Keep the channel open

Linda Gilbert, Deep down, mixed media, 640 x 480 mm, 2022.

The lead up to the MFA Graduation Show is intense. The Catalogue Essay has to be written, edited, designed and printed. Painting selections need to be made. I have to decide which ones communicate my ideas most convincingly. Then there are new paintings itching to find form, and the Blog to check.

At times like this the urge to paint and retreat into my happy place turns itself up several notches. The house becomes one big art studio. While I like to believe my whole life is, and has been dedicated to art, the reality is slightly different. The mundane aspects of life still grind on outside the MFA programme. That comes with its own set of pressures. I lost my job at the end of September. Between painting and writing, I look for ways to pay my mortgage. Wondering if I will have enough money to print my catalogue essay for the final assessment. Being a stranger in a new town, work has been hard to find, and the impact of Covid has been serious for my personal economy.

Linda Gilbert, Sedimentary, mixed media on rock stock paper, 600 x 460 mm, 2022.

But throughout the last two years I have continued to march forward in the direction of my dreams - and I am still here.

Something always turns up in the nick of time - on the 59th minute of the 11th hour. Instead of caving in, my resolve gets stronger. Painting strengthens my resilience. It always has.

Recently I came across these wise words relayed by Sefton Rani on The Big Idea. I read it daily as I prepare to pull my graduation show together.

Keep The Channel Open

A Letter to Agnes De Mille from Martha Graham

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.

And If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions.

It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate YOU.

Keep the channel open… No artist is pleased…

There is no satisfaction whatever at anytime There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes “us” MORE alive than the others.

– Martha Graham

I am definitely alive... and kicking!

I will exhibit authentic paintings, inspired by the energy of the planet that sustains us.

No gimmicks, no smoke, no mirrors.

I will keep the channel open.

Linda Gilbert, Light energy map, mixed media on rock stock paper, 900 x 640 mm, 2022.