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Module 5 Botany
An experience in plants from near and far and how they influence and affect us.
I walk in my garden and realize that all the plants there are imports, bought at local greenhouses but have originated in another Place. Much like us, we may have been here for generations, but we all come from another Place.
We adapt and flourish, uproot ourselves and move about the planet, often unaware of our impact on others and nature. When we are Flaneurs, do we take time to be fully aware of the green around us, the struggle plants have? Taking time to explore the exotic spices on Zanzibar and the tall pepper fields in Cambodia and the colourful fields of saffron in Spain, provides me with a reconnection image from my visit to their origins and reconnecting in my kitchen, a recollected image that is in my mind.
I was surprised to discover the strong bond to my place here, my home, when I selected thin slices of the plant to examine under a microscope. It was as if I was a surgeon examining the heart and soul of the plant, the inner workings. This module more than any of the others solidified my place/home with my spirituality, a bond to these plants that I care for, a tie to Mother Earth.
Module 4 – Spirituality
I find I have not given enough time to exploration of Spirituality. I believe strongly in the 6th sense of ideas shared in the air to people who will be receptors, words not required in oral or written methods.
In taking time to acknowledge the spirituality in myself, I reflect on my past naiveness and am comfortable with that aspect of me, the opportunity to believe in my senses. Is it accurate or is my certainty that I have gauged the occasion, correct? Perhaps not, and I am okay with that.
Spirituality for me is like a blanket that follows me, a protective aura that I can strengthen when required and am aware when it is diminished. I cannot produce an image of my spirituality, but I recognize it and look forward to the moments when it becomes not a protector but a part of me. Perhaps in those moments is when my art shines and the tools of art I employ are extensions of my spirit becoming a visual reflection. Perhaps.
Maureen Light
Artist Statement Module 3
Flaneur or Flaneuse, I didn’t realize that was a term I could wear like a coat. I am approaching this topic as a viewer of the Flaneuse, more than the view the Flaneuse sees. I would like to do a series with the scenery in the background as a secondary point of view, with the whole colour for each scene changing, the coat, the background, etc.
An interesting point I have been considering is that most of us are all Flaneurs if we are engaged in our walk. Some people never look up when walking, missing all the opportunity to be a Flaneuse.
Maureen Light
Artist Statement Module 2
Philosophy is such an individual learning experience I believe.
I bring my individual opines and stacked learning with me to each new experience, it is unavoidable and resolute. To understand Heidegger and Bachelard through the written word and lecture, I realized I could spend many months uncovering my biases, their biases and then try to translate to current days and location.
My art for this module is indicative of the state of mind I was in after the lectures and readings. Nothing is concrete or easily defined or often even finished. This work is an unfinished piece that I shall continue to work on as I digest, ruminate and mentally and visually explore what the philosophers’ theses meant to me.
Maureen Light
Artist Statement Module 1
I find that drawing repetitive lines in a pattern relaxing and almost meditative. The lecture on learning how to doodle and write in short time bursts illuminating and a way to get creative juices flowing. The fires in our region have impacted us all in so many ways, not just visually, but we will experience the results of the devastation for decades.
A trip past the fire areas inspired my two art pieces and I feel it resonated with this modules’ learning outcome.