Solitude and Friendship

October 2016

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Friendship is our birthright. Making art teaches how to be friends with oneself; hours of solitude are essential to visual creation, especially in the slow process of printmaking. It's impossible to sit with that silence without a certain degree of self-compassion. Self-compassion = befriending oneself. Honoring our beating, roaring heart. Slowing down to an inch-by-inch pace and being okay with that.
Sacred texts describe those who have chosen the path of the forest to hear the depths of their own hearts. Thousands of years ago, three women, Satyavati, Ambika and Ambaalika, did just that according to the texts of ancient India's Mahabharata (the world's longest epic poem); these women eventually left the unfolding drama of their royal families in favor of the path of the forest.
Yet the true beauty of sticking through the process of solitude is an awareness of just how vital and sacred actual in-person friendships are. Out of the studio, stumbling into the sometimes messiness of human interaction, are trails of flowering seeds; sacred, personal interactions pop up and the magic of a living relationship can flood the heart with wonder and gratitude and patience.
above:
Morning Harmony
Linocut, 16 by 26 inches
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All images and text © Nicola Barsaleau. All rights reserved.