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Creative Sanctuary

contemporary art

Colors of the Soul

July 19, 2018 By Allison

Shinique Smith Stained GlassThe soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.
–Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 5, v. 16

Thanks to my Instagram habit, much of my mental space is occupied by squares.  Within the limits of a square, I sense the freedom to share without words.  I envision a clear, thoughtful grid connecting experiences and exuding harmony.  Imagine my delight when I recently stepped into a contemporary stained glass exhibit that was dominated by square panels!

My first thought was that much like me, the artists were under the spell of Instagram.  But then I thought of the stained glass windows in Chartres Cathedral, a few steps from the museum.  Some of the windows are 900 years old, and most are arranged in circles, squares, and rectangles.  Each window is its own medieval grid, to be read from bottom to top. So, placing a story in the bounds of a square is nothing new, but the immediacy and reach of Instagram is.

The contemporary pieces at the International Stained Glass Centre do not invite a bottom to top reading, but rather offer a sampling of work from artists all over the world, exploring the theme “the search for the light of the world.”  I treat the works as impressions rather than narratives.  My eye goes straight to the tight, bursting center of Shinique Smith’s untitled 2016 panel.  Her energetic swirls are reminiscent of dragon flies that skip across lakes in the summer and remind me of the fairy parties I organize for my nieces and nephew.  Much like the medieval panels in the cathedral across the way, color and light cultivate wonder.  Her work brings forth an inner light that radiates, undulates, and eventually flows from the frame.  Here, the multicolored lumière du monde grows from a dense, interior space of possibility–patterns, shapes and colors in evolution, expressing the harmonious contrasts of the soul.

Filed Under: Arts, Explore, Finds, France, Inspiration, Meditation, Nature, Stories, Travel, Travels, Uncategorized Tagged With: âme, Centre International du Vitrail, Chartres, contemporary art, contemporary stained glass, cultural studies, Instagram, Marcus Aurelius, Notre-Dame-de-Chartres, Shinique Smith, social media, soul, stained glass, vitrail, vitraux

Beauty in Grief

October 24, 2017 By Allison

 

“Beauty, in a way, justifies our existence.”
–François Cheng, Oeil ouvert et coeur battant

My cousin Robb and I grew up amongst lawyers.  Drawn to the arts, we both forged paths that were atypical in our family.  Robb became a painter, and I studied literature.  We were both teachers.

Last week, Robb died unexpectedly.  I feel the pain of this loss in my bones.  And memories arise.  When we were little, large family gatherings at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm were a wall of noise—wild children waiting for the Easter egg hunt to begin, or, in December, demanding to know when Santa Claus would arrive.  We existed in a joyful, buzzing mass of cousins.

Happily, Robb and I got to know one another as adults.  Once we met at Caribou Coffee and spent a few hours talking about our favorite museums and gossiping about our siblings.  A few years back, I attended one of his shows—in a parking ramp!  It was brilliant!  The curvy, cavernous, concrete space allowed me to see the genius of his bright and bold paintings.  To no one’s surprise, our cool cousin Robb put on a cool show.  It is the most cosmopolitan Des Moines, Iowa has ever felt to me.

That evening, my brother and his wife purchased their first Robert Spellman piece, detail of which I share in this post.  It hangs in their front hallway, and my eyes fall on it each time I enter their home.  Robb left the painting untitled, explaining to my sister-in-law, “this started as a woman and morphed into so much more.”  I see echoes of the organized chaos that defined the Spellman get-togethers of our childhood.  In Robb’s energetic swirls, I see us charging through Grandma’s house, fueled by sugar and time with cousins.  I sense the members of a family gathering around tables.  In the center, I see Oneness.

My cousin experienced beauty and created beauty.  There is also beauty in our grief.  We loved Robb.  He graced us with his attention, his presence, and his art.  His life was beautiful, and he leaves beauty in his wake.

 

Inspiration

Robert Spellman Studio

 

 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Meditation, Stories, Uncategorized Tagged With: abstract art, beauty, contemporary art, cousins, Des Moines, family time, grief, Robert Spellman

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Thank you for dropping by Creative Sanctuary! I am a French professor in Kentucky, grew up in Iowa, and I often travel internationally. This blog gathers, documents, and connects my passions--travel, cooking, stories, France, and tea culture. Bonne lecture! --Allison Connolly

My Book, Published by Roman & Littlefield

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