Thank You Queen
Thank you dear Queen for your faith and service and all you have been. Amen
Here’s my opening for this blog entry. No other way to start writing it really, as the death of the Queen rightly fills so many minds and hearts at this time. For me personally the Queen has been a shining example of a woman of faith, and her faith is a great example to so many people, whatever their faith tradition. I am sure that her words have helped many people through difficult times. And so I will be praying for her family too who must be experiencing such a difficult time.
I went to All Saint’s Church in Kingston Upon Thames yesterday. I do enjoy spending time in church buildings and All Saint’s is one I visit quite regularly. There is a book of Condolences there and I signed that. It was lovely to flip through it and read other people’s entries too. Some people had left flowers and you can light a candle if you want to. I usually pray at some point during my visits and obviously threw up a few prayers on that occasion too.
Autumn Comes Again
I am a very strong believer in responding to the seasons creatively. By this I mean that I think it important to respond to what is happening in nature around me and take my cues from that. At this time of year I find I feel the urge to slow down a bit and start writing more, reading more, and maybe do different kinds of creative work, for example, dabbling with a bit of mosaic, or some cards or other smaller scale work. I put my larger painting experiments away and almost pull into myself more. Maybe like a dying flower or something! That sounds not so good, but it is good. It’s good because basically I need to rest and I am sometimes rather prone to being a bit manic where creativity is concerned. This is good… I am very productive…But it is not sustainable for more than a few months at a time, so it is vital to also train myself to do less, and sometimes to do nothing creatively. I can exist without creating stuff.
This sounds like no big deal, I am sure, but for me it is rather a big deal. My sense of self used to be too dependent on art working. It was a way of helping me feel I existed. Maybe someone without experience of traumatic stress wouldn’t be able to understand this, but I am certain that anyone whose self esteem has been shaken to the core and whose sense of self has been fragmented through experiences of trauma can understand the kind of fragility possible to have regarding their sense of self, and probably also can appreciate the value of art working in enabling a person to feel they exist and matter. Quite literally, it is as if the very material substances they work with are evidence they exist and matter. I do relate to this. I feel I don’t need to hold onto myself so tightly through my art working in the way I used to. That’s good progress.
Having said the above, It is still the case I gain a lot of benefits from my creativity, which is still very much a dominant aspect of my life. I think there must be something in my blood which works against not creating things! I certainly have a strong imagination. This is of course very handy if you work in any kind of creative arts. But there are levels of creativity, and I have taught myself to calm down, slow down, and allow myself to be WITHOUT constantly producing stuff. It is handy to be very productive as an artist, but it is necessary to resist the urges to produce as well. For art making is contemplation as much as it is action. And contemplation is very life giving. It is also very much an essential element of being able to be inspired and feel inspired. It is the case that, sometimes, everything inside me cries against it. I must do more and I can’t stop…Or so I tell myself, but this is not the truth. It is not the truth at all. I think when one gets older it is common to appreciate more the value of periods of rest and inactivity, of contemplation, meditation and reflection.
Looking Backwards
I find looking backwards, both into my earlier creative work, my life, and sometimes even my family history, a rich source of inspiration and direction.
Here is an old poem. I really enjoy looking backwards. It helps me move forward, ironically! Pulling this out of my archives and then re-editing it is time well spent. I have developed it a fair bit. It’s still in progress I think. I will do what I normally do with my paintings…Work on it a bit and then put it away again once more!
The Forest
As we walk
across the crunchy, snapping, floor
we pass tall, leaning trunks, of arm wrestling trees
fighting for space and rustling
among a sulky breeze
“I want more, I want more!”
strike the deep, black, crow feet
in the earth.
It’s odd; within the musky darkness;
to feel the contortions of my own face
appear, then disappear.
To watch dismay fly and flicker into sky;
in bird form; yet simultaneously
touch base, as moisture sinks
in odd release: we love.
We stop and sit
for a moments rest.
We form our own quiet, still, pool of light.
We breath,
A quiet
still
pool of light.
And breath
in a rest;
a moon-like pause, among the string of flickering tree-blown stars,
singing note by note their open mouthed
sentence of songs. As soon as I sing them, I remember
the fight within. It is real.
