I am sure that this is one of the artworks I will have in my exhibition. I have decided to call it “Hagalaz” after the rune which means hail and rainstorms. In Norse mythology it is linked to the primal forces of the universe and can therefore be unpredictable. It alludes to forces beyond our control. Although tempestuous and possibly negative it represents turmoil that once overcome allows for transformation. I believe that the drip paintings I have been working on represent a stressful time in learning when to let things be. I have tried sometimes to control the uncontrollable. It is crazy how my paintings have had an effect on my mood and I have become quite depressed if I make a mark which I perceive to be unsatisfactory. I believe that through this process I have learnt a valuable lesson in when to step away from a painting and call it finished.
In “The Hidden Order of Art” (1967:5) Anton Ehrenzweig suggests that ” In creativity, outer and inner reality will always be organised together by the same indivisible process. The artist has to face chaos in his work before unconscious scanning brings about the integration of his work as well as of his own personality”.
Marion Milner, in “The suppressed Madness of Sane Men” (1987: 207-215) has pointed out that the erasure of boundaries between inside and out, that is a part of the experience of creating art and of our creative response to it, has something in common with mystical or ecstatic states. If the artwork is perceived to be going badly however in my experience it can induce madness!
