Hear the Ocean

Hear the ocean, wild yet calm...

I hear the ocean at my feet
I feel the pain in your heart

waves crashing, thundering emotion
vast, unending, rolling gently
swim with the tide...

Let me engulf you, comfort, protect you

The power of the ocean can lift you again

I was once asked to make "something like a place-card with the word 'ocean' on it". Apparently it was a significant 'little something' for a bridal couple. I know I also wrote a few words describing the ocean on a wavy line... i'd like to think i added a bit of a pastel wave aswell, but probably didn't! Anyway, that simple little exercise led to these words.

Inspiration can come from the simplest ideas. There's a saying that "inspiration comes from doing"... and how true that can be. Of course we need to think about ideas, but it's easy to sit thinking about a great idea & not actually do anything about it except think & dream some more.

The act of focussing on a few words & writing them out set off a train of thought... a few phrases jotted down & left to simmer for a while... a few splashes of colour & a few more words...

I have written it out before but this idea has been slowly formulating... I've 'seen' how i wanted it for a while. When i did Cari's "dance the old ways" the idea of using plaster through a stencil seemed perfect for this version.

While i was at it i prepared plaster stones/rocks for a couple of other pieces aswell, this one is on a 36x24 inch canvas. (the different colours at this stage are just different tpes of mixture)
Next came the colour.... white all over then acrylic the rocks so they looked shiny & wet even when the paint dried.... splashes of acrylic, emulsion, ink & more water.... here's a close up, click on the pic to see the detail.... & finally the words....


Don't you think the characteristics of the ocean mirror the range of human emotion (or do we mirror the sea)? We tend to use emotional terms to describe these different qualities.... angry seas, tempestuous waves, tranquil waters.... the waves undulate, rise up & down like our emotions.... our emotions, whether positive or negative, ripple out affecting those around us. Virtually every emotion can be related to a movement or state of the ocean... and of course both are dramatically linked to the moon.

We can use the ocean as a powerful meditational focus.... swim with the tide... imagining gentle rolling waves to bring our breathing under control... visualising turbulent emotions crashing themselves out onto rocks... until they are spent, then gently soothed back into calmer seas.... perhaps basking by moon or sunlight.... we can plunge deeper & deeper into the depths of the ocean & our soul to uncover hidden currents of hurts or inspiration, depending on our intent.... we can imagine ourselves as a pice of stone carried by the ocean, our troubles or illness being soothed & worn away... we can ride the waves & surf with our dreams, empowered by the ocean spray.... we can return to land, refreshed & grounded by the feel of sand & lapping waves, ready to return uplifted to our lives... let the power of the ocean lift you again....