In these times of information overload, the proliferation of wireless communication devices, invading noises and seemingly ceaseless internal chatter revolving around undone tasks, it is increasing necessary to “escape” into a sacred space filled with the healing sounds of Nature. This can be accomplished by walking along hidden Nature trails tucked away from the hustle and bustle of life.
Of course, sounds are there but they are the wonderful symphony of Nature…singing birds, squawking ducks, and splashing water from diving frogs, the movement of chipmunks and small rabbits scurrying under the bush seeking protection. In between these soul-stirring voices of a deeper sensibility, the warm embrace of Nature’s silence punctuates them. It is a silence that speaks in comforting tones with pleasing gestures like the gentle swaying of flowers and the branches of leaves in the crossing breeze of summer.
This is a time to focus on the wonders of Nature that are missed in daily life, too often filled with materialistic yearnings and mundane responsibilities. This is a time to circle back into the Self, to replenish what is essential, the Sacred Spiritual Self, to drink from the deep refreshing well.
During these walks, a childlike wonder emerges and bubbles to the top of consciousness. There is a desire to explore, a yearning to create new paths, to find a special view...a new way of seeing God's Creation.
What is there that has been missed in fleeting glances? Pause and look deeply at how the Sun’s light spreads across the landscape to amplify and hide in shadows Wonder, Beauty and Grace.
A breeze comes from seemingly nowhere to cause smalls leaves to spin almost unceasingly in a circle on the path. This is a special omen that rekindles ancient memories of Creation... a beckoning of the collective unconscious.
Air is cleaner. Breathing is deeper. Centering takes place…slowly but surely. These are a few of the many benefits of escaping into the healing bosom of Nature.
This path to enriching the Self - a meditative walk - is highly recommended. Take a walk with God, the Divine presence within.
Lately, I have been intensely listening to Phaorah Sanders' "Let Us Come Into The House of the Lord". This song reverberates in my mind as I walk in Nature at Cranbrook emersed in photography.
Peace & Grace,
Charles.
Visit: www.redbubble.com/people/FerrellCharles (Photography Cranbrook)
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Art By Charles Ezra Ferrell
During the latter part of 2007, I discarded my self-imposed restrictions on my artistic creativity. I began to draw frequently once again after a seven year sabbatical.
This time, on the eve of a half century of living, I am more focused and deeply inspired to plunge into the depths of my being, and through periods of meditative solitude, bring forth art that reflect glimpses of my soul’s journey and archetypal reflections of the human experience and African culture, in particular.
I would wager that my life, more so than most, has been equally touched by the death - scented hands of tragedy and misfortune as well as by a shield of protection and rewards that can be only sanctioned, it seems, by a spirit of divine intervention.
The creation of art is a sacred act. Real art is not neutral. It stirs emotions and triggers a movement deep in the undercurrent of the psyche and brings to the surface and shore a new way of seeing, a new way of being.
There is a symbiotic relationship between what is occurring in the broadest conception of life and the sounds transmitted through the instruments and mouths of our most gifted vocalists and musicians. I place my ear on the ground and listen closely to the cultural impulse. I hear and feel it in the sound of African Classical Music (the improvisational music created by artists of African descent), the demands for freedom, the hand outreaching for peace, for harmony in a disharmonious world. I see the tears that swell in the eyes of our prophets and roll off their cheeks upon the bosom of the children and into the fertile soil of the unborn.
I hear and feel that demand, that cry for freedom, in the musical voices of the African drum. I hear that beckoning in the musical voices of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Pharaoh Sanders, Archie Shepp, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Eric Dolphy, Sun Ra, Dave McMurray, James Carter, Elvin Jones, Ron Carter, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Horace Silver, Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughn, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Garrett, Marcus Miller, Branford Marsalis, Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela, Billie Strayhorn, Charles Mingus, and the countless multitudes. It is that voice captured in the moment of creative expression that I am striving to boldly solidify and bring forth as a timeless image.
