The Colours BLUE & INDIGO

In the Colour Energy Course that I attended last year, we did an in-depth exploration into each spectral colour. Each week we focused on a particular colour and it's associated energy Chakra. We explored the colour's energy through senses, meditation and painting using only the tones and hues of that colour.
 

For each class we were asked to dress in the colour we were exploring that week. A still life, made up of various objects in the colour was set up in the studio. Little bottles of essential oils associated with that Chakra and colour were set out on a tray for us to smell. Even the food and drink that we had during our tea break was in the colour we were exploring.


The Colours BLUE & INDIGO

I have been struggling to write this post about Blue and Indigo. This session was a very emotional one for me. It left me questioning many things... I've been struggling to find the words...

We combined the Blue (Throat Chakra) and Indigo (Brow Chakra) sessions because when mixing paints in various shades and tones of Blue and Indigo there is an overlap in the colours, Indigo being a dark blue reaching towards purple.

The still life was beautiful as always. It made the studio feel cool, calm and relaxing. If you closed your eyes you could imagine walking through a gentle mist, or into the darkness of the night. Some blue shades could leave you feeling a little sad or 'blue' however.
 

 

 

 

 

We sat around the still life soaking in the colours and smelling essential oils like Cypress, Eucalyptus, Myrrh, Patchouli, Pine, Geranium and Peppermint.

We then mixed up our paint, making six different shades and tones of Blue and Indigo.

 

After our meditation I started off by painting quite calmly, covering the canvas paper with lovely teal and light turquoise paint. When I started adding the darker shades (Indigo) my brushstrokes became more frenetic. I then, rather energetically, added all the shades I'd mixed, creating a lot of texture and movement on the page. I grabbed the wooden printing blocks and a plastic scourer and continued to add even more texture onto the canvas. I was working freely and loosely, with intuitive spontaneity, just as we were meant to.

 

Texture added using the wooden printing blocks

 

After our tea break, it was time to take a look and see if my painting had anything to 'reveal'. I saw a face and a seahorse. They didn't make a very good composition so I turned the page 90 degrees. And again. And again. And again. I had to then remind myself that this wasn't about a pretty picture with a carefully considered layout and composition. I needed to paint what I saw. So that is what I did.

My final painting

 

 

At the end of the session we did another meditation. We had been given a piece of paper and were asked to write, without thought or hesitation, the first thing that came to our mind. Like a message from the universe.

 

I wrote: "Meet me down at the bottom of the deep blue sea."

 

We then had to go around the class and, stopping at each person's work, do the same for them. So without thought or hesitation we wrote the first thing that came to mind when we sat in front of their painting.

The messages that had been left for me by my classmates were:

"Holy Communion"

"Beauty and serenity can be found"

"Looking intensely"

and "Serene beauty - your spirit guide"

 

We took turns to share our 'messages' with the class. One person said that my "spirit guide" made her think of the clay sculpture I'd made in my first Astar class 9 months earlier. As she said it, I experienced a wave of emotion and could not hold back the tears. (It was rather embarrassing, I must say)

My clay sculpture had been about a dear friend who had gone missing at sea in March 2010. His boat and his dog, who was still alive, had been found two weeks later but he was not on board.

 

Detail of the seahorse

 

When I got home that evening I did an internet search to find the symbolic meaning of a seahorse.

This is what I found:

"The seahorse is thought to have mystical significance among the Ancient Greeks, Europeans and Asians. The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed the seahorse was an attribute of the sea god Neptune and as such, the seahorse was considered a symbol of strength and power."

"Chinese cultures believed that the seahorse was a type of sea dragon, and as such they were revered for their power and thought to be symbols of good luck. Sailors have long viewed the seahorse as a good luck charm too." (source)

 

And then I read this, and my tears returned...

 

"The ancient Eurpeans believed that the seahorse carried the souls of deceased sailors to the underworld - giving them safe passage and protection until they met their soul's destination."

 

 

Blue is the colour associated with the fifth Chakra, the Throat Chakra. It deals with issues of communication, expressing our own personal truth, creative expression and symbolic thinking.

 

The colour Indigo is associated with the sixth Chakra, the Brow Chakra. It is also often referred to as the third eye or the mind center. As the 'source' or center of psychic knowledge, this Chakra produces our Dreams and Fantasies, as well as such advanced psychic states as Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Clairaudience and Spirit Communication.

 

 

xxx For Paul. In loving memory. xxx

Geisha

During the second term of my process art classes, the focus was very much on letting go of your inner critic. It was about surrendering to the process and not worrying about or planning the end result. This was done in a number of ways, from passing your work around the class where each student got to add something to your work, to working with a blindfold on.

 

In this class we prepared pages of rubbings, blindfolded. We chose various textured or patterned objects beforehand that could be rubbed over with wax crayon. We worked quickly and filled each page without much thought given to what we were doing.

The pages looked something like this:
 

Page of rubbings done with wax crayon.

 

Once we'd filled a number of pages with texture, we lay them out on the floor and were asked to choose one that "spoke" to us. One that seemed to have a hidden image.

 

I unfortunately don't have a photo of what my chosen page looked like before I worked into it with tea bags and inks.

I saw the outline of a woman's face with her hair pinned up. She had a thin elegant neck and her eyes (the birds) had luscious false eye lashes. I darkened the background with a wash of black ink to bring her out into the light.



The final artwork called Geisha

Detail of the face with the 'bird eyes'

Another detail of the artwork 'Geisha'

 



The week before I did this artwork, I bought a pair of false eye lashes made from feathers for a friend. She was going to Afrika Burn and I thought they would be a great accessory to add to her fancy dress outfits. Of course I wasn't thinking of the false eyelashes at the time of creating this artwork.

 

When I looked at the woman in my final work, the name 'Geisha' immediately sprung to mind even though she does not look Japanese or have black hair.

The term "geisha" is made of two Japanese words, (gei) meaning "art" and (sha) meaning "person who does" or "to be employed in".

 

The most literal translation of geisha to English is "artist".

 

Well, I suppose I am a "Geisha" in training. :)