Amanuensis and the Good Sounds
Amanuensis, acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee
Amanuensis. Acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee Sometimes I can't sleep.
Sometimes my mind wakes up before my body is ready and I have to try to convince it to settle down and go back to sleep. My mind, rebellious, goes to the Bad Thoughts. I think of every time I've ever been angry, hurt, or humiliated. I rehash the memories in detail, resulting in more feelings of anger, hurt, and humiliation, and so on until the birds chirp nyah nyah na-nyah nyah and I give in and go make coffee.
This pattern of thinking is sometimes called rumination. The mind goes round and round, thinking that if it just thinks hard enough, it can stop thinking about a thing. Of course, it doesn't work like that.
Practicing mindfulness is a great way to break this destructive pattern. In The Mindful Way through Depression, the authors remind us that "There is an alternative strategy for handling the negative moods, memories, and thinking patterns in the present moment, as they arise. ... It is called awareness." (If you'd like to learn more, I highly recommend this book.)
Mindfulness and meditation are things you practice, however, meaning that no one does them perfectly right out of the gate. I've found a tool that helps me through these wakeful Bad Thought times.
Space Hotel
I first heard Al Gromer Khan's album Space Hotel years ago, by accident at a friend's house. It's been a consistent favorite of mine for over 15 years. It's the perfect blend of soothing, mysterious, colorful, and calm. Listening to these beautiful sounds provides my mind with a focal point, someplace to return while letting the Bad Thoughts pass away like clouds. A sample:
Khan gave me Amanuensis.
The image you see above floated into my consciousness while meditating on Space Hotel. I saw this spongy white rectangle, like a tofu cake, with yellow arcs passing through it. Layered, repeating passages put me in mind of a cosmic game of telephone, hence the title Amanuensis - one who copies.
Learn more about Al Gromer Khan at New Earth Records, Khan's website, and his Facebook page.
Zoe Keating
I recently learned of experimental cellist Zoe Keating's solo career. I didn't realize I'd been listening to her play with Rasputina for many years. Her album Into The Trees has become another touchstone of Good Sounds to battle the Bad Thoughts. Listen for yourself:
Honestly, does it get any better than this? Explore Zoe Keating's music on her website and Facebook page.
On Presence: Texas Galleries at the 2015 Dallas Art Fair
Breakfast: Peaches, Coffee, Shogun and Peaches & Quilt by Sarah Atlee. Seen here as part of Ro2 Art's exhibition at the 2015 Dallas Art Fair.
Ugh, another art fair?
Art fairs. We've come to expect a certain amount of cynicism connected with these events. There's the jaded art press, the buyers with more money than sense, the gallerists pushing the latest shock-&-schlock, and artists like me - who feel left out of the whole insular art fair circuit.
That's one very dismal view of this business. I'd like to offer a counterpoint, based on my recent experience at the Dallas Art Fair.
The DAF has been running annually for the past seven years. The number of galleries from Texas and the surrounding region has dwindled to make way for exhibitors from around the globe, making it a truly international affair. This was my first visit to the DAF. It was also the first time I had work in an art fair.
Fair visitors discussing work in Ro2 Art's booth.
It was exciting to participate in such a global event. However, the Texas galleries represented at the 2015 DAF stood out firmly from the crowd. What was the one thing that made the difference?
Engagement.
Nobody from a Texas gallery was too cool to talk to me. Nobody from a Texas gallery looked at my shoes and decided that I wasn't about to drop six figures in their booth, so I must not be worth their time. Nobody from a Texas gallery sat staring at their iPad while I looked at the art on their walls.
Instead, the Texas gallerists were greeting visitors, offering information about the artists and their work, all with smiles on their faces. They were engaged. They know that long-term success in the art business isn't about trends, stars, or dollars - it's about relationships. And a good relationship starts with courtesy and a smile.
(This isn't to say that the Texas gallerists were the only engaged participants at the fair. But the atmosphere of presence was so noticeable in the local booths that it's worth noting.)
Ro2 Art co-owner Jordan Roth greeting visitors at the 2015 Dallas Art Fair.
Thank you, Texas.
I want to thank the following galleries for representing my new home state so beautifully: Barry Whistler Gallery, Conduit Gallery, Cris Worley Fine Arts, Galleri Urbane Marfa + Dallas, Kirk Hopper Fine Art, Ro2 Art, Sicardi Gallery, Talley Dunn Gallery, Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden, William Campbell Contemporary Art, and Zhulong Gallery.
For the first time, I'm very proud to be a Texas artist.
Read more about the 2015 Dallas Art Fair
Glasstire: A Loose Guide: Some Picks and Pics of the Dallas Art Fair, More Dallas Art Fair 2015
Artnews: Gone to Texas: The Art World Flocks to Dallas Art Fair for a Little Lonestar Hospitality
Interview: 10 Picks from the Dallas Art Fair 2015 (3 of the 10 are from Texas galleries.)
Blouin Art Info International: What to See (and Buy) at the Dallas Art Fair
Going on an Egg Hunt
Egg Hunt (working title), acrylic on canvas mounted on wood panel, 10 x 8 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee.
Continuing with the spring-is-springing theme, here's another new abstract piece. I'm noticing that my patchwork impulse is just plain taking over.
A Week Later, Sprouts
Here's a look at these seed-bean-things a week ago:
Various works in progress, acrylic on canvas, 2015 by Sarah Atlee.
Since then, I've polished off three.
Reflected Root. Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 8 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee.
Rigor Samsa.* Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 8 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee.
Heavy Bean. Acrylic on MDF, 10 x 7 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee.
* Rigor Samsa is a term borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows:
n. a kind of psychological exoskeleton that can protect you from pain and contain your anxieties, but always ends up cracking under pressure or hollowed out by time—and will keep growing back again and again, until you develop a more sophisticated emotional structure, held up by a strong and flexible spine, built less like a fortress than a cluster of treehouses.
Some elements remain, others are covered or scraped away. Such is the evolution of a painting.
