Rhythm

Some say, “You have rhythm or you don’t.” I agree with the first part, not the second. Everyone has rhythm, you just have to TAP into it. ;^]. I find my rhythm through music and fiber work, which all three share that in common thread.

Now the most basic of beats that the animal kingdom shares is our heartbeats. It is a constant pattern (hopefully) throughout our lives. When our time comes, our beat silences. So during our time of life, how do we translate our heart beats into something more?

My father is a master guitar player. He started playing as a young teenager by ear during the night in the dark because his parents didn't want him to play. He played then and still plays to this day because he has an inner song and rhythm within himself that is expressed through guitar playing. We all posses that within ourselves.

Naturally music was in my blood as well. Finding my musical rhythm wasn't hard; finding my art beat rhythm was. I knew I wanted to create something with my hands, but what? After playing with many different materials and concepts, fiber found me from my childhood past. I used to tie knots and lashes to build structures through BSA. I was actually really good at it. After I earned my Eagle Scout, I didn't play with fiber. Years later, I see how tying knots and building structures really helped my sculpture brain come alive. Now I use those concepts in my suspension sculptures and fence installations. Both have a tempo and rhythm that I dance with; I really feel the fiber in my hands and the beat of repetition with each weave. It's like my heartbeat - steady, repetitive, alive. When it all clicked about my past creating the artist I am today, I was humbled and appreciative.

I encourage you all to feel your own heart beat right now and feel it. Where is your heart with your art right now? Allow it to guide your next art piece. Try it!