Across the Street: Counterpoint in Window-Pane

Across the Street - Lynda Lehmann c 2011 

The view in the door glass of a vintage building reflects the arched doorways and windows of buildings across the street.  I enjoy this shot because I'm fascinated with what I like to call "alternative spaces": spaces that are in some way transitional and can't be defined in the way a dedicated "room" can be, and spaces that are otherwise ambiguous or interesting.  Portals, hall, balconies and alleyways all offer unusual perspectives and have always held a fascination for me.  "False spaces" created by reflection or illusion, evoke a similar reaction.

Do you have a favorite space in your home or a familiar building that intrigues you and doesn't quite fit the definition of a standard "room?"

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary site at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/gallery if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog!

Lilliputian Dream

Lilliputian Dream - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Conglomerate - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Amber and Green - Image c Lynda Lehmann

I try to think outside the box. One way to do this is to envision myself living in an "alien" place, a locale or fictitious setting with which I'm not at all familiar in real life. Another way is to envision myself being of another scale, as big as Mt. Everest or as tiny as a Lilliputian. By doing this mental exercise I stimulate my imagination and refresh my perspective on my own little life in the context of the universe.

The photos above give us a glimpse towards the microcosm. The top one can be seen as a lush landscape of sunlit moss and woody furrows, that would be a challenge for any Lilliputian to navigate. The middle photo presents a rocky terrain of steep and foreboding cliffs and crags. The bottom image could represent a rough terrain of ruts and crevices covered with forest, that would also require great skill for any homunculus to cross.

For those of us who live in the United States, it's Thanksgiving week, time to revel in the joy of family, friends, and luscious meals. But I'm of the mind to give thanks every day. I cherish all of nature, the large and the small, the majestic and the mild, to be savored with all my senses. Okay, I don't mean I'm going to literally "taste" bark and lichen, lol.... But I rejoice in the splendor of tiny details I see around me all the time. From bark, pebbles, moss and lichen, to a pine needle resting precariously on a boulder or some other natural surface whose relative mass and solidity contrast its slight and attenuated form.

All through the year, as well as during Thanksgiving week, I give thanks for all of it: the holiday rituals and the whole world that is my oyster. I wish you joy and good fortune this holiday week. And more than that, may your senses be replete every day of the year.

All video and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

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Experience as a Survival Imperative, for Humanity and Our Earth

Elemental Beauty - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2009

A few days ago I read Robb's post Troubled Waters, at Musings at Aorotea. Robb's posts always resonate with me. They speak truths that many of us don't take the time to articulate, and his passion and wisdom inspire me. You might want to go over to read it and see if you feel the same way. Robb's heartfelt post moved me to write this related post.

Thinking about Robb's words, I remembered canoeing on stretches of the Delaware in places where my oar could not cut through the tangle of weeds nurtured by fertilizer runoff from surrounding farms. It was literally impossible to pull an oar through that underwater thicket. I'm sure that over the years, many would-be canoers have had to turn back when the going got tough, as we did. It was difficult and very sad to have to explain to our then six-year-old daughter, why we couldn't continue downstream.

I've seen pristine jewels of azure blue lakes nestled in the hills of New Hampshire, glistening in the sun, only to find out that they are dead from acid rain. NOTHING lives in them. I've also discovered other gems of lakes not in proximity to towns or industry, that are fighting infestations of Eurasian milfoil, an invasive aquatic plant.

I've seen a small local lake fouled by the waste of a single diaper containing fecal material. How irresponsible and unnecessary it was for that thoughtless person to pollute the crystal clear water with a disposable diaper, full of human waste! Our waterways are not garbage cans.

It's imperative to our survival on this Earth, for us to treat all aspects of the natural world with reverence. It is our precious planet that sustains all life, and we should not foul or squander our resources.

It seems we will be in an eternal struggle with what is pure and magnificent, in trying to build the edifices of human technology. At this rate, our realizations will come too late. I'm naturally an optimist but the writing is on the wall: man subjugates Nature. At least, he tries to!

It's not that we INTEND her destruction. But our profit motives and limited perspectives keep us anchored in an acquisition mentality, instead of an experiential mentality. It seems that we have given ourselves up to fear, and in trying to assuage our chronic, creeping fear--of loneliness, deprivation, scarcity, enmity--we forget about the imperative for pursuing EXPERIENCE. When we don't take time to experience the natural world, life becomes stale and much less meaningful. And then we forget to take care of Planet Earth, who sustains us and delights us with her beauty, as well.

We live in cages of our own device. Our complacency makes us accomplices as we further plunder the Earth in ways that are destructive and unsustainable.

When I'm here in the forests of Maine, feeling the embrace of the natural world, I sleep in peace.... I think we would all sleep better all the time, if we found our political will and took a stand on environmental issues that effect our collective survival.

What's the most joyous experience you've ever had, in encounter with nature? On the other side of the coin, have you run head-on into any form of environmental destruction that was clearly wrought by humankind?

The World Needs You...

