What If They Should Die Before I Wake? This weeks lesson in Training a Wild Elephant is about the moment we are experiencing with others. Do we realize, are we aware that moments are fleeting and passing and gone. So too the precious people in our lives are gifts. They are here at the moment….
Author: Harmony Thiessen Art
I have never been a big believer in perfection. I find it boring. Some people want life to be perfect; people to behave perfectly, and art to look like something they know and understand. I get it. Life is easier when we can understand what is going on.
But since I was five years old, I have longed to know the whys of life. What goes on underneath it all. The cause and effect. I am especially intrigued by perspectives. Not the typical perspective of a picture, but viewpoints of people.
I am endlessly curious about how life looks from the ant’s point of view, a seagull, an eagle, and people who live in completely different cultural norms from my own.
It challenges my sensibilities.
So I try to create art that is pretty. Sometimes that works. Other times it is an abstract jumble of curious adventure.
However it goes, the art I offer comes from a spirit of love for people, animals, and life in general. I am so fortunate to have witnessed life in over twenty developing countries and no doubt, the people and places of those African, Asian, Central American, and Eastern Europe have had a profound effect on how I see the world.
My work is normally quite textured. Again, an abstract way of creating depth and variety. I paint and remove paint. Scrape and draw. Paint over again. Change colors. Use glazes. Do something that ruins the painting, and then discover a doorway to something more meaningful than the last. I never seem to know when to stop as each painting takes me on a journey and I am not honestly seeking a destination. I do eventually stop because I make a living with my art. At some point and time, I have to call it finished.
But the work is not finished until you see it. Once you see it and it triggers the meanings you have buried within you, it becomes – a painting.
“You see the world through the beauty in you” – Harmony Thiessenes to find the Sounds of Silence
Smelling Wild Elephants
This week we are SMELLING WILD ELEPHANTS (Learn About Training Wild Elephant series here) No I don’t mean US SMELLING hopefully(although be sure you check out the PS) – but our noses are part of our awareness – to relish the sensation of smell. To notice. To allow our sense of smell to open…
Me and Wild Elephants
I decided to participate in a group project for awareness and it’s got me following wild elephants! I have been fascinated with elephants this year. I have watched them on video, doodled them while waiting, and planned to paint them – in fact a series of them, in an abstract fanciful style. (Then I saw…
Everyday is a Great Day to Begin
What are You Waiting For? You and I both know that you have a great idea for your life. (At least one!) You have seen it, heard it, thought about it, maybe even talked to others about it. You may have researched it, studied for it, changed majors for it, borrowed money to do it,…
Talking About Yourself
Talking About Yourself – Is It Vain, Should you Force Your Way Into a Conversation? SO, here is the story – short and sweet. I met up with a really great friend of mine today for coffee. We were discussing friends of ours over the years and she said that some of our friends thought…
Next Year This Time
Will You Care About This Issue Next Year At This Time? When you think about it, will the stuff that’s bugging you today bother you in 12 months? If we look at the calendar April 30, 2013 right now – and you don’t get your nails done this week, the oil changed on Saturday, the…
Chimpanzee – Disney Video
I saw this video today on one of my favorite blogs The Kind Life. If you click on the video it will take you to that site and you can do a quick read on the status of these marvelous creatures. Jane Goodall is still working to change our mindsets and ignite our awareness.
My hope is that we as humans begin to evolve enough ourselves as to drop the arrogance and recognize the magic of life all around us – much of it is much more sophisticated than we think.
How to Prevent Boredom
Tips on How you Can Prevent Boredom Life is such a ride! It’s not hard to prevent boredom. There are sooooooooooooooooooooo many opportunities to be, do, create, think, hide, play…HOLY PEROGIES! It doesn’t stop. For someone like me who cries in Libraries (what a CRY BABY! 🙂 ) the world appears so vast and there…
GoldenZen is Back
Reflections It’s been since NOV 2008 since I last posted here. It is now April 2012. About three and a half years since I wrote here. I got busy. I thought I had nothing else to say. But I did more, went places, stayed at home, and looked for more of myself. Funny – One…
See You Next Week
Hi everyone! I apologize for my non-attendence to my blog this week. I have found myself scrambling quite a bit to catch up with what appears to be an overload of work. I am also out of town and not able to access everything the same. I will see you again soon I hope. May…
golden zen 