Friday 23 November 2012

A Live Give Away.

On Sun, Nov 18, 2012 at 1:04 AM, Martin Law <martin.rainbowmaker@gmail.com> wrote:


  'A Live Give Away.' There's a title.  I had the feeling it was 13 letters when it popped out of my pencil.  The reason for it, may become apparent later, to anyone who has patience or curiosity to read on.  Or nothing better to do, but you could do a lot worse.
In any case, it's anybody's guess where this might go.  If it's anything like my piano improvisation tracks, which it is, i have an empty mind from the word 'go'.  Listening back to them i have been amazed to hear that, with zero repertoire or intentional premeditation, while being careful to avoid cliche phrasing, there is yet again, a similar sequence of interlinking passages flowing one into another and returning full circle around to the opening theme.

This medium is no different since it's not from my head, or anybody else's.  'Playing by ear', means just listening.  Any over all form seems to have a life of it's own.  That's the beauty of improvisation, whether, writing, music, or painting.
That prompts me to feel free to be as random as i care to be, if it has a life of it's own then why not be even more so, partly out of a mischievous curiosity as to whether i can out-fox the process.  At the risk of being boring or saying something frivolous and better left unsaid.
So i'll put my money where my mouth is: 'an open account.'
As they say, 'start from where you are', here.
Since it's always 'now', that takes care of having to go anywhere at all.  So much for the future.  Nothing there to worry about.
Alphabet soup.  Flavour of the day.  Changing sentence by sentence.
Today.  Every time i walk by my round table, seemingly (but only in close up) going somewhere, i tend to note down a passing thought with pencil and paper.  I like plain paper, i have loads of it.

Passing by to the kitchen i wrote briefly, "Don't believe.  Either 'be', or 'leave.'
Later (though still now) passing by the other way, fully conscious that mind was thinking about 'brown', (being what interested me most in that moment), i wrote in my inimitable scrawl:
"Brown Conte Crayon drawing.  With Raw Umber, undiluted and diluted.  Plus white."
"Working with brown only.  And 'Tonality.'  Brown is the only organic colour you can do that with.
And it's not on the spectrum, which makes it rather unique, and interesting."
In true random fashion later in the now (which was neither early or late) and in passing, mindful of the mind without being unmindful of what i was doing, i wrote:
"Some bright person had the idea of bribery as a way to keep 'the system' going.  Well isn't that what 'the system' is?
"I'll pay you if you do what you're told.  (With money we already extorted from you anyway. /Ed.)  Otherwise, you're not in the system, and not entitled to eat.
"Not quite the same thing as a mutually satisfactory exchange.  More like a 'factory exchange! '  The only game in town.
"If you want to invent your own game, then you have to give a donation to ours.  (As a penalty).  Or as it's miscalled, 'fine'.  Fine, thanks."
So... the day being sunny, having completed, assembled, and installed my latest painted article, an elvish green on white, lettered wooden sign, saying simply (with a decorative hint of clover leaves or 'shamrock' if you like.  There being no such botanical specimen as 'shamrock'.  Read; 'seamair' or 'seimre og' = young clover.)
...Saying simply; "NO JUNK MAIL. Thanks."

And walked into town to buy water having never driven anything anyway.   ...(Tea break.)
(Still no dead give away.)  Are we still live?
 Returning.  Crossing the road by 'Organico Wholefoods.'
Waiting for an endless stream of cars on a blind corner to end.
Once across, voices call my name (well one of them) and i cross back and say to Charlie and female friend, "i don't mean to double cross you!" "Why don't we go up to my place.  Choose a car, what colour do you fancy? You drive, i can't drive anyway, i'll tag along in the back."
(This is still about art by the way.)
They'd called earlier while i was out.  Charlie as ever on his intuitive paper chase of synchronicity felt drawn to peer in the window, something he "never does."
Prints of 'Tales of the Sea', (my famous painting which few have seen yet) on the table.  If i seem to blow my own trumpet i was just born musical.
Cups of tea and an instant updraft of mutually spontaneous conversational quantum leap "as ye do" this being what's known across the water as 'Ireland'.  Many names take your pick but dig deep.

Whether (weather?), Eire, Eireann, Eriu, Hibernia, Inis Fodhla, Inis Banbha, Inis Fail ('Island of Destiny'), don't say 'the emerald isle' there's a lot of sap green not to mention moss and sorry the tourist office is closed try 'the peaceful isles' they might be open but it's saturday.
So we drink tea walking around by the fire looking at paintings and,Celine, Charlie's interesting friend has long dark curly hair like the woman in Tales of the sea and i say "are you from up north as well" but no Leitrim but been in Belfast and "i thought i detected a bit of....."
But no amount of inverted commas or whatever they're called would do justice if there is such a thing to the word 'conversation' the holy rounded grounded and pleasantly familiar indigenous worth and mirth and vibes of which (without sounding silly) quite naturally, commonsensically by far transcend in simple plain truth anything you might in all unforgivable ignorance innocently expect to hear uttered out of any amount of mouths on a 'frank' television 'talk show' but what else would you expect?  When the only thing you get on a television is dust.
As with anything else, there are no words save those that are mutually momentarily imbibed.
As Charlie shows Celine through the big hardboard and battened paintings in my back room. "And i've got a whole box full of sacred geometry over there."
"Exhibitions?  Oh i've had exhibitions such a lot of bother all those crackers and wine and inhibited waffle i mean, how do you...?  I don't know what it is in Gaelic but 'in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king and i've got two but i'm not into royalty."
" In any case, enlightenment so called, is only seemingly significant to somebody who's identified with the false self-image and to seek such a thing only affirms a presumed lack," and we agree.
Like dangling a carrot on the peak of your cap everywhere you go thinking that fasting will nourish you.
Well, i needed a peak experience and that's what all this is about.
But i'd never wear a baseball cap, out of respect for indians, any more than i'd drink whiskey but it gave me something to write about.

My big painting, 'The Blue Planet' (another 13 title), oops, it's heavy, painted around the year 2000, four feet high by nearly three feet, it's got infinite distance, all kinds of temples and a lake in there, yes it's that way up.  All done with paint on the back of acetate pressed and peeled off vertically... and you always get rocks and trees!"
As Charlie and i complete the sentence in unison "It's Organic!" "Yes."
So i say to Celine, "I don't do big things any more they take up space.
If you happened to have a palace with a big bare wall with a crack that wants covering you can have that one."
" I think i have just the place for it," she says, "are you serious?"
"Yes it's your lucky day, thankyou it's yours."  "Palace or no palace with a crack in the wall."

That's the quickest bit of space clearing i ever did, and "so much for capitalism."  All swift and fluent with no uncomfortable reservations, unlike most indians.
Anyway, repeated hugs made 'my' day.  If i was an envious person i'd wonder how Charlie gets to attract such attractive and obviously interesting people, i'm sure he'd have a good answer.  Some people have all the... but no, i won't do negative affirmations on myself.  What you affirm is what you manifest.
"i hope it'll go in the car alright", i said as they left.  And were gone.
"Wow", i said to myself.  What an interesting experience.  I forgot to give them a copy of Tales of the Sea.
Amazing, the good energy it's so easy to generate. Of course, giving and receiving are one and the same thing.  Mutually enjoyable.
People often talk of things as being 'a dead giveaway.'
This was definitely A LIVE ONE.  I saw it move.
(Better post this before it evaporates).
~~~~~~  Rainbowmaker.





art : The Blue Planet, martin law, 2000



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