milestones that break and make

As a family we love to celebrate personal sucesses, achievements and evolution - opportunities for reflection and in particular the transformation and transmutation of something that is not working, past it sell by date, into something new and functional, more attractive and comfortable.

Last Friday evening saw the Private View of an exhibition featuring the art work of both Laurie – Pre Degree Art Foundation, and Lily – A Level Photography.

For Laurie especially, it was very personal milestone that marked the ending of a traumatic and emotionally charged time. A year that had begun with such high hopes, vitality and promise of a bright and shiny future but unexpectedly morphed into the type of life experience that either makes or breaks.

Ironically it did both – the sudden loss of a very special friend shattered the rose coloured spectacles in one fell swoop, destroying everything that we believed to be a given. The impact was beyond words, the emotional pain indescribable, yet completely tangible and all consuming. Resilience and resourcefulness betrayed us for some time, but eventually... slowly but surely, we all came to a resting place that clearly demonstrated to us that experiences such as these can be wonderful opportunities to reflect; reassess our beliefs and  values, our life's aims and objectives, our loves and desires, and our understanding of ourselves and our relationship to each other.

Laurie bravely chose to expose herself; to examine these fragile and very personal emotional experiences and translate her inner landscape into three dimensional form. Exploring what identity, collective consciousness, freedom and separation might look like and how they could be contained or defined, understood and integrated. If the human body is such a container for emotion, how might this be depicted in abstract form?

The resulting sculptures and light boxes are inspiring and demonstrate a true commitment to integrate and define a year of challenging experiences. Check out Laurie's art blog to read her own insightful reflections of this exploration.

 

Despite intending to depict four individual aspects of herself within four separate forms, Laurie's final exhibition has become more like pure emotion itself; undistinguished and elusive in what the sculptures represent with the experiences and emotions overlapping and merging within. Moving independently spinning and swaying, yet spontaneously connected with each other; the pieces interacting in ways that can not be anticipated, truly representing real life emotional adventures subsequently influencing and affecting our everyday actions both consciously and unconsciously.

Our family reflections concluded that at any given moment we can choose how to utilise and make the most of any situation or experience, of what we have on offer; sad experiences, happy memories, exhibition space, materials, time etc. even those thrust upon us.

It is what we choose to create from these, that truly defines us, makes us, as individuals. Laurie's gorgeously talented friend will never be forgotten for she now resides in the hearts of each of us, inspiring us every day to live in the moment, to take nothing for granted and seek opportunities for creative expression and connection in everything that we do.
xxxxxx