tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100640878581081403.post8358552094745809071..comments2023-12-16T23:54:45.620+13:00Comments on . . . All Finite Things Reveal Infinitude . . . : Fertility and the ImaginationClaire Beynonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00005365677016923903noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100640878581081403.post-61819524096130962122009-04-30T16:22:00.000+12:002009-04-30T16:22:00.000+12:00Pen, I agree. It would be incredibly liberating if...Pen, I agree. It would be incredibly liberating if we could do as you suggest - 'state our needs and make our offers.' How could it not open us up to all sorts of new connections and possibilities?Claire Beynonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00005365677016923903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100640878581081403.post-81060375170857167742009-04-30T16:17:00.000+12:002009-04-30T16:17:00.000+12:00Aquarian Aye - thank you for your thoughtful comme...Aquarian Aye - thank you for your thoughtful comments. I particularly appreciate what you say about protecting the relationship of our work to the universe that feeds it - and us. The notion of poise and counterpoise implies a process of engagement that's to do with gentleness and grace. I'm not sure what the answer is to the Caesar/Spirit conundrum but it seems to me that one of the things we're here to learn is how to somehow be at ease with 'not knowing?' Rilke wrote, 'Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves...'Claire Beynonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00005365677016923903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100640878581081403.post-80026115657764426612009-04-27T15:37:00.000+12:002009-04-27T15:37:00.000+12:00Something we'll all need to learn to talk about? I...Something we'll all need to learn to talk about? I wonder. To state our needs. To make our offers. L, PPenelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557747956609276030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100640878581081403.post-52906525157386988112009-04-26T16:02:00.000+12:002009-04-26T16:02:00.000+12:00Hi Claire. Marvelous post. Maybe the best an artis...Hi Claire. Marvelous post. Maybe the best an artist can hope for is a kind of truce with the market. Obviously, if we're to make our livelihood from our work, we need to convert some of it into commodity. But the gifting part -- which is the relationship of our work to the universe that feeds it, and that we feed in return -- needs be protected at every turn. I'd call it a dialectic, but I'm not sure what the synthesis would be. Seems more like an act of poise-counterpoise--which makes your work with spirit levels all the more resonant. Can the artist, do you suppose, render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to Spirit what is Spirit's, when both derive from the same source? I have a painter friend who addresses this conundrum (I almost said solves, but not sure that's what it is) by producing two completely different bodies of work each year: one, of boats and harbors and seaside scenes, he sells to tourists in a Cape Cod gallery; the other, of his more deeply felt work, he shows in galleries and museums (which brings in little, if any, income). His point: the Cape Cod paintings are his job, but a job he enjoys, pushing paint around. Robert Graves, author of such historical novels as "I, Claudius," et.al., and a fine poet, called his novels the "show dogs" he bred to support his "show cats," his poetry. Random thoughts on this very complex and necessary topic. Thanks for your insights.Aquarian Ayenoreply@blogger.com