Changing of the Light c 2008 Lynda Lehmann

This week I've read a few blog entries that express a negative mindset brought on by the events of the week. Many of us here in the US, and especially in New York State, feel sickened by the behavior and ensuing scandal unfolding around a man we thought to have integrity. We're also worried about the price of gas, the cost of flour, unemployment, and the rupture of the economic bubble. As if that's not enough, we have antibiotics in our water at the same time that resistant strains are continuing to rear their ugly heads. We have an epidemic of STDs among teenagers, an epidemic of tornadoes and other extreme weather events made worse by Global Warming, and ongoing and pending wars around the globe. I could go on and on, and I know you could, too. Many of us are feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and just plain negative.

I think this is partly due to our forgetting to look at things holistically. I think we have to try to find love in our hearts no matter what is happening around us. If we look to the outside world, we will never find it. The human condition is pathetic. But it is also glorious. As for the “pathetic” part, we can transform it only one person at a time, by transforming ourselves. All the evils that we hate to see on the daily news are, in my opinion, propelled by the lack of a healthy and mature self-love. It is a lack of mature self-love that makes a person unable to love others, and to act, therefore, in greed and unbridled self-interest.

How should we define "healthy self-love"? Certainly we're not referring to vanity or narcissism, but to the inner confidence and coping ability engendered by a rational processing of life's experiences. We're talking about a willingness to look at cause and effect rather than buying into oversimplifications, and being mindful that there are infinitely many more positive behaviors, motivations, and transactions turning the world on any given day, than there are evil, negligent, or selfish deeds.

Our perception of the world, or our "generalized other," to borrow a term from psychology, begins with the expectations we have of ourselves, of our own behaviors and motivations. If deep down inside we know we are needy, greedy, and urgent, then we will look for those traits in others. If we operate from a position of strength and self-love, on the other hand, we will project the same onto other people more often, and find more of our inner resources left intact to meet our challenges. And one of our challenges is to carry on in love and good faith while remembering that the headlines are just that: announcements of misdeeds. What about the thousands, indeed millions of people who care for their families, perform their responsibilities, or perform their jobs well and with honesty, every day? They are the salt of the earth, the heroes. The guys in the headlines are the exception. They are the frayed and stained dirty laundry, the seamy underside of the human condition. But they remain, thank goodness, the exception. And eventually, they get hung out to dry in the sun of justice, however imperfect the system may be.

If we can see the world in a changing light, maybe we can find our way to a better world. So let's remember to look at the whole picture, and shine our light into the darkness! The world needs us.

What do you think?

Art and Power: How Making Art Empowers Us

Like most people, I'm fascinated by questions about the nature of life and our place in the cosmos. As a human being, I feel all the ageless and timeless doubts of the human condition. But there's one thing I know for certain: doing art lifts me above doubt and despair and gives me joy. Being involved in creative process has helped me to say "yes" to life. In my own creativity and in other's, as well, I see glimpses of something wonderful. It's what I like to think of as "the infinite potential of the universe." It manifests in all of us, especially when we create.

For me, the activity of creating art is an affirmation of life. Experiencing "the grand mystery" gives us a feeling of joy, based on the miracle of form and the complex web of life on our planet.

Here's a short article I wrote for my blog on Absolute Arts, that was later published at Creativity Portal and in a catalog for a large artist's exhibition in India. It addresses the idea of how art gives us power over ourselves.

ART and POWER

I think most of us would agree that producing art gives us power. I see it as a power over ourselves, as opposed to power over what is outside of ourselves. It is a personal power over our own energy, perception, and motivational systems. And perhaps more important, the making of art helps us transcend the need to achieve a social equilibrium (which in my opinion, is rarely possible anyway). Instead, we are involved in a process by which we may achieve a degree of harmony within ourselves, in relation to the universe. In the dynamic state of being committed to a creative process, we do not need to steal anyone's energy, or let them steal energy from us.

The truth wears six billion faces, each with different life circumstances, a different life script, and a different mode of emotional being. For me, doing art takes me to a place from which I can accept all scripts and embrace the subjective and relative nature of truth. (This is not to imply that morality is relative, however, because murder and extortion are always wrong, no matter whose script dictates it.)

Because my own script, when involved in creative process, is so engaging to me, always varied and full of mystery, it teaches me both tolerance and hope. The bounty of creative options available to me, gives me confidence in the infinite potential of the universe, for hope, harmony, and healing. In short, it gives me joy.

I have heard it said that artists, in doing art, are participating in a God-like creation process, and indeed it is true. While we are by no means transmuted into gods by making art, we at least become his humble hand-maidens. We see glimpses of beauty and wonder in places where other people may fail to look, unearthing it at every turn. We see new relationships, both visual and metaphoric, sociological and scientific. It becomes easier for us to step back or undercut the tendency to power struggles, that so often consumes people. (The last thing we need in this weary world is more conflict, personal or generalized, to spew hatred around the globe!)

I have heard it said, also, that we artists make art in order to find love and to be loved. I think the apex of this is that in the tender connections we make to the universe, we find some degree of self-love. I think this is a balanced form of self-love that perceives the relative and tenuous nature of things, including the subjective nature of our own lives. Therefore, in my opinion, it is a mature self-love, not to be confused with narcissism. •

All text © 2006 Lynda Lehmann