Decisions, Decisions

I'm in the process of making a lot of decisions. I am making reservations to go to Cill Rialaig, my artist's residency in Ireland in October. Afterwards, I'll travel on to Scotland to visit my relatives who live near Aberdeen. Then I'll go to the island of Iona for Quiet Week, a program which will involve meditation, sharing and contemplative prayer. I have many, many small decisions to make about flights, places to stay, where to leave my big suitcase full of art supplies so I don't have to lug it around Scotland. Those sorts of things. I am thinking today about the process of decision-making in life and in art.

This reminds me of a story my daughter once told me. She was working at a camp in western Canada. She and her friend had gone into town for groceries. As she was nearing the checkout, she was hesitating to decide which checkout had the shortest line....back and forth she went, intent on finding the shortest line. Her friend saw her doing this, and from across the grocery store he shouted out, "Pick a line and stand in it!". This wisdom has become our mantra. Whenever we have problems making a decision, we remember what Murphy said that day in the grocery store: "Pick a line and stand in it."

I watched the film, Gerhard Richter Painting at my local independent cinema last week. It was fascinating to watch Richter in the process of painting, with all of the decisions he had to make. He felt intimidated by the camera and at one point, said that this was not going to work (his painting while the camera was rolling). Painting is a secret process he said, meaning-as I understood it-that it is done alone, not in public, and the decisions are made privately. The product at the end is seen by the public, but the process is private. However, he persisted. The camera kept rolling. He allowed us to see him working and to observe the mistakes and the happy accidents. He let us witness this vulnerability.

I met a friend, Lila Lewis Irving yesterday at the opening of an art show in Aurora, ON where we were both exhibiting our work. The exhibition was called The Ontario Society of Artists, Celebrates 140 Years. Lila is an Abstract Expressionist painter who is known for her large exuberant acrylics.
A stunningly beautiful book of her work was published for her recent exhibition at the Art Gallery of Mississauga. She said to me, "I have never been afraid to make mistakes."

In getting back into the studio after a long hiatus, I am encouraged by these painters who pick a line and stand in it.

“I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.”
― Edna St. Vincent Millay

"Sir, What is the secret of your success?" a reporter asked a bank president.
"Two words."
"And sir, what are they?"
"Good decisions."
"And how do you make good decisions?"
"One word."
"Experience."
"And how do you get Experience?"
"Two words."
"And sir, what are they?"
"Bad decisions."
Unknown Author

Meet the Owners of a Scottish Castle

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The word liminal comes from the Latin, limen meaning threshold. an in-between place, a place of transition, a time of waiting and not knowing. Dawn and dusk are considered liminal places. Crepuscular animals, like foxes and coyotes are most active at this time of day, a time that is considered a magical time in Celtic spirituality and to Indigenous people which is perhaps the origin of their designation as tricksters. As I write this, the northern hemisphere has just passed the vernal equinox, where day and night are of equal length.We are in a liminal space between winter and spring right now, unsure if we will have one more storm or snowfall before spring finally settles in. We're also in a liminal place as we live through this pandemic with the anxiety and discomfort of not knowing. A time of great transition for the entire world, wondering what we've learned from this and what lessons we'll carry forward. Author and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr describes limi

Janice Mason Steeves

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