Can art help improve the mood of cynical gym rats?

Research continues on how art affects our brain

I often hear cynical talk about the state of our country in the men’s locker room. This particular day I decided to interject and say “good morning.” When I was asked “how’s it going,” I responded, “Did you know it’s free day at the art museum?”   The resulting facial expression reminded me of the cover of a dragon storybook with flared nostrils minus the smoke. 

I was inspired to ask that question by a news report of a study linking art to improved mood. I decided to investigate the research on how art affects the brain. The University of Westminster in a 2006 study showed lowered cortisol (stress) levels for workers going to an art museum. Bolwerk in 2014 looked at retired folks in Germany using MRI scans and resiliency questionnaires. It showed that those that actually produced art had higher connectivity in the frontal and parietal parts of their brain, as well as higher resiliency scores. A 2010 review of research published in the American Journal of Public Health looked at the positive “Connection Between Art and Healing” for those with serious medical conditions.

There’s ongoing research about how our thoughts affect our bodies. We are just beginning to realize how art can make a difference in people’s lives. I know that art has personally helped me through the most difficult times in my life.  Can art help improve the mood of cynical gym rats? Exercise certainly isn’t doing the trick. Art is likewise not a magic panacea for people who choose to be unhappy. At the same time, it never hurts to promote the idea that art matters.  

Are the dynamics between dominant and submissive a paradox?

Thanks to a trashy novel and equally horrendous film adaptation, dominant and submissive traits are being discussed. These words that bring many things to mind. Some may think of gender roles and responsibilities within society when thinking about them. One person works while the other stays home raising children. Others may look at the power dynamics in a relationship between two people, with one exerting psychological and/or physical control over someone who has consented to it.  The aspect I was interested in exploring in my art had to do with dominating our egos and submitting to something greater than ourselves.

Dominate yourself and submit to the universe

The internal relationships of being dominant and submissive greatly intrigue me. We all have things we need to dominate within ourselves: We need self control over things like our passions, what we eat and our thoughts.  We need to be able to reign in our fears that cripple us from taking needed action. We need to produce instead of always consume. Without this self control, things can quickly take over our lives in a negative way.  On the other hand, there are things in life that we submit to and yield control. We must submit to our own mortality. We submit to our employer and the law (if we want to keep our job and stay out of jail).  We submit to something larger than ourselves to affect positive change.  We find our calling that the universe has put before us and hopefully accept it.

Given these realities, are the dynamics between dominant and submissive a paradox?  Is every dominant also a submissive; every submissive, a dominant? While these labels are useful to define current relationships, actions or states of mind, no person can ever truly encompass just one of these aspects. This presents an even bigger question: what areas of our life do we need to dominate and which ones do we need to submit to? The answers to these questions blaze the trails of our individual journeys.  May we experience many blessings with them.

Dominance and submission are explored poetically within the story arc of the ebook, Male Nude: Hero Myth of the Masculine Journey. You can visit www.figurativearc.com for more information.  Thanks for reading and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Is the struggle to achieve our dreams ever futile?

Relic of  the past

Nathaniel Herrick was a Canadian entrepreneur that had a dream. He envisioned creating a saw mill to supply lumber in 1877 for the nearby silver operations in Silver Cliff and Westcliff, CO.  He hand built a road where he hauled up a boiler and flywheel. Newlin Creek would supply the power for the operation, as well as a water source for the cabin he built next to it. After completing all of this work, he suddenly died. His dreamed died with him, as the operation was abandoned, along with all the equipment.

Will we take hold of our dreams?

The flywheel and boiler now sit at the end of the Newlin Creek Trail.  I took a number of pictures of the flywheel on a hike, and returned again to do some figurative photography. The wheel itself symbolizes time in my mind and by extension, a dream. This is why the model holds onto it, which poses all kinds of questions. What does this moment in history mean? Was all the effort put into this enterprise pointless? Are our dreams futile?

These questions remind me of Alfred Tennyson’s quote, “Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” In this context, I would substitute “dream” for the word “loved.” While Herrick’s dream was never fully realized, he was nevertheless successful in my judgment. He went after something that was bold, risky and innovative. What better way to spend your last days?  It certainly beats drinking in a saloon and thinking about what could have been. The struggle to achieve is just as important as it is to realize it. What will we strive to achieve?  

If you’d like to share your dreams or other thoughts on today’s blog post, you can comment when you subscribe to this blog. It’s free and super easy. Just click on the follow link in the upper right corner next to Google + and comment below.  Happy New Year!

What lies beyond happiness?

The magical energy of flow

Stars Wars: The Force Awakens made me happy. I was happy to see a director at work that has a talent for showing both action and human emotion. I was happy that the screen writers had a command of the English language. I was happy that the preposterous Jar Jar Binks didn’t make an appearance.   My happiness watching the film largely subsided after it was over. It gave me a great ride, but my happiness was a transitory experience based on circumstances. It involved me consuming something that required little from me. Nothing wrong with that, but it got me thinking about today’s blog question. 

