This weekend past, I sat down in the studio and knew I needed to make something, for the sake of creative habit. I found myself thinking about hollow forms and all the designs I’ve made over the past five years that incorporate an element of hollowness. I realized that I always fill a hollow form or close it — I never leave them empty and open. I wondered why and I wondered if I was simply being sensible about how I designed around a hollow form element or if there was something I needed to address with regards to my self. The opposite of full and closed is empty and open. Why have I never considered the other option while making hollow forms? I realized I felt a need to explore the option of making them empty and open. When I realized this, I felt something stir in my chest and rattle like wind through willow bones.
I sat down at my studio bench and designed a sort of open, shallow container that I planned to fabricate and leave empty and open. I sawed out the components, cleaned them, trued the edges, cleaned them a second time in acid, hand sifted them and fired them until I achieved the colors I was hoping for — a white enamel over-fires along edges and thinly sifted areas as a beautiful, minty, spruce green. It’s a very lovable color. I never grow tired of it. So I fired and fired again until I saw the colors I wanted. Once the piece was finished, I thought it so smooth, lovely and extraordinary, as well as minimal, textural, empty and open. As I sat there and held it in my hand, the way I felt about it changed, I found I felt slightly uncomfortable. I wondered if anyone else would like this object so empty and open (which is something that I rarely think about when I’m making things, I never wonder if a piece will be loved by others, I just make the objects the way I like them to be). I can’t quite explain it with words, but looking down at the empty open object in the palm of my hand was like staring at something made of bareness and truth. I wanted to avert my eyes or cover myself with fig leaves. It was the strangest thing. I wondered if I had surrendered to the steadiness of expectation, with regards to crafting hollow form objects and jewelry, and then filling them or closing them? Perhaps I was over thinking things, or perhaps I was on the cusp of understanding something about myself?
So what did I do? I filled the shallow container, I made it less empty and open. I placed a tremendously delicate little, chartreuse, pod-like component on the edge of the empty open and I felt silly because my goal was to explore the empty open and here I had made the object less than what it was supposed to be — though it now looked like it was more! So I sat down and began again. I made a second shallow vessel and it was very fine and I liked the enamel work very well, perhaps more than the first. When the piece was cool, I held this empty open in my hands and marveled at the inflections of the enameled hues. It was was lovely, open and empty. And then I made another chartreuse pod-like specimen and made the empty open less empty and open. I allowed myself this. I didn’t want to rush.
Then I began a third shallow container and the same thing happened again! When I came inside that night, I brought the components I had made with me and I thought these three objects were marvelous, reaching and perfectly beautiful, even if they were less empty open than I had attempted to make them. I wondered if this was a failed exploration on my part or if making empty open and being empty open is meant to be a gradual process for me. If I let go a little bit everyday and allow myself to unfold from previous perceptions and habits, bit by bit, might this exploration of empty open truly arrive at itself? I think about people living in their houses, filling every room and shutting all the doors, is there something lost in that fullness? Think about being in an empty room, once it is filled, the fall of light changes, the bounce of sound is obstructed. What if we were to leave more things empty open in our lives, in the world? What if I were to leave more of my hollow forms empty open, what kind of small space would be achieved, and in that space, how would light cascade and sound re-sing itself? Doesn’t emptiness result in some gorgeous sort of fullness? Perhaps empty open is actually fullness purified?
I reckon making something empty and open leaves space for freshness, change, new growth. Perhaps the key is to make yourself empty and open from time to time, like spring cleaning — a purge! Out with the old and in with the new! Like a bite of pickled ginger after a nibble of sushi, a cleanse of palate. Perhaps empty open requires daily work, just like everything. How does empty open affect our relationships, our work, our time?
What I want to do with empty open, out in my studio, is this: I want to feel comfortable leaving an enameled vessel this way. I want to arrive at a point where I know it’s ok to leave it empty open. I want to feel comfortable with the starkness and the space, the way I’m comfortable on a mountain, in a douglas fir stand, all by myself. I don’t want to fill things out of habit. I want my intentions to rule over material fullness. I want to be free and safe in the empty open spaces I create.
Today, I’m going to try again. Now that I understand more of the WHY behind this exploration, I feel more confident that I can create something that is bare and sweetly vulnerable. The studio has been warming up for an hour now, I’m going to go get in it.
Have a glorious Monday, all of you. This is your chance to make a new beginning, every week. Go forth courageously, I will too.
xx
You bestow courage, lady.
Thank you for this.
Oh, B.
Thank you.
x
Heard.
