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Zen Wave |
We are a pretty bad-assed species in a
lot of ways, one of those ways being: our ability to conceive of multiple
time-frames, the past, present, and future. For most artists, the
present is the most crucial of these domains to come to terms with. After all, it is in the present
when the brush touches the canvas, when the pen touches paper, and when the finger
presses the camera shutter button, and so on. The artist we focus on today,
Rosemary KimBal, is one of those artists for whom the present makes all the
difference.
One of the things that makes KimBal's
work so special is that the present is not only the force that helped create
it, but as finished products, her pieces are also centering reminders to the viewers to cherish the present. For such over-worked and stretched-thin psyches
as we tend to have, these invitations are a welcome spiritual balm.
KimBal makes her work in the East
Asian ink washing traditions, namely Chinese brush painting, as well as
Japanese sumi-e, though she does often blend the traditions with her own
contemporary style. She was first led to the art at Tassajara Zen Center in
Northern California, but the experience ended up transforming her entire life.
"I feel like I have all new
cells," KimBal says. "Zen not only involves painting, it connotes a
lifestyle."
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Zen Carrot |
KimBal often practices tai-chi to
clear her mind in anticipation of her work, and she says the process of
grinding the ink is like meditation or like "boring the left side of your
brain." She uses goat-hair brushes, sheep-hair brushes, and horse. She says that horse-hair is best for creating lines, while sheep is best for creating softness. The brush-handles are made of bamboo, and the ground on which she paints is usually rice paper. Then, KimBal begins
the actual painting, and often finishes only minutes later.
"The kind of painting I do has to
be done all at once," KimBal says. "You have to be at the stage where
you are emotionally ready to do it."
Such a revelation seems to fly in the
face of beliefs that masterpieces take a great deal of time, often days, weeks, and sometimes
even years to create. But KimBal's usual answer about how long a single piece
takes to complete is: "I think about the paintings all of the time, and
then, do it when the moment strikes. It takes fifty years and a breath to do
the stroke, is my usual answer. I’ve cried the whole way through some of my paintings."
That answer reinforces the idea that this kind of art is more an expression of a complete and lifestyle, and less a separate and isolated exercise. KimBal's art is her existence of which her painting is only a small part.
That answer reinforces the idea that this kind of art is more an expression of a complete and lifestyle, and less a separate and isolated exercise. KimBal's art is her existence of which her painting is only a small part.
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Passion |
KimBal's work clearly is a necessary
creative outlet for herself, but the results for us might be equally as beneficial.
In Zen Wave, we are faced with a portal of centeredness. But beyond
the symbolic subject, even the brushstrokes pose an invitation to peace of mind as we
are shown fairly clearly the spontaneous movements KimBal has created.
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Veggies |
In her other pieces that are not as
symbolic or abstract, we are shown vegetables, horses, flowers, and birds. Most
often KimBal presents depictions of nature, though she has also depicted people,
boats, and Chinese words. The depictions are always exuberant expressions,
either in their vibrant hues or the spirited brushwork, or both.
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Horse |
"It’s a feeling of relief to find
that space of emptiness where true art is created," the artist says.
"You can’t try for it, it just happens."
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Purple Sunset |
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Cactus Flower |
KimBal currently teaches her Zen form
of painting at Dancing Brush Studios in Cardiff. Included in the classes are
sessions of tai-chi to help center her students' minds and bodies on the
present.
"One of the most important elements of Zen is to listen
to your body," Kimbal says. "All the answers are in ourselves. The trick is to become quiet
enough to hear them."
As quieting and calming as Zen might be for artists like KimBal, the result for viewers of her work is the discovery of a sweet melody echoing from within us, not exactly new and not exactly ancient, but eternally and thankfully now.
[For more information on Rosemary KimBal, feel free to visit her website at: dancingbrush.com.]
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