Welcome to MissouriBendStudio!

This is an online journal of my artistic investigations and a way to communicate about my work, ideas, quandries and queries! I welcome comments and conversation and do hope you enjoy these musings. My artwork is available in my shop MissouriBendStudio on Etsy.com or on my website.

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Friday, May 25, 2012

The Space In Between

Hello everyone....it's the start of Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S.....any special plans you are excited about? I'm having a quiet time, as my husband is at a family reunion which I couldn't attend since I'm now a working gal with a new job! But, I'm going to enjoy the time in the studio, reading and musing about any number of things....in fact, I've already begun. When I was last here earlier in the week, I mentioned my revisitation with the humble dot as a repetitive mark. I will say that sitting quietly at the studio table, making unlimited points of ink on a page allows me to muse endlessly....about the dots as moments in time, individuals in a sea of humanity, grains of sand that was ashore with each new wave. And the proximity of those tiny marks....well, that's another whole catalog of thoughts. The pattern that emerges on the page relates to the proximity of the dots. As I played with varying their distance from one another I thought about the space between things and how one can always find an empty field between two "somethings" to insert something else....and isn't that a way to think about infinity? There is always space between, even when it doesn't seem so at all. When two things appear to have no space between them, it's really just an illusion, isn't it....a function of our limited perception? There are always moments between moments....when time opens up and out. There is always a space between.

And all that reminded me of my astonishment some time ago when I relearned a little something about the basics of the universe in the wonderful and quite aptly named book by Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything. I've just gotten my worn copy off the shelf. Not that I have any real understanding of quantum physics or physics of any kind....yet, these notions on page 141 give me pause....

"....if an atom were expanded to the size of a cathedral, the nucleus would be only about the size of a fly--but a fly many thousands of times heavier than the cathedral....." and a sentence or two later "It is still a fairly astounding notion to consider that atoms are mostly empty space, and that the solidity we experience all around us is an illusion. When two objects come together in the real world--billiard balls are most often used for illustration--they don't actually strike each other. 'Rather', as Timothy Ferris explains, 'the negatively charged fields of the two balls repel each other...were it not for their electrical charges they could, like galaxies, pass right through each other unscathed.' When you sit in a chair, you are not actually sitting there, but levitating above it at a height of one angstrom (a hundred millionth of a centimeter), your electrons and its electrons implacably opposed to any closer intimacy."


Many more dots to go, but I have to say that I really enjoy making these tiny marks....watching the spaces in between open up like a floating whisper. A small but infinite joy.




There are some fresh dailies for the week posted over at MissouriBendMusings if you'd like to check them out. Now, it's time to wind down the day and get some shut eye. I'm working tomorrow, but then Sunday and Monday are mine for the musing!  Hope you have a fine weekend....see you in a few days.







10 comments:

  1. A mysterious, meditative piece that reminds me of the milky way. Enjoy your quiet time!

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    1. Thanks so much Robyn! The process does allow for quite a bit of meditation!

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  2. This is one of the most beautiful pieces I have seen come out of your inquisitve, creative and imaginative mind Patti. I love your work! Thank you for sharing it with us. :)

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    1. Louise....what kind words! Thank you so much....so glad this piece strikes you....I'm very intrigued as to where these tiny dots will take me, both in my mind and on the page!

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  3. Great musings and great new pieces - "small but infinite joy" and "floating whisper" would be perfect titles for them! And I must say that the notion I am actually levitating above my chair makes me feel a lot less lazy when sedentary! Hope your weekend is going well...

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    1. Thanks so much Gabriella! And you bring up a good point about not feeling so lazy when sendentary....but why does my butt get sore from sitting too long? Enjoying the warm sunshine after big storms last night....hope your weekend is going well too!

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  4. I am also intrigued - it is different from the other work you have made, a striking change in hue and exploring something deeper... looking forward to seeing where it takes you. Go with it! :)

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    1. Louise....it is different, but in my mind deals with some of the same issues as the "deeper" work I was making before Etsy (the works on my website) without the image....I've been wanting to be able to break free from the image entirely and seems I have....free floating in the cosmos!! Thanks for your good cheer!

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  5. You're capturing the universe on a single piece of paper!

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    1. Penny.....that's a fine compliment....I'm humbled!! I'd have to say though....perhaps that's what we're all trying to do in our own way. Glad to hear there is an echo of the larger universe captured in the work....that's what I'm after! Best wishes and thank you!

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I'm happy to hear from you...comments and questions are welcome!