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Art is a Way of Being: Nature Stop Motion Animation

9/23/2014

2 Comments

 
It often feels like most of us are in such a hurry to do whatever it is we think we're supposed to be doing.  There is this perpetual push to maintain busyness and productivity.  I experienced this almost inescapable urge to live life in fast motion, especially while living in New York City for several years.  John De Paola writes, "slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you".  I now live in New Mexico and I am learning to slow down my life experience, allowing life to begin to catch up with me.  It is a moment-to-moment practice that I have in no way perfected, but continue to strive to achieve. 

How is it that we can so easily
forget to simply be, to breathe fully, to notice the passing of the clouds, the subtle changes in the wind, and the soft dance of sunlight on the leaves of a tree?  This short film is a bit rough but it is an accurate depiction of my experience and how I see the world when I am living life more in slow motion.  I consider film an art making process.  Art is not simply putting paint to canvas or ink on paper.  Art is a way of being, a way of interacting with the world in a non verbal, right-brained way.  When we begin to become more open and aware of all the amazing intricacies that are weaving in and out around us at all times, we are taken out of the imprisonment of our mind's endless chatter.  We can wake up to a more fully loaded, expansive presence of life.  Even breathing can be ecstatic, an endless novelty.  Suddenly it is all new and fresh.

This is an invitation to stop and sit by the river, to smell the freshness in the air, to allow yourself to open up to the vastness that exists at your finger tips. There are no doors in nature, no separation, simply coexistence, and acceptance. 

I made this film in a very organic way without forethought.  I was paying attention to the little details in everything that was happening around me.  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe says, "God is in the details".  This is mindfulness, which signifies being fully present to our lives and fully aware of what is around us and how we are connected to it all.  I used a stop motion app on my Iphone and added Woody Guthrie's song, "Along in the Sun and Rain".  I would recommend stepping into your artist self which I believe we all can embody, and exploring the captivating world around you in whatever medium you choose.

2 Comments

    Katie Hall

    Katie Hall, MA, ATR-BC, LPAT, LPCC, is an artist and art therapist with a master's in art therapy and counseling from Southwestern College in New Mexico. As an art therapist, Katie works with individuals struggling with addictions, PTSD, schizophrenia, depression, and developmental disabilities in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She focuses on improving quality of life, empowerment, and guiding clients to reach a deeper understanding of self through art expression.  Her current interest is on continuing to explore the uses of stop motion animation as a mindfulness-based technique. She is passionate about sharing the healing powers of art making with community. 

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