Contemplative Space

December 2016

 
Relief printmaking is an incremental process. It involves many small steps that can’t be rushed. Time shifts and the printmaker senses a deep sense of variety through the gentle slowing-down process. It’s similar to lying on the forest floor for a while and then gradually tuning in to the vastness of minute detail everywhere: in the moss, in the grass sheaths, in the swaying tree branches.
In contemplative space, the printmaker understands the musing process is itself a vast world: tangible and with distinct form. It is as if a psychic map spreads out and connections are natural and easy to sense. There is immense rightness to all this. At the same time, the printmaker has a practical task at hand and the rigor of engaging the body and practical mind provides a solid sense of boundary, earthiness and deep commitment.

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above:
Garden Gifts

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All images and text © Nicola Barsaleau. All rights reserved.