the drop in is always difficult. sometimes in ways that gnaw at my soul, other times a whisper in my ear reminding of the things that i know, and now can't unknow. the inevitable push-pull, the sorting through of what is there, what can come back here, a rock, a moment. it is true that you take yourself wherever you go. but some places have a power, places that seep into the deepest parts of me. tonight i went outside and walked down to the river. the sound of the waterfall, south of me a quarter mile, rumbles long and steady like the waves on stinson beach. i've made recordings of both...when played together, they sound almost identical. the soundtrack of home.
feet in the sand
23 years ago i first came to stinson beach. upon arrival i visited the healing arts store. a fantastical place, with treasures of peace all around. it was there i purchased a 5-hole lakota flute...that i could not play. a gentle soul named persus said to me, "don't worry kurt, the sound will find you". and she was right, 3 months after i returned home, the sound found me. and what a sound it would become. it was the first of many magical moments for me in this sleepy beach town sewn onto the foot of mt. tam.
and now i have returned for yet another one of these moments. 3 years ago i came to the beach only to find the healing art store occupied by an art gallery. i admit a moment of sadness in my heart. i would return to the healing art store during every visit. each time, something would tug at my shirttail and demand attention. a drum, a book, a piece of art, on each visit i left feeling touched by something greater. i was hesitant to go into this new place. but i was drawn, moved, so i paused, took a deep breath and walked in. the room was bathed in this golden light and the beautiful paintings of emmeline craig. i was immediately at ease as we spoke, as if having known each other. we discussed many things of art and life. i told her how i was tiptoeing into this journey of art making. she said at some point i will decide to leap. i remember leaving and thinking that one day i'd like to have a painting hanging there.
in perfectly kairos fashion, 20 and 3 years later, shimmer 23 is hanging in the blissful gallery. i am grateful beyond words to emmeline for this opportunity. i'm thankful that persus told me the truth, that indeed, the sound would find me.
kairos time
kairos is one of two words the greeks used to describe time. unlike chronos, which refers to chronological or sequential time-seconds, minutes, hours, kairos is a moment of indeterminate time. an instant when everything happens. a time lapse.
when i'm at my most present, i am living kairos, i am moving freely, driven internally from the heart. it is this supreme moment when all things are aligned, that i am seeking to represent in this work.
shimmer 23 is currently on display in emmeline craig's blissful gallery in stinson beach, california. please visit emmelinecraig.com to see the gallery and her perfectly kairos paintings. magic indeed happens there.
kairos-x.com will change regularly, with different works and series, from myself and others who may join me down the road.
sleep when you're tired, eat when you're hungry, move when you're ready to move.
kurt