Material reality
in space like reflection; though not distant.
Cosmic, yet close.
Closer than the deepest touch possible within.
You can leave me now, I said.
So light and shade were dimmed beneath my shutting eye.
And one by one, each leaf turned
Revealing colours other than that first, full, flush of green.
Now all was quiet.
I wore time, like a tree – each season’s changing
Bare branched, to first shoot
Through the fullness of Summer
And into the Autumn’s loss
But inside the hollow trunk
It was the same.
My self-made coffin
of buried pain
wouldn’t move.
Determined;
safe in my denial;
faithfully apart.
Leaf by leaf.
Day by day.
I see myself, lie there, still.
In the shade
of that singular tree.
Wait.
Just wait, and see…
Why?
Because…
Spring comes carefully
with the tender lips of love,
she plucks the splintered shame
from my mouth
in meeting again,
we sigh, saying
“I see you now…
in the very same second…”
mmm, still needs attention I think, but getting somewhere.
Eleonora Rosa Eicher
In memory.
From time to time I post something about my parents. While I didn’t have an easy childhood, I did sadly experience my parents deaths in my twenties and early thirties, which is quite young. I’ve done a lot of looking back into my past and one aspect which has been interesting has been looking through some old photos which used to be kept in a box in my mother’s bedroom cupboard. Unfortunately because one of my siblings threw away all contacts, letters, etc from my mum’s personal possessions I have no way of re-establishing my Swiss roots, and this is sad. What I can do thankfully is enjoy the photos and remember things my mum told me about them.
My Mum was born in Villingen in Germany and her father was recorded as “unknown”. Its not something she talked about.. Its now not possible to talk with her about what she knew, if anything, of course. The Nazi party was quite a strong force in Villingen, I think around that time, and I do wonder if that had some bearing on my Granny and my Mum leaving to go back to Switzerland when they did.
My Mum said her Granny brought her up while her mother went out to work. Her mother had a sister who I did meet once on a visit to Basel. It looks like my Mother moved to Switzerland sometime after her birth between 1935 and 1940. They were Catholics judging by the photos of my mother’s first communion. My mum’s school was in Basel so it looks like they moved there fairly soon as the school photo of her looks like she is around 6 or 7 years old. They may also have lived in the Lucerne area, maybe prior to Basel, as her Mother’s birth district is Eschenbach St Gallen and when moving from Germany to Switzerland it would seem most likely my Granny would go to her own place if origin.
Here’s a photograph of my mum and her best friend, Edith.
Eleonora Rosa Eicher (Norli) with her best friend.
I really enjoy looking backwards and remembering things about my Mum… I think seeing the photographs my Mum kept in the box in her cupboard is very helpful to me as it helps me to appreciate her as a person in her own right and not only as my Mother. Because our relationship basically suffered so much in various ways…to an extent I now appreciate more fully…it has been a helpful part of the healing process through psychoanalytic psychotherapy to not only just face so many of the difficult and painful feelings but also to get a sense of her identity before I even existed. She did have an identity, and even though her sense of self I think was very faint and things were very complex between us, (especially bearing in mind her schizophrenia, and the psychosis, depression etc) somehow seeing photographs of her has really helped me to get more of an appreciation of her as a personality. I am glad to have been able to look back on her and try and imagine a bit more about her experiences and the challenges she faced.
The Commodity
On a very different stream of thinking…
I love reading and often find things I think are worth noting down in this Journal. Here is such a read!
An extract on the subject of art and commodity quoted from “Modernism and Modernity: An Introduction Survey” by Pam Meecham and Paul Wood
One of the chapters exploring various issues in modern art in the book “Investigating Modern Art” edited by Liz Dawtrey, Toby Jackson, Mary Masterton, Pam Meecham and Paul Wood and published by Yale University Press in Association with The Open University, The Arts Council of England and The Tate Gallery on 1996
“The commodity
The function of art and social practices of leisure and tourism is a prominent one in our societies. No less important is the function of art as a commodity, only rich and powerful in individuals may own major works of modern art. But anyone can purchase lowlier examples of original works, not to mention limited editions of prints. And when one gets to the level of the T-shirts, calendars, mugs and postcards stocked by the shop of any large museum of modern art, the merchandising aspect of art, its status of cultural marker, may safely be said to have eclipsed its other more critical functions. Although having said that, and as if to prove that in the field of art nothing remains static, Post-Modernist artist Barbara Kruger has attempted to turn the tables on or at least to ironize – commodification by producing as an artwork a T-shirt bearing the phrase ‘I shop, therefore I am’.
