WALKING ON THE WILD SIDE

“Expand your thinking”, she says. How to take the thing, an object, an image beyond the field into, what?

Metaphor

Beyond the field into the Wild part of Wildflower.

I took a handful of rose petals, fallen from the rose bouquet, Tossed them into the air. They floated down, down, down onto the table. The sun took over.

The rose, both domesticated and wild, made a connection for me, to people, our art, the environment.

Take the time.

Nature presents both sides to us.

This wild, playful, unexplored side cries out to become more a part of us,

Where is it now?

Is it getting translated into your art?

Wild free times in the studio

Time goes by unnoticed. Work takes on a life of its own.

I become the vehicle for the work, but it seems someone else is holding the brush. Believe. Both the domestic and the wild. Together make the best art.

Let us go, become like the wildflowers, which bloom for themselves, each one perfect, transitory, and beautiful.

Marian McKenzie-Cone

The Continuing Residents of the Spring 2023 Enso Circle come from all paths of life and from across the world. We span media and passions, goals and practices, and we share a commitment to the Circle that nourishes our work and our selves. Our lives challenged us in many difficult and wonderful ways this term. We rode the storms with courage and shared the bounty of our achievements freely. We found strength and focus in the bonds of the Circle, and ways to grow as we journeyed through our life experiences, from the joyous to the dark.

Wildflowers survive and blossom in unlikely places: their lives ebbing and flowing with the rhythm of their environment, be it harsh or fertile. The members of this cohort are like a field of wildflowers in their own way: not bound by convention, blooming where we fall, supporting each other, and sharing our hearts and spirit with the worlds around us through our creative work.

The pieces in this catalog reflect our experiences this spring, and many did not come easily. The bounty of this harvest is a testament to the resilience of our cohort to respond to what life presents us. Take a moment to delve into these rich and abundant works. Enjoy!

Heather Tinkham & Maggi Peachey