5 minute read
from the Be Brave Studio
EarthFrom the Be Brave Studio
Monte Alban Archaeological Site
An Artists Journey into the Creative Process
Earth! So vast and large, so many directions, north, east, south, west, beyond and into, overwhelm. So many thoughts and ideas I wanted to do everything, excitement, and enthusiasm I hit the ground running. The thought of doing something big and impressive was stuck in my head, I got lost in it, I kept trying to do things that I was not prepared for.Earth is so big it challenges you to be ok with who you are and what you do, stop trying to be something you are not, to be me that one in 8 billion, just like you, no one is the same, no one will make art and create the exact same. Finally, gravity! Pulls me in, telling me get your feet on the ground, plant yourself, stand tall like a tree, take nourishment from the soil, grow where you are. This was a crazy ride, I could often feel the spin and tilt of earth as the days, weeks and months moved past faster and faster. I wanted to move in every direction in the beginning, I moved around the studio gathering, creating idea collections, organizing, editing, clearing some space, nothing took root. What is it about earth? It wants us to move while standing still, maybe that is because that is exactly what it does, always in motion but the movement is so
subtle we do not feel it, yet we experience it with the cycle of the days and the seasons. I decided to go back in my mind to when I felt at peace with earth and immediately Mexico came to mind, the Monte Alban Museum, Oaxaca, the carvings in the stone, I imagined how the people must have worked so hard to carve into the stone, the sacrifice they must have had to endure for their art. I think earth is about hardship and overcoming obstacles, sacrifice, developing this online workshop has been difficult, but only because I made it more difficult than it had to be. I want to become efficient at these workshops, I desire to have confidence, therefore I must be grounded but moving at the same time, interesting.
I continued with the body of work I started in water; my plan is to submit this art as a travelling show for exhibition through my Province. Stitching and beading is an important part to this body of work, the process of slow stitching is relaxing but during earth it also became a distraction from what I should be doing, I created many smaller stitched pieces as well as the larger pieces you see in the earth art portfolio, over time I began to sense I was using stitching as a rock to weigh me down, avoiding doing what was required. Under the weight of it all I turned to my art to comfort me and build me up. I learned allot about myself and my creative process in the earth cycle, I want to put on that teachers hat, share the joy of creating, without the discomfort of bring buried alive, I am not sure how to do this yet but I’m not giving up if anything I will find a way to understand this technology, have you every stood at the end of the earth, looking over the cliff feeling the stones under your feet slip ever so, the feeling of panic you pull back catching your breath calming your heart you look out over the edge to see the most glorious sunset.
Below the earth you can find some of the most beautiful gems, following the thread that starts at the top of my head, the beautiful gold threat that runs straight down my body, past my heart space, through the bottom of my feet into the earth spinning down and down, wrapping around the most beautiful “Rose Quartz ” anchored and sure, now I can stand on the cliff, secured. I especially enjoyed stitching the gems and cutting the scrap plywood to mount the patch to, I love these (I also did a ruby and another rose quartz).
I have, like many of us felt a connection with trees, I think of them as protectors of the earth, I have been saddened as I prepare to leave my longtime house, saying goodbye to the giant elm, under which a couple hamsters have been laid to rest and so many picnics were shaded. “Limbs That Hold Me” is dedicated to that elm tree, it will always have my heart, yet I know I am ready to move on. “Buried Memory ” is my thanks to earth for holding my loved one protected, yet the kite caught in the tree means I do not have to like it. I plan to continue this journey of making workshop videos, I think like the giant elm I am starting as a sapling, if I let the earth nurture me, I will grow.
“Expectations” is my vision of what Mother Earth is feeling, she has been waiting for a while to bring new beginnings to life, free of the pandemic, free of racism, free of social stigmas, free of environmental carelessness and hatred. Maybe she will have twins and doubly kick butt.
Tracy Buechler is a Canadian contemporary mixed media artist, art educator and creativity coach. Being drawn to art to express her own experiences she discovered that a curiosity and a common yearning for all things creative and soulful drive us to live our most inspired lives.
"I make art every day, I teach with a joy that brings beauty from sorrow, my spirit soars watching others light up connecting to their own creative practice, and I build communities.
www.tracybbrave.com
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