When I’m creating art, it is a very different experience than watching a movie.  What is surprising to me is that the creative process does not make me feel “happy.” Instead, my sense of self disappears, an intense concentration deepens my involvement and time stands still. Some may call these indicators "flow," "subspace" or "the zone."  This deep involvement doesn’t require feelings to keep me on track with what I’m doing. I've entered into something larger than myself; a universal consciousness. For reasons I don’t entirely understand, this process begins to positively change the way I think about myself and those around me. Anyone can have similar experiences of "flow" in a wide range of contexts. 

I believe that it takes something deeply involving  to change us. This simply doesn't happen when we are focused more on consuming what's around us vs. engaging with it. What lies beyond happiness? Beyond happiness is a deep connection that brings magic to our world: by making old ways of thinking disappear and replacing them with a level of awareness that is greater than ourselves.  Will we chose to consume or connect today?

You can share your moments of flow by clicking on the follow link on this page in the upper right corner next to Google + and commenting below. 

Is someone's view of the world wrong or just different?

Like landscape vistas, world views are diverse

Today’s blog question was inspired by a visit to my local art museum. There was a docent leading children through a Georgia O’Keefe exhibit. I observed the docent ask a child what they thought about a painting. “I think that looks like ice on a vanilla ice cream cone,” smiled the child. The docent replied, “No, that’s not ice. There wouldn’t be ice in an arid climate like this.”  

The connection that the child made between the art and their own experience was awesome. That’s really what art is all about: Engaging your imaginative participation through the lens of your life. How sad to see this squashed by an adult who sent the message that your view of the world isn’t right.  This mind set that says my view is right and yours is wrong has much broader implications than simply interpreting art in a museum. It has led to the polarization of our culture in areas like religion, politics and corporate life.  In our own lives, we need to reflect on how we engage people with questions. Do we seek to understand someone’s view of the world or are we quick to dismiss it because it’s different from ours?

How do you see art?  You can comment when you join the blog by clicking on the follow link in the upper right corner next to Google +. Thanks for reading!

How can a tragedy become an opportunity to create beauty?

Fiery destruction becomes winter wonderland

How can a tragedy become an opportunity to create beauty?   I have explored this question on an artistic and personal level.  As part of my art, I have taken photographs in two areas that were devastated by fires. The first was around a reservoir where I was riding my bike. From the trail, you could see a row of blackened trees and grass with the water in the background. I took a picture and  imagined ice instead of fire. With a simple adjustment, I was able to reverse the appearance of black and white in the photograph to create a magical winter scene.  This photograph became the cover art on my website’s home page.

Out of the ashes, there is hope

I did a photo shoot with a male model in an older burn area that had some vegetation regrowth.  There was a gully where a number of trees had fallen across it. In the bottom right hand side of the image, there was a single sunflower, which was taken as a sign of hope. This landscape became the inspiration for the narrative of my photography/poetry book, Male Nude: Hero Myth of the Masculine Journey. The antagonist in this story is a sun demon burning villages throughout the countryside. 

On a personal level, my community has undergone numerous tragedies. I know people who have started non profits, ran support groups and engaged in the political process for the first time in response to them.   While we may never fully understand why these horrific events happen, we can bring honor to the people and things we have lost by our response to them.  The beauty comes when we choose to reach out and see difficult circumstances as opportunities to help others.  The alternative is to do nothing and become lost in hopelessness and despair. How will we choose to respond?

If you like discussions like this, you can follow us on Google + by clicking the follow link on the upper right hand side of the blog.  You can then add to this discussion by commenting below.

Will you answer your calling?

Comfort of the familiar or call to adventure?

Frederick Buechner once said that your calling in life is when your greatest joy meets the world’s deepest need.  For example, maybe someone had a loved one in Hospice in the past. Years go by and now there’s a still quiet voice inside encouraging that person to volunteer with them. There’s a great need for compassionate end of life care. This person answers the call and gets joy out of helping others.

When we leave our comfort zone to pursue something unfamiliar, fear can easily settle in. Some may attempt to drown out that quiet voice that calls us to do something bigger. The pursuit of money is one way people do this and the many faces of addiction are another. It often can take something dramatic in our lives to refocus our attention to it.  This is what the story of Jonah being swallowed by the “great fish” is about. Jonah refuses his call and spends three days in the belly of the whale. He is then vomited out three days later, being reborn to his purpose.

Mythology can teach us about our calling today. These stories have a common theme: The hero is called to obtain something that will be used to help others. We are on the same journey. Monsters of the past are the injustices of today; swords, acts of compassion. Will we answer the call of our lives or not?  Our answer to that question determines the type of person we choose to be. 

If you’re interested in how I represent these themes in my work, you can view the photography slideshow,  Male Nude: Hero Myth of the Masculine Journey here. You can follow us on Google + by clicking the follow link on the upper right hand side.  Thanks for reading!