To Be Announced: April 2023

by C. S. Sherin
April 27th 2023

There is a song by Prince that always takes hold of me. It is brilliant, entrancing, and it became a part of me, in a way, when I was much younger and would listen to it over and over. Adding repetition to the repetition. Ha ha. JOY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdQqxHW5F5c

Prince was so incredibly talented. And this song's grooves, words, sounds...are incredible. I can't help but eventually sway and move to the sounds.

"Holding someone is believing that there's joy in repetition...."

"Joy in repetition....there's joy in repetition...joy in repetition..."

"love me, love me, love me, love me....joy...joy...joy...joy..."

Prince's guitar cries, sings, rises, shines, thrills.....

JOY. in repetition.

So...I think of that song from time to time. It stays with me, because...truth.

I think of how enjoyable it was, in my theater days...to go over lines over and over and over again. I think of how enjoyable it is to watch the most epic and beloved shows or movies again and again, or to read the most epic and beloved books again, again. I think of how enjoyable it is to pick up a blank page or canvas over and over again. I know how delightful it is to carry out a repeating pattern in drawing or painting through to conclusion. I see how nature holds so much repetition that is absolutely stunning. I think of how we like to remember and tell beloved memories/experiences over and over again with those close to us. ...Of how many times we must repeat sounds and words to learn new languages. And how empowering that can be.

In picking up my art this week, I decided that this concept, this truth, this awareness...is good fuel for making art right now. So, I started with the idea of little Japanese desserts, and how artfully they are created and presented. How whimsical shapes and designs are presented within geometric symmetry.

From there I thought, "What are some things that I will never tire of repeating? What are some shapes, designs, feelings that I can express in drawing that produce somewhat unlimited joy and interest?" I thought of many things. Mostly connected to nature or feelings in nature, but something more than that too.

And I mean, I was looking for an obsessively enjoyable energy for something, which creates joy simply by focusing on it (and repeating it). I set on tapping into that obsession-type energy, to channel it in a healthy way, through art.

Social media, news, and the like try to draw on that natural obsessive type energy from us, you know. Our curiosity, our engagement, our desire to explore and be stimulated.

And, I'm saying...I am mindfully choosing to tap into this energy for my own good. It's a turning away from the constant draining invitations to scroll and tune in, and all that goes with that.

So, that's what's happening. I dove into that process this week.

You know, not all art a person makes is to be sold. A lot of art made is a study, a process...and is personal for a while. Doing a study of something can mean exploration too. And maybe it becomes something to be sold, but that's not at all the intention or focus of the study. It's to explore the concept, the inspiration, and get to know what it is for one's self. So, that's where to start.

Also, it's important to note that there is no requirement to start with joy. Or to stay in joy. Any and all emotions, thoughts, may and do pass through one's being in the process.

Sometimes, big volumes of anger or frustration may be involved, for whatever reason. But, because the subject is innately enthralling...all of it is channeled productively. Ah. Joy in repetition. A vehicle for real movement.

Prince's song has always sparked something bigger in me. And so, tapping into the genius that gifted him, that's inspiring to me...well, that's a sustainable fuel!

And, each time I sit down to do my art, I find that my little genius, muse, in the form of a cat, is always sure to be present and watching. And when I'm not working on the pieces, he is often guarding them. 💟 And that is such a beautiful loving action he takes. He knows I see that.