I hear the unwavering voice of our great political luminaries whose timeless oratory echo in our cultural soul, the voice of those who fought to uplift the oppressed humanity. I have drawn portraits of Malcolm X, The Honorable Marcus Garvey, Dr. W.E.B. Dubois, Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, Steve Biko, Frantz Fanon, Amilcar Cabral, General Baker, Jr. Che Guevara, Frederick Douglass, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Kwame Ture (Stokley Carmichael) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Marian Kramer, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka among others. Through these drawings, I commune with these ancestors and those living stalwarts of human liberation.
These images and sounds are what stir inside of me as I approach the empty 18x24 art pad with a sharpened pencil in hand. Come forth, I whisper. Work is the funnel that transforms these thoughts into a build up of gradients of graphite until the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the skin emerges to announce the presence of a living spirit.
This is what my art is about. It is my humble attempt to create images that stir emotions of freedom, tenacity, perseverance, hope and victory long after I am a memory.
You can see samples of my work at www.redbubble.com/people/charlesferrell and acquire original works of art by contacting me at artbycharlesezraferrell@yahoo.com.
This time, on the eve of a half century of living, I am more focused and deeply inspired to plunge into the depths of my being, and through periods of meditative solitude, bring forth art that reflect glimpses of my soul’s journey and archetypal reflections of the human experience and African culture, in particular.
I would wager that my life, more so than most, has been equally touched by the death - scented hands of tragedy and misfortune as well as by a shield of protection and rewards that can be only sanctioned, it seems, by a spirit of divine intervention.
The creation of art is a sacred act. Real art is not neutral. It stirs emotions and triggers a movement deep in the undercurrent of the psyche and brings to the surface and shore a new way of seeing, a new way of being.
There is a symbiotic relationship between what is occurring in the broadest conception of life and the sounds transmitted through the instruments and mouths of our most gifted vocalists and musicians. I place my ear on the ground and listen closely to the cultural impulse. I hear and feel it in the sound of African Classical Music (the improvisational music created by artists of African descent), the demands for freedom, the hand outreaching for peace, for harmony in a disharmonious world. I see the tears that swell in the eyes of our prophets and roll off their cheeks upon the bosom of the children and into the fertile soil of the unborn.
I hear and feel that demand, that cry for freedom, in the musical voices of the African drum. I hear that beckoning in the musical voices of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Pharaoh Sanders, Archie Shepp, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Eric Dolphy, Sun Ra, Dave McMurray, James Carter, Elvin Jones, Ron Carter, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Horace Silver, Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughn, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Garrett, Marcus Miller, Branford Marsalis, Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela, Billie Strayhorn, Charles Mingus, and the countless multitudes. It is that voice captured in the moment of creative expression that I am striving to boldly solidify and bring forth as a timeless image.
I hear the unwavering voice of our great political luminaries whose timeless oratory echo in our cultural soul, the voice of those who fought to uplift the oppressed humanity. I have drawn portraits of Malcolm X, The Honorable Marcus Garvey, Dr. W.E.B. Dubois, Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, Steve Biko, Frantz Fanon, Amilcar Cabral, General Baker, Jr. Che Guevara, Frederick Douglass, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Kwame Ture (Stokley Carmichael) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Marian Kramer, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka among others. Through these drawings, I commune with these ancestors and those living stalwarts of human liberation.
These images and sounds are what stir inside of me as I approach the empty 18x24 art pad with a sharpened pencil in hand. Come forth, I whisper. Work is the funnel that transforms these thoughts into a build up of gradients of graphite until the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the skin emerges to announce the presence of a living spirit.
This is what my art is about. It is my humble attempt to create images that stir emotions of freedom, tenacity, perseverance, hope and victory long after I am a memory.
You can see samples of my work at www.redbubble.com/people/charlesferrell and acquire original works of art by contacting me at artbycharlesezraferrell@yahoo.com.
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