Seven Sacred Pauses
December Exhibit
Our Gallery Artists for December are Teresa Carson and Teresa Butterfield. Please stop by the gallery and enjoy the work of these talented local artists.
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Teresa Carson
My poems tend to be deeply rooted in place and very aware of Time in its many manifestations. Until our move to Sarasota in 2017, I had always lived in large urban areas in NJ where my exposure to nature was mostly limited to pigeons and squirrels – of course, I’m exaggerating, but not by much. After moving to the Alta Vista neighborhood I continued my habit of taking a long walk early in the morning, usually beginning right before dawn and finishing around 8am before the heat and humidity kick in. Day after day I was awestruck by the beauty of the skies, the diversity of wildlife, and the glorious stillness all around me. Whereas my NJ walks had always been times for me to turn inward, my Sarasota walks became times for me to turn outward. At first, I wasn’t transforming my walks into poems. Then, at a friend’s suggestion, I read Seven Sacred Pauses, by Macrina Wiederkehr. It offered me a structure, based on the canonical hours, with which to pay even closer attention to, and subsequently to write these poems about, the movement of time in this extraordinary place. Poets tend to be solitary creatures, but collaborating with Leslie, a visual artist, further expanded my vision of the landscape and, therefore, my work. Our process gave each of us the opportunity to be changed by seeing the world through an other’s eyes and by doing so to increase our empathic response to all others. |
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Leslie Butterfield
As a visual artist, I am drawn to a variety of media including paint, paper, feathers, shells, glass and clay. Several times each week I kayak on Sarasota Bay where my encounters with nature and the environment influence my work and played a large role in the creation of the Seven Sacred Pauses project. While I am sensitive to our culture and to what is happening in the world, I am inclined to put aside my negative emotions and allow the beauty of the world around me to become the subject of my art. I am trained as a textile designer and studied art history and aesthetics in grad school, yet today I am a visual artist, constantly seeking a balance between my design sensibilities and my desire to express my feelings freely. Tactile elements always show up and I cannot help but add layers to my work whether as color or materials. Working with friend and poet Teresa on this Seven Sacred Pauses project has deepened my appreciation for the world around me and helped me be more sensitive to how differently we each experience our lives. |