Since birth, we have each been creating spirit, within ourselves. Even engendering spirit, in one another. But ask us to define spirit and we fumble for words to adequately capture its meaning.

My theory is that we best capture spirit through thoughtful (or perhaps thought-less...) immersion. We capture spirit by belly-flopping into the pool...not by watching an olympic swimmer swim laps. We capture spirit by spilling paint on our clothes (sorry mom, at least they were watercolors) while we paint a silly series of fruit-inspired sealife postcards...not by walking through quiet galleries. We capture spirit by touching, smelling, tasting the herbs (at the Roland Park branch last Thursday, May 23) and the dark chocolate that accidentally melted in our pocket (sorry again, mom), not by watching (yet another) hour of the Food Network. Sure, the risk is a slight chance of temporary humiliation amongst people we will probably never see again, but the potential reward is a masterpiece...or a lily pad on the way to a masterpiece (creating our own or more fully appreciating someone else's).

And the funny thing is, after we've been in the pool at North Baltimore Aquatic Club...we have a new appreciation for the olympic swimmer. After we've struggled with color theory and playing with transparency with watercolors, we see the paintings at the Baltimore Museum of Art in a new light. And after we've grown the herbs ourselves and used them fresh from our own garden (with great guidance from Courtney of Spore and Seed, who presented at the May 23 event), we watch Top Chef with a new appreciation and perhaps it engenders renewed spirit in us to try a new recipe.

Capturing Spirit: The Not-So-Still Life is about creating a safe space for everyone to experience such spirit-inducing art forms, like dance, music, cooking -- and, in turn, capture that spirit "on paper" using visual art forms like painting, drawing, and photography. Even creative writing or...perhaps...more of the same art form from which it originated. The beauty of this project is that we will use art to inspire art. ART INSPIRING ART! Spirit inspiring spirit. And for those who wish to take part, but may not yet be ready to immerse themselves, the art of observation is ALWAYS welcome.

Let us CAPTURE the spirit, before it is spirited away.

Let us honor the spirit, those from whom it is inspired, and those in whom it inspires.

I invite you to learn more
about my body of work in
the space of "Capturing Spirit".