Clear and deep. xox friend.
K,
Can’t wait to discuss this with you, voice to voice someday.
xx
so deep.
so true.
so timely.
thank you for thinking aloud.
you amaze.
xx
Thanks for being here, J.
xx
It seems much more interesting to me with the green pod than just a plain white container. I too have difficulty not filling things and life.
To me too! I really like the pods in their little dishes. I think they are beautiful and don’t consider these three components to be failures in any way whatsoever. They’ve made me aware of something though…and for that I’m glad!
I love this. And perhaps it also says something about me…but I love that you added the pods, a gentle reminder of newness, spring, fresh air…opening. You’ve also made me ponder on what Mother Nature does when there are empty, open spaces…. It seems they are not long without her touch.
Talking of empty: my pen is empty. (Luckily, so is my brain. Woo-hoo! Day off!)
xxx
I love the way they turned out too, with the little pod specimens. 🙂
Your pen is empty!!!???
That means you’ve been writing!
Proud of you. 🙂
Erm…writing…yeah, that’s it.
(No. That isn’t a doodle-covered paper plane in my hand. Honest.)
I love these! I understand what you’re saying, and in life and outlook I agree that empty open is perhaps the best way to approach the world. But in your art, it may be that empty open is the awareness you allow yourself while you are creating. Or you may learn that you always need to put in green pods (or their equivalent) and this could be clarifying and freeing in its own way. There is mystery & potential in enclosed or hidden spaces. Beware of judging yourself for doing what you do so naturally.
Ketra! Great points here!
I agree — “there is mystery and potential in enclosed or hidden spaces.”
Thank you for cautioning me against judging myself for what I do naturally — there is wisdom in that too. But here’s the thing, I do want to know WHY I do things certain ways (most of these things are a reflection of my deeper levels and processes as a human being) and I DO want to challenge myself with my work, even if it means making objects that are unnatural or uncomfortable for me with regards to their conceptual roots. Do you know what I mean? Exploration, for me, is synonymous with discovery. I don’t want to stop exploring and discovering within my medium and my self. I don’t want my work to have a trademark look, not specifically. I don’t want to settle down and continually make the expected. I want to be branching and off-shooting from my self and old work. Empty open may or may not be a part of this in the future, but I’m discovering how it fits me and my work now, and what it means to me in this moment. I’m so glad you were here today! You always offer pearls of wisdom.
I love these…I don’t know if you knew I would…not just the color but the plain simplicity and emptiness of it. As a minimalist I am drawn to open spaces and yet I fill space with things so people don’t think that I am boring…the plain blue sky, the plain white sand, the plain green pasture, the plain earthy desert are my favorites…I also love your experimental process. Happy nearly spring xx
I thought the literal look of them might appeal to you, as a scientist, but I didn’t know if you would like the astringent space of them, because even though I placed a pod in each little dish, they still look like isolated, lonesome little things to me. Don’t they? I hate to refer to them as cute, though they are, in many ways, very cute. Perhaps what I like about them most this afternoon is that they are an ECHO of space. I collected all these beautiful, tiny little specimens over the weekend while I was up on the mountain by myself — I suppose I was in a space that was its own type of empty open. I like the way the little pod specimens seem to reach back to that moment, up and out of their quiet dishes…I like that very much.
I also love the things you love — sky, sand, pasture, desert…..all so good. Some of the only places that are big enough to contain me. xx
“I reckon making something empty and open leaves space for freshness, change, new growth. Perhaps the key is to make yourself empty and open from time to time,”
Yes it is true
there is the beauty of beginning
an emptiness that holds a freedom of nothing weighing it down or glogging it up
a raw beauty
I like the simplicity of your pieces
I look forward to your creations of today
I also wanted to share with you the power of your written word to me in the package that held my ring
I wrote about it here: http://loveandlight-cat.blogspot.ca/2012/03/monday-offeringtiming.html
Your timing, your words, were perfect…thank you
Love and Light
Thank you, you beauty.
You are so good at sharing portions of yourself.
xx
I am a believer that ‘holding open’ space…( I don’t think of the word ’empty’) is sacred…its about having trust in the universe, or trust in the creator, or trust in yourself ( or whatever your belief system addresses) that what is needed will be invited in and cherished….sort of like a state of belief in a way…..I have been holding open some sacred spaces for a bit of time over here….:)
I love your description of this process and journey. love.
xx K
I know you are a gal who holds space open!
What I like about the word empty is it makes me picture something that is full pouring itself out and becoming empty. Nothing is truly empty, of course, but I like the idea of making space within something that was full.
