Saturday, March 03, 2007

PENDULUM


The swinging of a pendulum can be mesmerising. However, extreme limits of the pendulum can be agitating. If we allow the emotional pendulum of extremes to exist within us it can be very scarey. But, when you think about it there is a natural balance.

So, this go me thinking about those days or moments when you can go from a state of great pleasure to complete depression. The emotional pendulum exists within the individual but a pendulum also exists in the collective out in the world. If we use too much water then the natural balance is the extreme we are experiencing now. If we pollute our air the natural balance seems to be the extreme distress out planet is under at the moment. The latter certainly gets people rallied to help which is part of the natural balancing. Let's hope the pendulum is not allowed to swing to the extremes in the future.

So, at an individual level how do we ensure the extremes of the pendulum are not allowed to cause us scarey moments, days, weeks, years. With great will power, imagination and thought, wisdom and self knowledge the pendulum can be made to swing less vigorously.

As an artist I am only too aware of the power of the imagination and how it can cause the extreme swinging of the pendulum. Vivid imaginations mean a great ability to catastrophise about almost anything. Imagination also equips you to create great bliss and beauty. The latter is so much more fun.

Pendulum Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kathryn - your analogy of the pendulum is an interesting one - one is ruled by a simple formula and the other so complex it beggars the mind. your previous post re 'intimacy in the the vastness' was a powerful portrayal - a testament to your artistic depth! the archibald winner? not sure i would have given it a chance but will reserve my opinion when i see the 'winner' and the challengers in a few weeks time. keep up the good work and stay on the right side of the pendulum!