Archive for the ‘Monica Lacey’ Category
The Creativity Project
untitled - colour photograph , Monica Lacey http://www.monicalacey.com
written by Jill MacCormack
We are living in a world defined by our image of ourselves, and choices we make based on that image. That self image is in turn being defined by internal and external forces, both large and small.
The Creativity Project
hopes to be an external initiating force towards reconciliation of the internal and external, between the self and the society it creates.
We live in an age that demands urgent, creative, and compassionate attention to the suffering of the world. The suffering can be viewed as imponderably great and binding in the manner of its complexity and reach, but also as grounds from which new ways of understanding and responding can emerge.
In short, The Creativity Project hopes to elevate awareness, and provide an impetus for change.
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Cacophony of Silence
There is a silence present now
so like death it takes my breath away.
A force so large, so deafening it quells
the brightness of the world.
It has no face or name or voice for none
it needs; it thrives on the life force of
the faceless, the nameless, the voiceless,
and the vice of those with plenty.
It will try to sell you beauty, joy, freedom
and security. Its sales pitch is image, youthfulness
and vitality without end.
With policies of mass production, a frantic pace,
confusion and alienation it’s insidious ways are
coordinated, tabulated, regulated: highly orchestrated.
It’s only end is money; power and control, and its only means, destruction:
destruction of land, sea, air, body, soul and culture. Death- deafening death.
What are you being sold…and at what cost?
Be heard above the loudness of the silence:
Get to know your natural environment
Dream, imagine, hope, and believe new ways of being
Seek alternatives
Be open to beauty
Be open to wonder
Turn away from fear and move in the direction of LOVE
Practice mindfulness
Be gentle with yourself and kind to others
Take time to be quiet
Respect different ways of being
Learn to value concepts of simplicity: lagom, wabi sabi
Cultivate an attitude of gratefulness
Learn to sit with uncomfortable emotions
Buy locally more often
Buy plastic less often
Don’t buy into images
Appreciate local arts and culture
Express your creativity
Talk to your neighbours
Practice community mindedness
Acknowledge the impermanence of all things
Be patient and tolerant in the process of change
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As artists we are called to use our creativity as a means of holding up to the light the hurt and fear of the world, so that we can penetrate those walls that silence has created: apathy, disillusionment, disempowerment, destruction, dis-ease. In doing so, we are redefining our confusion and pain, our fear and separation into something hopeful. We become the portal through which newness can emerge…. Softened and pliable once again, our society and culture can be re-created, sustainably, for the future, for the better.
This idea is a work in progress and by no means do I want to claim it as my own
By adding your voice the “Cacophony of Silence” will become less deafening. Please feel free to add your ideas, be it a rant or a hopeful image/ words.
Please respond.
Thank you,
The Creativity Project
* to respond to this post please email it to this.town.is.small@gmail.com or leave a comment
The Passionate Artist
apples - monica lacey - http://www.monicalacey.com
written by Jill MacCormack
Restless energy
can become reckless
if allowed full reign,
but Eros
informed by Sophia
can become
a most beautiful thing.
I’ve seen Eros
walk into a room
and become a creation,
Become created
in the energy of a cast glance
between two persons.
Tangible, obvious.
But have you considered the Eros of the artist informed by Sophia, or not?
Have you heard it as Logos?
In the spoken word; poetry, storytelling,
the use and sound of language that is alive.
And in the playing of music,
Have you heard it there? An energy, electrified.
What about in the shaping of a sculptor, firm and knowing,
or in the painting of a painter, brushstrokes enlivened,
or in the beauty of the natural world all around you, warm and energizing, light and life.
There is Eros guided and guiding.
Eros, that beautiful urge of the universe to become,
becoming manifest through you.
Spoken into existence.
You are Eros,
molded and shaped and woven
by sound
by colour
by texture
by form.
Eros informed by Sophia is sustainable.
Creativity is beauty electrified.
Use your beautiful energy wisely.
Untitled
I can see mountains - mixed media on watercolour paper, 11"x 15", 2009 -Monica Lacey http://www.monicalacey.com
Untitled
Written By Lesleigh Misener
On dirt roads you will find me
barefoot, released.
Following paths that lead to mysteries
only forest can contain.
Balsam and fir spinning wordless song
Sailing paper-masted heart down dancing brook
to seas of green and spirit.
Here is the breath. Here is the psalm.
And the music that rises from the deep.
Shelter
Shelter - Monica Lacey
This piece, called Shelter, is a non-toxic etching I did this past winter at Sunbury Shores down in St. Andrews, NB. I had some grant money to do some printmaking but had one helluva time finding a printmaker to work with – the first one moved away, the second died (horrible instance – may he rest in peace) shortly after I contacted him, and then finally I found Robert Van de Peer, Master Printmaker at the Sunbury Shores Printshop. We spent an incredibly educational day together during which he told me all about the non-toxic processes he has been pioneering and developing, helping to make printmaking a healthier studio practice. When it was time to create my plate, he left me alone in the studio for about an hour to come up with an image. The image I came up with for Shelter was inspired by the very situation I was in – that of being the student of a Master. It got me thinking about the importance of mentoring, and likewise, of being a student or apprentice.
