directions on how to use the ten images as focal points for a contemplative experience. I created Art-Bathing Meditation for people who might benefit from a short, informal form of meditation. The video explains how I created the paintings, all strictly from memory and imagination. I hope the work speaks to all who might welcome an oceanic experience that will bathe their minds and soothe their sometimes weary souls. I invite all who are wandering, and maybe even floundering, in a seeming desert of cares: “Come here for a short, mindful, rest break!”
The sky really is the poor one’s ocean. No private club of elites here—all are welcome to this water! May we look up and into this great universal sea as if into the very light and love of God as reflected here and all around us. How well-attended we already are in this vision, this viewpoint. Let us keep on looking, both inward and outward, towards a happier, more meditative life, here now and forever!