Winter’s Loss: Brink of Spring 03/29/09

 

WINTER'S LOSS: BRINK OF SPRING by Shannon White copyright 2006

 

 

When I painted this painting several years ago, I t was realizing the need to “learn to fly” by leaving the familiar nest, to use the knowledge I had grown fat with for lack of use.  I am in favor of learning by sitting in chair, listening, processing and gleaning to a certain extent.  I hope I continue to learn and share throughout my entire lifetime in many different ways, as we all have something of value to offer each other.  At some point, one has to begin to try what one has learned in the real world,though, to live, experience, learn more, try, take informed risks, fail and begin again.  This, too, is a vital part of the learning process and also of the propagation of future generations of learning and of sustaining life.  

As I painted this painting, I noticed empty nests everywhere, especially in the work of other artists, symbolizing a season of life, in which the artist had experienced some sort of winter and was participating in a sort of springtime.  These images acknowledged with a frankness and consideration of the role of loss as seasonal and temporary but that the empty feeling left behind is very real.  This is what I am experiencing now, as our family has experienced the tragic loss of our son to an unexpected cancer, the heightened emotions, the dullness and dampness, the questions, and still the occasional joy of living, the comforting arms and the faithfulness of God.  The winter of loss is painful and chilling and cruel, but I look forward to the decay-composted ground revealed beneath the melting snow in its richness of new beginnings ushered in by the delicious breath of Spring, premempting the eternal.  This also embodies the spirit of the Easter season in a personal way for me.  Birdsongs will reemerge as nests are rebuilt, and the trees will grow green and fruitful again, my dear.

The following is an original poem I wrote about the same time I painted the above painting:

 SOUL HOUSE

by Shannon White copyright 2006

Don’t say goodbye,

Sad, sad song.

The tree is about to bud

And the snow is 

Melting around my heart.

Rouse me under the apple tree,

And stay awhile.

Darkest waters,

Cold and glassy

Stream over me,

As I lie and gaze 

At the bright stars,

Letting the water

Wash away my tears.

I sleep till misty morning,

Swaddled and warm;

Someone has cared for me in the night.

Eyes still shut,

But the light is dawning its mad colors.

Laughter shakes the air around me,

And the storm changes the color of the grass.

Everything vibrates now.

You don’t have to see it to believe it.

The sorrowful song is still in my heart,

But it has a glad twist.

Listen to the birds being themselves —

Oh, there is no shutting them out!

Pieces of music and chattering twitter,

Clarion tones of flutes and chimes,

Feathered instruments of Grace.

Even somber whistles resonate in the soft silence and

Carry on the wind the sound of Freedom.

Nest in my soul,

Bird of Paradise.

Make your Home with me here.

 

YOU CAN VIEW MORE TREE THEMED ART AROUND LAWRENCE THIS MONTH.

Vegetable as Art 8/19/08

copyright 2008 shannon white

 

copyright 2008 shannon white copyright 2008 shannon white

I have painted vegetables for years now, mostly interiors, and have within the past few years been fascinated with the carrot, as mentioned and shown in previous posts.  The carrot painting is only one of three panels to this piece (the other two panels are not shown).  Only today, have I been introduced online to other carrot and vegetable fanatics by my good friend, a. (a writer who is currently fascinated with spiders).    I feel part of the international community now.  You can visit the carrot museum site for a good dose of laughter and education on the hopeful carrot.  Most of all, you MUST not miss the vegetable musicians, true artists who tour all over and are unmistakably serious.  let me know what you think.  my children were truly inspired, my daughter using a fork to make ridges in an eggplant top in order to create a new sound.  And with the rest of the eggplant I made supper — cooked and sauted in olive oil, sea salt, balsamic vinegar & sugar, in a fresh garden basil, oregano, tomato and garlic sauce, all simmered together and poured over angel hair pasta.  If you watch the above vegetable video, be sure to watch the broccoli christmas song next (played on a broccoli).  enjoy!

Mahatma Caden

MAHATMA CADEN leftover tempera on construction paper by Shannon White 07

 

My son was painting a reindeer for Christmas craft time in the craft room of the cancer ward at Children’s Mercy Hospital.  As I watched him thin and bony, his aqua hospital gown sliding off one shoulder and his head shiny with hair loss from all the chemotherapy he was receiving, he reminded me of the peaceful resistance figure, Mahatma Ghandi.  Caden was fighting as he could to live, carrying a deep God-given spiritual life within him which radiated from the darkeness of the situation into a luminescent hope.  The beauty of suffering with a purpose struck me as I sat beside him.  I struggled to maintain this hope and my own identity as I used his leftover paint to express this mysterious beauty of life which carried in it a vigilant prayer and I am sure, the prayers of many others who joined us in this journey.  There has been victory in this quiet battle as Caden’s cancer is now gone.  Thank you to all who have been a part of this resistance.

