Mapping: And So I Run.......

My Map

Solitude And Sunshine

Solitude And Sea Spray

Three Generations: I'm In The Middle Seeing Myself On Both Sides

The youngest generation

Quietly observes her mother and grandmother

Her shiny eyes show flickers of amusement

Embarrassment and exasperation

She laughs at us, rather than with us

Do we feel slighted, are we pained and self-conscious?

Not at all!

Within that laughter rings love and tenderness

An acceptance

We laugh at us too!

When In Doubt, Step Out

'Give Me Chance'

Again I awake with a sore throat and heavy limbs
A system clogged up and complaining
My body is telling me to back off
'Give me a chance' she pleads
Not long ago it could cope with such demands
It was trained to endure
But it has had a break from being challenged
And my enthusiastic decision to summon such requirements again
Has been met with less receptivity than expected
Armed with Vitamin C and a gentle determination
I will persist
A mind has been made up
There are dreams to make real
So with an understanding of what the body will tolerate
I remember my promise of moderation
And I listen with fond regard, accepting what she has to tell me

Footsteps Through Early Morning Frost

A Post Assessment Paddle

And So I Run......

Freezing fingers and thawing toes
A gentle jog to warm the core
Through the physical movement of its limbs
And the inner mantra of focus
The body is relieved of the discomfort of cold
And as it settles into its rhythm
The mind calms, the spirit is soothed
They flow as fluently as the passing water
A tormented soul of doubt eases into her creation of sureness
The gates are unlocked and the wonderings set free
Once again the beauty of what 'is' becomes more visible
The vibrant greens of the woodland
The gentle hammer of a woodpecker
The hypnotic bubbling of the river
The spontaneous chorus of birdsong
The grounding smell of the Earth
The orange glow that softens the air
With each step taken the spirit is lifted
The connection reestablished
A knowing nourishes
Ideas of creation and expression
Insight is cajoled into being
Life emanates unrestrained
In the freedom of space the mind cogitates
An unrestricted place for 'flights of fancy'
The dreams are tangible
This freedom of space does not judge or disparage
It encourages and nurtures the imagination
In moments of  stillness, in that glow of tenderness
There is glorious realisation
With grace and gratitude it becomes apparent
Conditioned to doubt our deepest instincts
To accept an existence of unrealised potential
We sleepwalk through our perceived reality
And so I run
I awake from my slumber
I see, I feel, I connect

Task One

Call 1 – PCA Lift Gallery

You are being asked to produce a new work or submit work for a group exhibition to happen in the Lift Gallery at PCA between the 27^th of February and take down 16^th of March.

You will be required to install your work yourself and be available to undertake this during the week of the 27^th of February.

The work you produce should respond to the theme of:

“False idols: from Deity to concept: The notion of the polemic, an impassioned argument that suggests a discursive belief or the act of questioning.”

You are required to create a, or collection of works using any medium you deem feasible in the time given. Ready to install by Friday the 2^nd of March, this means you will need to source ANY equipment, including securing devices, for install and the period of the show.

You should accept the challenge of adapting and reworking your existing practice and ideas to fit this theme.

My Proposal

‘You’ve got me all wrong’ “I have frequently seen people become neurotic when they content themselves with inadequate or wrong answers to the questions of life. They seek position, marriage, reputation, outward success of money, and remain unhappy and neurotic even when they have attained what they were seeking. Such people are usually confined within too narrow a spiritual horizon. Their life has not sufficient content, sufficient meaning. If they are enabled to develop into more spacious personalities, the neurosis generally disappears.”  Carl Jung Mankind has been conditioned throughout its history by means of manipulation and fear to not question the given understandings of ‘God’. So rather than listen to what our inner self feels is our truth about who and what we are, we rely on self appointed ‘men of God’ to tell us what to think and feel about what are the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ of our spiritual development. Though the fears created around manmade myths, we either faithfully/blindly follow or we don’t and then look elsewhere for that joy and essential spiritual connection, often in short lived material pleasures. Consequently the awareness of this connection is lost until something triggers its return. Through misconceived concepts on what is ‘God’ and the selfish, egotistical motives of greed, could mankind have created an illusion of a ‘God’ in their own image? Is humankind, through its fear of change, the illusion of separateness and reluctance to question, missing out on something more to know about what and who ‘God’ really is? Has humankind made its Ultimate Idol a False Idol and in this process lost direction and meaning to their lives and a conscious connection with their true selves? How do we as individuals find that essential connection which enables inspiration and insight? Running in the landscape is my mantra, a vehicle to my connection and the path for inspiration. The physical challenge of dealing with the extremes of heat, the cold and physical pain brings about a meditative focus, which forces me within. And then, when a rhythm is achieved, the body is fluid and the mind soothed, the inner and outer worlds open up to me. The freedom and endless possibilities become apparent. This connection with ‘God/The Source/Life, is made. “……through constant movement, in coping with wind, rain, snow, cold, fatigue, it becomes possible to reach a state in which the inner and outer realities become a ‘fluid whole’.” Chris Drury “I see walking as my form as meditation.……walking becomes meditative. You stop the endless thinking. And that’s a good thing, because every now and then you want to stop going down the neural pathways. Then you have other perspectives.” Hamish Fulton

 PLAN

I plan to show a film that has been taken on my head camera whilst running. Because it is during these runs/walks that my pieces of writing and maps are inspired I will create a map of my words and journey. It will be no larger than A4 in size and can be taken away by the viewer.