Thanks for being here, friend!
xx
This post is very timely. I’ve been reading your blog the last few months and wanted to share my thoughts with you.
I live alone in a rented apartment and I’ve been feeling a deep need to eliminate and only own just what I need or really want. I’ve been systematically organizing, prioritizing, culling, and purging over the last 6 months and it’s been therapeutic. Like shedding of old skin so I can (literally) be in an empty space and open to the new, the future. However, I’ll be moving when my lease is ending next month and I still have quite a bit left to get rid of because I’m afraid to live the last few weeks in a nearly empty apartment. I find this fear really absurd since that’s ultimately what I want! It’s not the empty that really scares me, though, it’s change and the unknown that comes with the emptiness. I need to redefine how I live and how I value my belongings because it’s not what I have that makes my life full. Through this process of emptying and opening, I’m really embracing a new space that allows me to evolve, both aesthetically and spiritually.
So thank you for sharing your creative processes! You’ve encouraged me 🙂
Erin!
Oh yes! Don’t be afraid.
I love this, it struck me hard: “…it’s not what I have that makes my life full.”
Spot on.
Let me know how it goes, once you are trimmed down and moved into a more “spacious” space! Thanks for sharing and for being here. x
Reading your post made me think of the Tao. It says “Infinity is an empty vessel enveloping all manifestations, yet it can never be filled. It is like an empty bowl. Which in being used can never be filled up.” What makes a bowl or a cup useful is the empty space it contains; the empty space is what makes it significant. Just like when your playing the piano; the aria emerges from the silence between the notes.
Your soul is the empty space in your body. Your creativity inhabits it beautifully. I love your words and your work. Thank you.
Patricia
Patricia — “What makes a bowl or ca cup useful is the empty space it contains; the empty space is what makes it significant.”
!!!!!!!!!!!
Fascinating thoughts here! Thank you for sharing!
Just WOW!
Spot on Lady Plume!!!
Love the dialogue you’re engaged in. Very encouraging place to be.
Just amazing.
You keep showing me why I love you so much.
just finished reading this half an hour ago:
” to hope for growth, to believe even in its possibility, is to say no to every form of fatalism. It is to voice a no to every way we tell ourselves ” I know myself- I cannot expect any changes.”
I thought your post fits in so beautifully with this idea…
Have always especially loved your hollow forms and love the empty- open pieces.
woweeeeeeeee! They’re amazing. They’re gorgeous! And already bare and sweetly vulnerable.
M: I love the quote you have shared here. You know how I feel about giving people space to grow and change, so it really speaks to the core of me and what I’ve been trying to give my human interactions this past year.
xx
There is great conversation going on here. I’m enjoying the nudge being given to my intellectual capacity. My usual mode of operation is by myself or with my husband. No friends to speak of, by choice I should say. I make a great short-term friend but long-term…not so much. However, being a loner makes for loner sort of conversation which can be stilted when one only talks to one other person.
I’m finding this thread very interesting and challenging to my brain which probably needs to be either more open or maybe filled.
We’re glad to nudge you, dear woman! I laughed at your last sentence about your brain being more open or perhaps more filled — HA HA! That’s wonderful.
i was pointed to your blog last week and loving your work and words and energy! this post made me think about being an introvert and the need to replenish oneself. the yearning is always so great to swim back to center to become “open” again… to become clear and fresh… so much possibility lies in an open/empty vessel.
Jojo, welcome here! Love your thoughts on an introvert centering….
empty-open, empty-open, empty-open…”Perhaps empty open is actually fullness purified?” buah! this is gorgeous!
You leave me speechless again, such a treat before to go to bed, I’ll sleep smiling :)! Thank you!
Thanks for being such a beauty and thanks for being in my world. xx
Empty open, purified. Like rooms in an amish house! You give so much, so often, jillian, you had to give something to those sweet containers! You do what you do, because you are who you are. ( me mum’s favorite thing to say to me). And that green!!
AH! I guess I did! I did have something to give them! I love looking at it that way. 🙂
1. I love how much you are writing right now!
2. As I always say, follow your heart, and you are! Your gut is telling you to fill that open space. I love that you are exploring the why to the aversion to something empty and open. Perhaps it is simply the form? While it is lovely in color and softness, the form is somewhat rigid and dish-like, begging to be filled. What if it were more pod-like? There may be something about the angles that is niggling at your nerves 😀 Just a thought from the formal perspective.
