And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here. -Wendell Berry, “The Wild Geese”
Catching sight of a raptor perched high in a gnarled snag, or soaring over its territory, looking for prey, is always an unexpected and marvelous gift. It stops me in my tracks. My focus sharpens, and the world feels lighter. For the moment, the bird and I are fellow seekers.
I long for these moments.
For more than a decade I’ve made paintings inspired by experiences with birds of prey in their various habitats. I am captivated by the gaze of raptors, whose exceptional clarity of vision ensures their survival.
My art practice is rooted in my emotional and sensory connections with the natural world. In creating a painting, I’m searching for some kind of truth or truths to emerge from the interplay of emotion, attention, memory, and witnessing. I am excited by what enlivens a painting through the energy of opposites and unconscious processes.
This exhibition, “What Meets the Eye,” addresses the myriad connections between all life forms and spirits on our imperiled planet. Each of us is surrounded by evidence of the existence of the other, for whom we have varying degrees of awareness. My central question is, how do we foster generous attention and love for the other, in both our shared and separate ways of being?
It's a big question. It applies to everything and everyone. It is the I-Thou relationship.
The bond I feel with raptors makes this seem like an effortless endeavor. Yet, it becomes more challenging to imagine when I shift my place in the story from being the central special figure to being a witness. A witness to something special and quite mysterious. The reality is, I don’t really know ‘what meets the eye’ of raptors as they go about their lives. Or anyone else’s life, for that matter. What I do know is that it’s possible to cultivate our imaginations to be attentive, captivated, and in awe of each other, in all our separateness, and still be changed by these moments of connection.
What (and who) meets our eyes is all around us, everywhere. What we need is here.
