Do you ever get an idea in your head that you can’t let go of? I’ve given myself numerous reasons why I shouldn’t follow up: It’s not something I would normally paint; I don’t want to promote a religion or have others think that I do; It’s a big undertaking, and I’m not sure it will work.
On and on, I reason with myself while the project sits in
my mind un-executed. The idea came to me one day as I saw a small shadowy figure
on my bathroom floor made from water marks and smears.
“Whirling Dervish,” I thought to myself. Then I had to
look it up to be sure I had the right term. At first, I thought it was a Disney
character. YouTube educated me as I found several videos of this unique and
unusual religious lifestyle.
I also conjured up images of modern day Shriner's who
adopted Mason and Muslim symbols in their costuming. Originating in Turkey, the
“Whirling Dervish” is a sect of Islam. They are taught to love everything and
participate in a physically active meditation of whirling known as Sema or Sama that brings
them to a state of ecstasy.
My purpose as an artist is not to judge, but to observe.
I was intrigued artistically not only by the challenge of trying to render this
scene on canvas, but by the colors I envisioned in my mind. Combining these
elements with the Shriner's, I could see various shades of yellow in the
background, moving to subdued red orange; using Arabic lettering and other
elements imprinted in black on the paint.
What intrigued me the most was the red fez of the
Shriner's; the same style as the black or red hats of the Sema. I couldn’t get the red,
yellow and white images whirling on a yellow canvas out of my head. The
scimitars the Shriner's use also appeared in my first quick sketch (8.5x11 paper is much smaller than actual canvas). Ideas are
born in the most unusual ways and if we try to bottle them up, they have a way
of bubbling back to the surface.
Curiosity and imagination are compelling tools that often
give birth to unique and unusual ideas. Some ideas grow and flourish like a
fountain that constantly gurgles and lives. Other ideas never get past a second
or third review. They fall by the wayside because there’s no substance for
development.
Don’t
put a lid on good ideas. If they come back again and again, they are probably
“keepers.”
Nice drawing! Once my sister went to a Halloween party as a Whirling Dervish.
ReplyDeleteTheresa, I'm curious. Did people recognize what your sister was?
ReplyDeletep.s. the more I look at these exotic figures turning, the more I want to paint them! Beautiful!
"They fall by the wayside because there’s no substance for development." - or because the days are too short to fit everything in so they stay on my list - that grows longer rather than shorter!
ReplyDelete(I have to smile to myself when kind friends offer me 'ideas'!)
But I wholeheartedly agree about not putting a lid on them. I sometimes feel that if I don't get busy working on some of my ideas, something like a form of 'idea indigestion' can build up - and it's not at all comfortable!
Love the "idea indigestion," Judy! And you're right, we artists usually have an overload of ideas waiting in the wings. The problem is having enough hours in the day and enough energy.
DeleteLove ya, Judy!