the flower-eaters

"When the war started, he began to eat flowers stolen from the florists. When he was arrested he said that he was eating flowers to bring peace to the world. That if everybody ate flowers peace would come to the world." Anais Nin, Ladders to Fire (Cities of the Interior).

I started reading this book almost four years ago. I underlined and dog-eared this quote back then, and I intended to create a collage from it. The piece I started became something else, it begged for a different direction. It became "go and find the people that you know," a figure dressed in maps, with an intense gaze and one hand raised in maybe a wave, maybe not.

I picked the book back up this winter, rereading it cover to cover. I chuckled at the passages I had underlined, wondered what some of the margin notes meant, and time traveled a bit with some pages.

When I reread the quoted passage, I knew it was time to create these two collages. It took several discussions and suggestions from friends and fellows to decide which flowers the characters in the collages should be eating, because I knew that would create a dynamic subplot that could easily weigh them down. I wanted to add another level of meaning, but still remember the original intent.

The decision to use the dandelion came first. It's not a weed, it's a lovely cheerful flower. It is edible, it is medicinal, and it brings wishes.
The second, the poppy, correlates both with the idea of ending war and bringing peace, as it is a flower of memorial. It is also one of dreaminess: Dorothy in the land of Oz, or the more sinister haziness of opiates.

A wish for peace, and a dream for peace.

The Compass Shifts.

In Progress- a meditation.

"The unknown was my compass. The unknown was my encyclopedia. The unnamed was my science and progress. "  Anais Nin.

I've mentioned compasses before, I think.  I am sorta obsessed with them.  They pop up everywhere in my work, many times hidden. 

Suddenly, the poles have switched and everything is upside down and inside out. It happens.  I didn't realize last week when I was assessing resolutions how quickly west would become east.  Not for me, but for my best friend.  And I know it's random and strange to be posting this on a blog- so I apologize in advance to those who think blogs blur public and private to easily. But this is my blog, and it is my life and my art, and my life impacts my art.  So.   Owl is leaving in eleven days to serve our country, our new president. He is joining the Connecticut National Gaurd.  I am going to continue for now to live in Bend, focus on my artwork, on writing for the Source (who actually will be assigning me more stories- hooray), on my blooming relationship with Rise Up International (who I hope to accompany to Nicaragua this spring).  He is going to get to go to grad school for free, cut his hair, roll around in mud, wear camo, and see our neice and nephew every day.  It is going to be a huge, huge shift.  And there is a lot of unknowns.  And it's gonna be hard. The most difficult thing yet.  But, it is also going to be another grand adventure.  It is going to lead to amazing, wonderful things.  

Just so you know.