A Delicate Balance
by Carolyn DeSoucey
Art is a wonderful thing. It allows us into the dimension of imagination. It not only allows us to repeat what we see, but to transform our feelings about what we see. The paintings that I am including in this exhibit are the result of contemplation, and my creative response to that visual world. Beauty is the springboard: it is in light filtering through the leaves on trees and playing on the ground, it is in the forest at night. It is in a smile; it is in tears. It can be found in a melody hummed in the morning; it can be heard in evening prayer. Making "Art" becomes a vehicle for an artist to reflect upon the delicate balance between the different parts of our world: the inner meditative one as well as the manifest macrocosmic one. This dialogue enables "Art" to become a sanctuary for both artist and viewer.
We are living in frightening times. We have seen damage wreaked on our planet by political discord which has been rivaled by the carnage perpetrated by the dynamics of nature. Art may provide us a refuge from troubles we currently experience. Often, the making and doing of "Art" allows some consolation and peace. Those who engage in the arts, not merely the visual arts, but music, theatre, poetry and prose are sometimes able to transcend the current, the Now…. I welcome the visitors to this exhibit to share with me in some of the emotions I felt when I put on canvas and on paper parts of a visual world: a different place from the one we usually inhabit
I grew up as a post-World War II "Baby Boomer"... a special breed that lived through the Cold War, the war in Viet Nam, the inception of the Civil Rights Movement, the beginnings of the Women’s Movement. My generation includes many socially-conscious people who pose questions about our Society and tradition, who do not tolerate apathy and convention, who are willing to take risks in their personal lives in order to improve things for the general good. These people welcome alternatives; I think through forward thinking we will learn to innovate and to survive.