Actual journeys, not just the metaphorical ones, make you really appreciate the connections you get to strengthen from point to point. The in-between lets you reflect on what (or who) you've left and where you're going.
10 years ago, I and my (then, boy-)
friend went on a big road trip to Canada, an art-pilgrimage to see the Gustav Klimt retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada. We entered into the trip (well, to tell the truth, I entered into the trip) with reservations. Not to a hotel, but about our relationship. As we traveled together, we learned valuable things about each other and truth be told again, that trip solidified my commitment to the person who became my husband.
One of the lessons learned was the palpable difference between pursuing life as a "destination" or a "journey." I was so eager to get TO my end goal that I was missing, and even deliberately trying to ignore, the adventure with him along the way. He taught me to be aware of the nuances in landscapes and the relationships between places... and people. To allow and be open to revelatory surprises when you least expect them. And while I was so keen to see just one person on the journey, I was introduced to a new group of artists that have made my visual life more vibrant.
So with this recent trip to pick up our new-to-us vehicle, I am now looking forward to driving into uncharted territory: artistically, socially, and personally.
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I will be making a copy of this painting, The Jack Pine, by Tom Thompson, a member of the Group of Seven, by personal request from friends visited along this road trip. My favorite painter from Canada's landscape artists is Franklin Carmichael. He might have even grown up near the place from which my grandfather hailed from in Canada. Perhaps we're related? |
friend went on a big road trip to Canada, an art-pilgrimage to see the Gustav Klimt retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada. We entered into the trip (well, to tell the truth, I entered into the trip) with reservations. Not to a hotel, but about our relationship. As we traveled together, we learned valuable things about each other and truth be told again, that trip solidified my commitment to the person who became my husband.
One of the lessons learned was the palpable difference between pursuing life as a "destination" or a "journey." I was so eager to get TO my end goal that I was missing, and even deliberately trying to ignore, the adventure with him along the way. He taught me to be aware of the nuances in landscapes and the relationships between places... and people. To allow and be open to revelatory surprises when you least expect them. And while I was so keen to see just one person on the journey, I was introduced to a new group of artists that have made my visual life more vibrant.
So with this recent trip to pick up our new-to-us vehicle, I am now looking forward to driving into uncharted territory: artistically, socially, and personally.
Tom Thompson is one of my faces, and Jack Pine is by far the most luminous painting in the Group of 7 gallery at the Nat!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Ottawa by the way. I love that city, and now that my folks and sister have relocated there permanently, I expect to be visiting a lot more often!
"faves"... Tom Thompson is one of my faves.
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