The commodity aspect of art is not peripheral to its status in our societies. Art works of all types are continually being bought and sold; indeed almost all of them are made to be bought and sold. In the past works of art were usually commissioned, either by enlightened bourgeois patrons or by institutions such as the church. Before that, one assumes, they were produced organically by skilled members of a community, as a necessary part of that community’s cohesive rituals. Since the mid-nineteenth century however, the professional practice of art, as distinct from the amateur who paints in his or her spare time, has been powerfully influenced by the market. Professional artists have contracts with dealers. They produce their work which is either offered to the dealer in exchange for a retainer, or is bought per piece by the dealer, in either case to be sold on at a profit to collectors. These collectors may be private individuals or public bodies such as the boards of Trustees of major museums. If an artist is prolific and successful, if for example his or her work ultimately enters the collection of a major museum of modern art, the asking prices will increase. This dimension of exchange value is fundamental to professional art practice in contemporary society.
It is also arguably the greatest stumbling block in the popular attitude to modern art. A practice which on the one hand continues to be surrounded by a high-flown rhetoric of creativity, insight and value, yet which on the other hand has abandoned most of the criteria by which such value has traditionally been judged (skill, beauty, effective story telling etc.), stands in an exposed position when the resulting products continue to be exchanged for what to most people seem exorbitant sums of money. ‘The emperor’s new clothes’ is one of the most persistent refrains in lay criticism of modern art; and not always without justification.
The relation between the claimed use values of art, be they spiritual or more evidently social, and the exchange values of works of art in the market place, is fraught. Partly this is because the products of other artistic practices of literature and music, for example, are available in the form of books and records to much wider ownership. Partly it is because, in the very myth of modern art itself commerce and commercial values are perceived as a threat to integrity and to spiritual or critical values. Some of this is cant. In our culture everything can be bought and sold, people no less than works of art. Some of it also amounts to a useful way for conservatives to attack innovations they dislike, and even to enlist an ignorant public behind their own different, and often singularly patrician, cultural values. Yet that said, there is some truth in the widespread misgivings. It is very difficult to measure the emancipatory effects of aesthetic value, even if these have a reasonably evident socially critical edge to them, against the claims of a new nursery or health centre. Yet it is very easy, perhaps misleadingly so, to measure the thousands of pounds spent by a museum on an abstract painting against the thousands of pounds which a hospital may be trying to raise for a kidney machine.”
I’ve popped this quote in here for myself to note because I find it very comforting and helpful. As an artist who works both with “Fine Art” and yet also enjoys the various benefits and experiences which come from the amazing opportunities within digital imagery, printing and other technological developments, ie popular poster prints, products, etc I have sometimes asked myself if I am sensible to do this, rather than restrict myself to “Fine Art.” However, being able to throw my creative urges far and wide, in joyous abandon, and not keep them exclusive for particular sets of so called “Art World” folk is very important to me. It’s part of my nature to want to make my work really accessible. I don’t like that weird activity of putting art in one place and defining it and then putting other creative activities in another. The simplest activity in life is art. And how worthwhile and valuable it is is anyone’s guess. How to judge? How possible to judge? How possible to judge the value of a child re-arranging some broken paving stones in a moment of play? The value of it may be immense. It’s hard to tell.
It’s a sacred thing. Creativity. I want to hold it lightly and let it go wherever. I am often surprised. I like that. I love making formal judgements about actual material and visual features of things. I love attuning my eye and have sought to develop its sensitivity over many years. But the humbling reality is that a 5 year old child really can produce something as beautiful as an artist who is both professional and experienced. So I love that. It removes the excess. It’s that humbling reality which I think has resulted in me sometimes using hand prints, finger prints, and other methods of paint application which I associate with childhood and being a child in my paintings. It’s a reminder to me.