Children of Promise Portrait

                   

CHILDREN of PROMISE Portrait, oil on canvas, 12″ x 12″ copyright 2007 Shannon White

 It felt great to complete this portrait, the final details of which were put on hold from May until now by Carolyn, the gracious patron.  The children depicted are grown, now, making their way in this world.  They danced in a circle, free and full of potential, one with a rainbow on her shirt, each beautiful in their own way.  I loved being in my studio again, smelling oil paint, linseed oil (maybe a bit too much linseed oil added to the drying time) painting people.  I was thankful for the opportunity!

Destination Postcard Show

                   

Destination: Eternal Hope  mixed media 4″x6″

Destination: Soul House   original construction photo with original poem 5″x7″

above images copyright 2007 Shannon White (will be featured in show)

Show Opening Friday, Nov. 16th, 5-8 p.m.

Art Affair Gallery, 7th & High St, Baldwin, KS

BALM artists & Baker’s Anniversary Show

Beautiful pieces by area artists in all price ranges for gift giving.   Other featured artists include Karen Jacks, Vernon Brecha, Heather Smith Jones, Darin White, Jane Flanders, S. D. Dunlap, Sam Wagner, Anh Sawyer…  Continue the conversation we began at the original “destination” original art postcard gathering with us.  

Cross Collaboration with Pregnant Promise

               

Pregnant Promise painted  in 1996 & copyrighted by Shannon White 2007

While caring for my son in the hospital, last month, I received an e mail from an international doctoral student requesting the use of my Pregnant Promise painting image for her thesis on minimal counseling in the case of an irregular pregnancy.  The timing of the request caused me to think of how much my son means to me, cancer or no cancer, and what my fears may have been had I known he would struggle with it before he was born.  He is a gift and ever full of promise.  My life is so much richer for having him.  She had given much thought to her approach to valuing the pregnancy, the parents and the doctor and other medical staff.  There was a consistent respect of life while there was also a respect of freedom within the existing legal system.  She was not a legislator, but dealing with medical counseling.  I was honored to cross collaborate my artistic voice with her medical voice and was, again, amazed at the poignant timing.  Blessings to you in your life & career, Jolande!

Healing for the Arts Show Opening Tonight 10/20/07

Darin and I are in a show that is having its reception tonight at the Lawrence Art Center called Healing Through the Arts.  Please come to view the show from 5-7 pm tonight October 20th, 2007.  We are working on pieces surround the events of our son Caden and his battle with Nueroblastoma cancer.

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Healing Through the Arts IV: “Surviving and Thriving” Exhibition

Lawrence Arts Center
October 6-31, 2007
Reception, Saturday, October 20, 5-7 pm

Healing Through the Arts IV: “Surviving and Thriving” Exhibition –

Events:

• Art Exhibition: October 5-31
• Exhibition Reception: Saturday, October 20, 5:00-7:00pm
• Workshops with Christie Dobson and Libby Schmanke

For more information: Lawrence Arts Center , 940 New Hampshire , Lawrence , KS 66044 Contact: Candi Baker or Mary Devlin at (785)843-2787 or lacdance@sunflower.com

Healing Through the Arts 2007: Surviving and Thriving, a Breast Cancer Prevention and Awareness Project, is underway at The Lawrence Arts Center this month. This year’s events include an Art Exhibition October 5-31 with a reception Saturday, October 20 from 5:00 – 7:00 (Note: this date and time is new and an update to previously announced date and time) and two workshops with community groups.

The exhibition is open to artists who are cancer survivors and artists interested in the connections between art and healing. The work is displayed in the Lawrence Arts Center’s lobby and main floor hallway. This year’s 27 artists come from Baldwin City, Lawrence, LeCompton, Ozawkie, and Topeka, Kansas, as well as, Lee Summit, Mo.

