Monday, March 31, 2008

INNOCENCE AND EXPERIENCE






















Did anyone else hear the thunder between 4 o'clock and 5 o'clock this morning?

See I-Ching, Hexagram 25. Wu Wang / Innocence (The Unexpected).

AUGURIES OF INNOCENCE

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

William Blake

("Calendar Series: 38th Month / Innocence (The Unexpected)," painted by Old Girl Of The North Country, using gouache and watercolor, 1988)

8 comments:

R.L. Bourges said...

love this painting - nicest paint-by-number I've ever seen :-)
seriously - any special meaning to the numerals in the sky?

Dawn said...

since I was up early I can say without question we did not have your thunder. I love your paintings and want to know are you still painting? and if not why not??????

The Dream said...

cool quote!
i love the sound of thunder - it won't be long before the storms hit our area.
gorgeous piece!

robin andrea said...

We didn't hear any thunder here this morning. As always, your art is quite beautiful, am.

Dale said...

(o)

am said...

lee -- The "Calendar Series" was an extended painting meditation, beginning with the "14th Month" and ending at the "71st Month." The meditation became dream-like, full of symbols and memories. Thanks so much for alluding to "paint-by-number," for picking up on a playfulness/innocence that I had almost forgotten in connection with that time of recovery for me. I began painting the "Calendar Series" in 1987.

For 1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono published a calendar of black-and-white photos celebrating their relationship. After December (the month John was murdered in 1980), there was a 13th Month, but it wasn't January. My boyfriend came home from Vietnam during the 12th Month of 1970. During all of 1970, I looked forward to the 13th Month when he would be home again. The dream of his homecoming was eclipsed by the reality of his homecoming. The 13th Month was a nightmare for both of us, seemingly endless. The war followed him home. The recovery continues.

dawn -- Thanks so much for the encouragement to paint. Painting energy comes and goes. I am grateful for my digital camera during times that painting energy is absent.

the dream -- Love the tangled up in blue painting that accompanies your comments.

robin andrea -- Little did I dream when I did most of my drawings and paintings, that I would be able to show them in this way and have them seen and appreciated by kindred spirits all over the world.

dale -- Good to know that you are stopping by. Thanks so much!

R.L. Bourges said...

me again: you often refer to calendars. Have you ever thought of your paintings in that context? I mean as illustrations of a really, really classy calendar with really classy quotes? I know that every time I see one of your paintings, I can imagine it in large calendar format hanging on my wall.
It's a thought. I throw it out to you.

Anonymous said...

Blake...ah, Blake.

Lovely painting.