This particular part of the quote is worth a repeat:
“… in the very myth of modern art itself commerce and commercial values are perceived as a threat to integrity and to spiritual or critical values.”
It is a myth… Phew. Yes. It is.
I personally find that integrity is my main challenge when it comes to my own creative expressions. What I mean by this is that being in touch and connected fully with myself, aiming for healthy awareness and being in touch with reality…basically how I am and how that relates to the art work I produce is my biggest challenge. I use my participation in therapy to help me with this journey and I find that the investment is worthwhile because as an artist whatever you produce, whatever you say it is about, I think is rooted deep within you. Yes, I certainly have an expressive theory of art, I know. I realise it can be plenty of other things, but the expressive aspect is “my thing” for sure.
Ocean Deep Series of Digital Collages
I have got plenty of new work I could post up here, but I do like to keep things behind the scenes for quite a while normally before I publish them online. This is mostly because I am asking myself so many questions about them that it helps to keep them to myself at that stage. I think it is always a good thing to be slightly surprised and puzzled by what one is making. Sometimes a kind of conversation between pieces needs to happen and that is interesting too.
Below, you can see some past experiments with digital collage. Basically layers of digital imagery. With these I am experimenting with layer of my paintings on top of each other. It is not about the result as such in this case, but the actual process of doing it can create new ideas, compositions, colour combinations etc.
jenny meehan textural colourful abstract painting afterthoughts into the ocean deep series
jenny meehan textural colourful abstract painting afterthoughts
jenny meehan textural colourful abstract painting afterthoughts
jenny meehan textural colourful abstract painting afterthoughts
Recent Painted Collage
Here is a recent painted collage… I am settled with this in all respects so happy to share now! The image is a low resolution image… I don’t post high quality images on the internet. It’s a big painted collage…approx A1 ish. Paints used are mainly the most beautiful and love Soldalit (Keim Mineral Paints) but I do also use acrylic for some areas. The relationship between the different types of paint is interesting and something I exploit with intention.
“First Words” painting collage by Jenny Meehan British Contemporary modern artist
The Realm of Between
And now for an older painting… I am still really very keen on this one and there are lots of fascinating things going on within it.
“The Realm of between/Pushing it a bit” abstract lyrical expressionist british paintings jenny meehan British painting Lyrical Abstraction style by artist designer jenny meehan jennyjimjams colour original abstract artwork to buy and image licensing ©Jenny Meehan
“The Realm of Between/Pushing it a Bit” Original painting by Jenny Meehan 2017 painting. Title inspired by me reading Martin Buber
“On the far side of the subjective, on this side of the objective, on the narrow ridge where I and Thou meet, there is the realm of ‘between’. Buber 1949
With “the space between”, I allude to Martin Buber’s conception of a sacred realm which opens when people of different faiths speak profoundly to one another, from heart to heart. In the suggestive words of Buber himself:
“In the most powerful moments of dialogic, where in truth “deep calls unto deep”, it becomes unmistakably clear that it is not the wand of the individual or of the social, but of a third which draws the circle round the happening. On the far side of the subjective, on this side of the objective, on the narrow ridge, where I and Thou meet, there is the realm of “between” (Buber 2002: 242f)
Such an amazing writer! It’s this area of between that is so challenging and yet so exciting in life…
In terms of the technical and material dimension of the painting, I have moved, since painting the above, more into flat areas of collaged paper, with only lesser elements of mark making coming into play. I guess I have kind of shown this by posting “First Words” up here in this post! I have brought into play some of the processes I experimented with when first encountering mosaic…I think I have both my previous mosaic work and my digital experiments with flat colour shapes (ie the signs of the times series) at the forefront of recent work. So I guess I have simplified. Quite pleasing. I have a new urge to work with mosaic, so I have started a course at Morley College in London to encourage this feeling.
Why I Bother to Invest in Art
One of the more challenging aspects of being an independent art professional is the will to go on at times. Its surprising, because the work I do is like a spring inside. The bottom line is it runs so deep there isn’t anything which is going to stop it except death and (possibly ill health) I guess.
What I have learnt, and it has taken a while, is that ultimately the most important dynamic is the relationship with myself and good relationships with others.
