What is a “Seeing Session?”
To my creative friends,
When I create new work, I often record audio meditations or craft written reflections to accompany the art. I call these “seeing sessions.” I offer them with in my commissioned work, as a time of shared viewing.
Sometimes, however, I end up sending these thoughts to my collectors as a surprise bonus. These recordings or writings are my own reflection on the contemplative process and/or the artwork itself. In them, I offer my own perspective as a co-viewer of the work. I name what I see not as a definitive interpretation, but as a dialogue partner for the collector.
As a small sample, here is a transcript of an audio meditation that accompanied one of my paintings. I have redacted any personal details about the collector and/or other identifying circumstances.
“Dawn” (2024). Original painting with accompanying audio meditation.
I am so honored and delighted that you have collected this painting which I have titled “Dawn.” Part of my creative practice is to spend time with the work as a viewer rather than the artist. Stepping away from the piece, I try to find the words that connect my present experience with the art made from intuition and silence.
Painting is an essential part of my spiritual practice. While working, I enter a spacious silence that allows me to access an interior depth I don’t normally occupy. In “the flow” that artists know well, I am a free diver. With one breath, I dive as deeply as I can to excavate my inner world through gestures.
My hope, both in the painting and this reflection, is to offer you a stepping stone. Somehow, this painting connected with your heart. By offering you words about my connection, I hope there will be an echo within you. Perhaps these words will be a spring board for your own deep dive. Or at least a wall you can push again as you explore a new path altogether.
These words aren't the only way to view the painting, of course. But they are a gift, and only that. One you can keep or recycle as you see fit. You will see things that I don’t see. That’s one of the beautiful gifts of our creative practice—the ways we can see one another. And what we see in others can become a mirror for our own self-understanding.
To begin, one of the features in this piece that strikes me is the color palette. I am usually drawn to lines first, but in this painting I am interested in the colors. This piece is both warm and cool to me. It is contrasting, with harmonizing complements and discordant, “just off” colors.
To me, it has the feeling of a dark, wintery dawn. The kind of morning where you are surprised by the strength and intensity of the morning light.
The lines and gestures in this piece evoke an emerging life, but one that is hidden in a darker season. It’s as if the gestures are longed-for shapes, rather than finished forms. It’s the feeling of the time we’re in right now, these wintering months.
The whole piece has a sense of hibernation, but with these hidden pockets of energy. In the midst of a whole field of bleakness or darkness, there are sudden energetic bursts: these reds and oranges, but also these faint white lines.
The shapes feel floral to me, as if we are viewing either the ghosts of flowers that have passed. Or though we are seeing the faint outlines of a new life peeking over the horizon.
I would like to offer you a blessing to accompany you as you enjoy your painting. My hope is that these words will be a doorway for your own reflection and contemplation as you continue to enjoy your painting.
“______, as you endure these cold dark months, remembering the life that was and longing for life to begin again, may you be warmed and sustained by dormant life still glowing within. May energetic bursts surprise you, helping you see the faint outlines of what will surely come. May they warm you and light the way as you wait for the dawn to rise in your life and in our collective whole.”
Thank you, again, for the gift of being an attentive viewer. Thank you for supporting living artists. It’s a thrill to have found and made this connection with you. I hope you enjoy your new artwork, and I hope it yields rich contemplative reflection for you in this chapter of your life.
If you’d like to learn more about “seeing sessions,” I invite you to explore my commission page. These sessions are included and built into my custom painting process.