Works included are by Zak Barnes, Amy Bertrand, Carolyn Berry, Crystal Jo Cunningham, Ann Dean, Laura Dalrymple, Cindy Daniels, Erlene Flowers, D. W. Gates, Roxann Graber, Steven Graber, Doug Guess, Johanna Hanks, Dick Herpich , Debbie McGee, Brigid Murphy, George Paley, Joyce Schild, Libby Schmanke, Leonard Schneider, Tony Silvestri, Dawn Tallchief , Elinor Tourtellot, D White, Darin White, Shannon White, and Carolyn Young . Mediums include watercolor, oil, acrylic, digital images, fabric, collage, photography, ceramics and sculpture. Most works are accompanied by an artist statement discussing the work and usually the connection from their lives with healing. This powerful and moving exhibition will continue until October 31 with a reception October 20 from 5:00 -7:00pm honoring the artists.

Additionally, two encouraging and inspiring workshops are being presented to special community groups this month as part of Healing through the Arts. Christie Dobson, MA, in theater and drama therapy, will present Healing Circle through Drama therapy workshop to care-givers and survivors here at the Lawrence Arts Center . Libby Schmanke, MA, board-certified art therapist, state certified substance abuse counselor and owner of Art and Insight, a private art therapy practice, will present a workshop in Healing and Artmaking to Bosom Buddies Breast Cancer Support group. Inquiries about these workshops should be directed to Candi Baker, lacdance@sunflower.com.

Special Thanks this year goes to 100 Good Women and Women Speak for their generous donation in support of this project. “Thanks for making good things happen in our community and beyond.”

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Contact me with any questions.

Shannon White

Inspired by a Carrot

 

This SUNRISE COLUMN IN ORANGE painting is inspired by a carrot, and is part of my Hope in Hopeless places series.  A couple years ago, I was about to listen to a woman tell the story about losing her daughter, tragically, when I began to picture a carrot.  This seemingly unrelated image began to make sense in context of her words.  As her story unfolded about her loss and journey, I thought of the elusive dangling carrot of hope, the healthy and nutritious attributes of the carrot, the growth process of the carrot, the idea of the taproot and dark soil, the symbolism of the color orange sometimes associated with healing, the metaphor of the sunset and sunrise.  Her story became one of cultivated, deep and eternal faith to flesh out the idea of the hope carrot that was forming in my mind.  At that time, I wrote the following poem, and have been exploring the hope carrot idea, visually, in several pieces since then.  I can now appreciate the hope carrot in the context of my experience with my son’s battle with cancer.  The orange abstract pictured is one of my personal expressions of hope in this process, and will be featured in a Healing Through the Arts Show at the Lawrence Arts Center beginning the middle of the first week in October in conjunction with more work by myself and other artists.  My husband took the picture of my painting in a friend’s studio with dramatic lighting.  I would also like to thank my good friend, an “actual” poet, for critiquing this writing for me.  Thanks to you all!

HOPE CARROT by Shannon White

a single carrot beckons

from the farmers’ market stall,

harvested root of vision and hope

not dangling, but reachable

orange and bright like a crisp sunrise column;

a stout ringed, pointed mass

enhancing sight and health, macrobiotically;

dug from the earthy garden

tugged out of darkness,

heralded by a messenger sprout of truthful green,

the evidence of apparent life

growing under the rich black chalky soil,

struggling to retain and dipense nutrients

wicking dew and damp drenching rains,

a taproot of survival and sustenance.

develop, eternal hope carrot,

food in a world of hunger,

if only through one tiny but faithful seed.

Harvest of Hope

Here is a new painting called Harvest of Hope dealing with events leading up to the stem cell harvest of my son Caden, who is fighting neuroblastoma cancer.  You can see more info about the concept of Hope on our art site called balm.  I am working on a series called Hope in Hopeless Places.  I will continue to post these as I am able.  My husband Darin is also working on a sculpture about our son’s situation.

Figurative Paintings

                                            

         

                            

    

 

The figure has always fascinated me in its portent, its human expressiveness, its symbolic nature as a whole and in its fragments.  The human form is dynamic in its shape and holds infinite possiblities for expression of emotion, concept, creativity, diversity, universality.  Nudes are pure and universal in my paintings, valued as people but not exactly personal yet not idealized, organically changing.  My paint finds its way around the shape with fervent emotion and freedom of expression, not seeking to explain every detail but describing a depth. 

The body is an expression of mind, body, and spirit together.  I view the aspects of science, spirituality, art, human psychology as parts of the same world, and seek to combine them on these canvases.  My hope is that viewers will identify with the figure, experience a dialogue in which certain ideas and emotions are explored or discovered.  The enjoyment or experience of the painting should leave an impression which goes farther than words can travel.