I have been struck in the last few years by how noisy the world is, how many demands there are on our collective attention, and how exhausted so many of the humans I encounter seem to be. I have also been seeking more and more to limit my own distractions, to find space in the world and in myself in which I can renew and regrow.
At about the same time, the title “Furl” started seeming an appropriate title for several of my paintings. I started studying up on the word “furl”, which is not in common use. “Unfurl”, yes - we say “unfurl” to speak about a sail ready to catch the wind, or a fern frond shining with new life in early spring. But we don’t talk about what comes before unfurling, or whether there is a time and place to do so. We don’t say “furl”, and maybe that reflects an opportunity for us.
The more my mind sat with the ideas within “furl”, the more I started to see a series of paintings.
A few viewers have told me they see sadness or despair in some of the series. I believe that any painting has a direct and personal relationship with each viewer, so for those viewers, that was right. However, my intention in this series is more usually meant to explore quietude and reflection. Sometimes it is about weathering the storm that is all around us: digital noise, disinformation, the attention economy, politics, rage and frustration. But often it is simply about taking a moment and being still.
“...your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Without, everything seems discordant; only within does it coalesce into unity. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
~ Carl Jung
C.G. Jung, Letters, Vol1: 1906-1950, Bollingen Series XCV:1, Edited by G. Adler & A. Jaffe, Translated by R.F.C. Hull; p33.
I’d originally envisioned a dozen or so paintings in the series, but as of the date of publication I have about 30 in some phase of development. For now, the Furl series of paintings is ongoing.