About — Art and Poetry — Sherrie Lovler

ON PAINTING

Creating art for me is about finding a way to go deeper into myself. It always takes me on a journey. I don’t plan what it is I am painting; it’s a process of beginning and then responding to what has been done. It’s about dialog: what is happening, what needs to be done next? All of a sudden a thought, or a message comes — use indigo here, a spot of gold there. I try to keep the flow of communication open and follow through without questioning. What happens is a surprise to me. It is a process that takes me from one place to another.

***Click on image to watch a video of creating the beginning of this painting.***

My formal training is in western calligraphy, where broad-nib pens and other flat tools move the ink. But since my early studies, the boundaries between eastern and western calligraphy have been blurred. I often grind ink on an ink stone — a practice from both Chinese and Japanese calligraphy. Paying attention to my breath as I make marks is a large part of my awareness, as is being in touch with the chi flowing through my body, both of which come from eastern practices.

The gestures of calligraphy come into play here: the movement of my arm, the sweeping mark of a flourish. The flow of ink, the place where liquid black meets water, laying down watercolor washes and areas of color, using blank space as an integral part of design — this is exciting to me. Bringing traditions from illuminated manuscripts into modern abstract painting is also important to me as a way of honoring my calligraphic heritage. I often use 23k gold leaf and some of my pieces keep the small and precious feeling from those early books.

It is a similar process with writing poetry. It comes from a place of intuition, from setting up a practice and keeping with it. The two have worked hand-in-hand with me for many years. Each discipline pushes the other to new depths. It’s like doing collaboration with someone I work with really well.

ON POETRY

Writing poetry is what I consider to be my spiritual practice. I began developing this idea in 2008, and have been fairly consistent since that time. On Tuesdays and Fridays upon waking, I make tea, sit with a book of wisdom and my poetry notebook. On these mornings I neither open the computer nor answer the phone. I read from the book I have chosen — usually only a page or two — till something moves me, and I begin to write. My aim is not to write “good poetry,” it is to connect to something larger than myself. It is a call to my muse to tell her I am here; I am ready for her to flow through me. It is a doorway into that special place where the unknown happens.

On New Year’s Day, 2010, I began a blog to publish my poetry, with the stipulation that every poem that goes online has to have a painting with it. My goal has been to bring the ease of writing poetry into my art. After writing a poem I ask for two things: a title and a sketch. This drawing may be a circle, wavy lines in different directions, a figure made from calligraphic gestures. It becomes my entry point to do the corresponding art. This practice has pushed me to paint with a purpose I’ve never had before. It’s been a wonderful process of expanding the poem into visual form. And most of the hundred paintings posted on that blog would not exist without the poem coming first.

I have begun a new blog on this website which goes into detail about what inspired each poem and notes about the art. To read these blog posts, please click here.

There is a little book I have owned for years called Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf. It’s a collection of Zen Poems by Ryōkan, who was born in 1758 in Japan. The book opens with

Who says my poems are poems?
My poems are not poems.
When you know that my poems are not poems,
Then we can speak of poetry!

Something about these words has stuck with me for twenty years and unknowingly has allowed me to present my poems to the public. Whether my poems are poems or liked or not, they are wanting to be out there, and so I have given them this opportunity. I hope you enjoy them.

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