Ebb and flow are two phases of the tide, the ebb being the outgoing phase where the tide drains away from the shore and the flow is the incoming phase when the water rises again. Sarah Finney states that “Life is full of Ebbs and Flows…that we need the contrast between the two so that we can learn to take more care of ourselves. We cannot always be in a state of flow, nor can always be in a state of ebb. We need them both.”
Before COVID – 19, I confess my life was quite formulaic. I have a husband and three children and I realize now our lives were over scheduled. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays - my studio practice, Tuesdays and Thursdays - teaching preschool mixed media classes at a local Community Center and the majority of the nights during the week and weekends were filled with kids’ hockey games, volleyball, badminton, baseball tryouts and weaving classes. I was the Queen of lists, having many to-do lists for Studio, for Teaching and for each child. This defines my previous “Ebb”. This frozen time or newly found “Ebb” during the wake of COVID -19 has allowed me to reconnect with my inner self and realize the little things to be grateful for: time, health, family, friends, baking, reading, producing new work at a slower pace and my new discovery of watching NetFlicks. (yes, I did not watch television but I have found a new love for Ru Paul's Drag Race and movies).
As part of my new series Ebb and Flow, this piece “Yearning for Stillness Amidst Chaos” ponders the questions, “Where will we go when we die?”, “How do we find a way of being” amidst chaos. A hint of blue, the sky - always so infinite and full of possibilities.
Perhaps this new form of “Ebb” is a time of letting go of scheduled time for “Flow” to happen naturally and seeing this uncertain period as a transition of what was and what is to come. (Sarah Finney) This period of uncertainty brings on feelings of fear and anxiety contemplating the fragility of life around us. I believe in embracing this time with kindness for one another and optimism. As time goes by slowly, one must try and sink into their own natural rhythms.
Ebb and Flow Series: "Yearning For Stillness Amidst Chaos". Mixed media. 60" x 60". 2020
#contemporary art #abstract art #COVID art #weaving #textile #vancouver artists