3. You encapsulate love and beauty.
1. It feels nice. I felt very quiet for a while. I think I was tired.
2. I know, that’s why I’m not fighting it, I’m just allowing myself. And you may be right! I think this form, the wee white dishes, are perhaps not *right* for emptiness.
3. So do you. All love. xx
i’ve been thinking a lot about organizing and categorizing and somehow, i stumbled upon this post, tho’ it’s my first visit to your blog. i love how often i find exactly what i need to read at the moment i need to read it. thank you for sharing these thoughts. they have helped me clarify mine. i’ll definitely be back.
you are so smart to explore. i love that you will give yourself the time to do it. your talking about the potential for fullness in the “empty open” made me think of the artist, james turrell and his “skyspace” works; especially the one in a Quaker meeting house. there’s a good art21 (pbs) segment featuring him that’s pretty easy to find.
Rebecca, thank you for encouraging my exploration! I’ve only been working with metal for five years, you know, I don’t think that’s really long enough to know what I LOVE to make or what really tells my stories in terms of materials and technique. I’ll keep on exploring until I can answer those questions for myself better…and once the questions are answered, I’ll find new ones to ask.
Off to google James Turrell — thank you for mentioning him.
Dear Plume,
You asked yourself…
“was this a failed exploration”
…I say there are no failed explorations. I think that we forget that all explorations are just that-explorations. We may not land where we thought, we may not learn what we set out to but we are sure to arrive somewhere and have learned something.
Oh the beauteous wonder of allowing our explorations to be ’empty open’ in and of themselves.
I’ve been making open or hollow forms for years…. one of my favorite ways to work. Some of the originals were roughly carved hearts that were ‘hollow’ or ‘open’ in the center. People would stop and look at them and say “awe”, with down turned mouths, “look, it’s an empty heart”. When i told them of the possibility of this being an open heart it change everything for them. It’s partly why I still make these pieces…. TO remind myself and share these talismans of openness. Thanks for sharing yours.
And thank you, once again for sharing your thoughts and words with us into your exploration of what it means to be ’empty open’.
Mucho amore.
Jessie!!!
I’ve missed you.
I agree with you too, there are no failed explorations. Either you get to where you were trying to go or you wind up in a different place. It’s all great.
I also love your take on open hearts. Wish you were here so we could discuss this face to face. I know you would (and do) fully *see* me on this topic.
xxx
All love.
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying your blog and your work. I love your energy and that ‘something’ in your work that is uniquely you. This post made me think of a zen story that I read somewhere, but I don’t remember where to find it. I did a search for similar stories, and want to share what I found. The story that I remembered was of an apprentice who sweeps the garden clean over and over until the master shows him that ‘perfect’ is too perfect and shakes down some leaves from the tree to put nature back onto the path. What I found online is interesting, though, and I think it may add some food for thought to this thread (which is already full of much food for thought :)).
The closest story is here…
http://goto.bilkent.edu.tr/gunes/ZEN/zenstories.htm
just scroll down to Nature’s Beauty.
But I also found this (which seems very fitting)….
http://thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/swept-floor-never-stays-clean.html
and some others…
http://www.buddhistdoor.com/OldWeb/bdoor/archive/zen_story/zen37.htm
http://ask.metafilter.com/102066/The-Zen-Master-and-the-Sweeping-Up
I think that your open pods in the empty space are a very fitting representation of empty and open. Maybe when you try to create an empty space, something has to fall into it? But the process of trying to find what means ’empty’ for you seems to be a very valuable one as well. Probably the end result will be less important for you than the process itself.
Cindy Girl!
I’ll check these links out later this evening. Thank you for taking the time to include them here for me.
AND I love your ponderings on empty open. I think…almost always…the process is more important than the finished product. The process behind making seems to be the only part of “art” that is truly, entirely and uniquely mine…or anyones.
Thank you for taking a moment to share!
Love having you here.
x
you are such an amazing and inspiring artist(and person). the whole concept of what you are doing and thinking here just blows my mind(in a very happy and pleasant way! so glad this is part of my world).
it seems to me you made a lovely little space and let it be open to whatever was meant to fill it. and if a little green pod or a little pink branch is what it opened *to*, then so be it. also, even though they are not empty, they are also not *full*, there is still space and open-ness as well as the specimen. and perhaps the contained space around the specimen invites us to think of it differently than if it were with others of its kind, or if it were on a ring, or by itself?
Oh, girl.
You just buoyed me up.
My soul is fizzing.
Thank you.
I think these pieces are turning into exactly what they are meant to be! I agree with you. Thank you for being here! x
you’re never not an inspiration… speechless.