I do sell my original art but it’s mostly prints which sell as they are more affordable to a greater number of people.
Consequently there are times when I feel discouraged and wish my original paintings would sell more easily and quickly. But art is a saturated marketplace and there is loads of amazing art from a huge number of artists and this is a GOOD thing. So I rejoice in that.
I do not loose anything if I don’t sell as many paintings as I would like. But I could loose something if I let discouragement distract me from my purpose at its heart.
And the purpose of my heart is that I be who I am created to be as fully and entirely as I can. A major part of that is that I paint, create, write, and express myself. This is me and this is my gift to the world and there are always going to be times when we don’t feel that our work is appreciated as much as we would hope it would be in an ideal scenario. But we have limitations of many kinds. Acceptance is as important as ambition.
And we get over that. I get over it. I do what I do because its true to me and the vision and intuition I have. And that is the jewel I believe of being a fine artist for me. Its the steady reinforcement of choosing to believe in the value just being human. Just being. Of throwing myself into existence in faith and opening myself up to endless possibilities.
What their art is to any artist will be many different things of course, and the type of art they do determines the meaning and purpose of it. I hold a strongly expressionistic theory and practice of art and my work is process led. I work in a primarily unplanned and intuitive manner.
Unconscious symbolism is what I like to stir about! My art is an articulation of words which I’m speaking in a silent yet dynamic form. I also write… This runs alongside my imagery; the relationship is interesting. I engage is regular psychoanalysis and this is an important part of my work too.
I finish with this gem of a quote!
“If one accepts the symbol, it is as if a door opens leading into a new room whose existence one previously did not know.
But if one does not accept the symbol, it is as if one carelessly went past this door; and since this was the only door leading to the inner chambers, one must pass outside into the streets again, exposed to everything external.
But the soul suffers great need, since outer freedom is of no use to it.
Salvation is a long road that leads through many gates. These gates are symbols. Each new gate is at first invisible; indeed it seems at first that it must be created, for it exists only if one has dug up the spring’s root, the symbol”. ~Jung, Red Book, Page 311.
Well, that’s me for this Journal Post. I’ll be using my creative brain to think up different ways of reducing our energy bill for the next few months, among other more visual art and writing related pursuits no doubt. As I seem to do a lot of late, I have posted it one month later…It is meant to be the August September post! So next one will be in December…I hope!
General Info on Jenny Meehan’s Art Journal
Why read “Jenny Meehan – Contemporary Artist’s Journal: The Artist’s Meandering Discourses – poetry – painting – spirituality (mostly!)?
This artist’s blog is of interest to artists, art collectors, art lovers and anyone interested in fine art. Those interested in British 21st century female contemporary artists, women and art, religious art, spirituality and art, and psychoanalysis and art, will probably enjoy dipping into this Jenny Meehan Contemporary Artist’s Journal.
Art collectors are often interested in the processes, techniques, interests and influences of the artists whose work they collect, and sharing my thoughts and perspectives through a blog is an important dimension of my creative practice.
I describe my painting as being romantic, expressionistic, abstract and lyrical. Art collectors interested in lyrical abstraction, abstract expressionist, and essentially romantic art, are likely to find my paintings an interesting and exciting addition to their art collection.
I am a versatile, innovative, self-representing artist, whose aim is to ensure I continue to develop my painting practice in an innovative and pioneering way. The gamut of my creative artworking is wide, ranging from poetry, accessible open edition digital prints, new media, and sculpture. It’s my belief that this openness helps to keep the trajectory of my output dynamic and progressive.
I hope to add to the number of people who value, collect, and develop an interest in my paintings and to thereby sustain and develop my practice over many years.
I’ve been exhibiting my art for over ten years now, mostly in the UK. My artwork has been shown in over 90 exhibitions of many kinds. My artwork appeals to the aesthetic and emotional discernment of many, and has been displayed in many art galleries including the Dulwich Picture Gallery, Pallant House Gallery, the Stanley Picker Gallery, and Kingston Museum.
My artwork has been included in several academic projects and and publications including “Speaking Out – Women Recovering from the Trauma of Violence” by Nicole Fayard in 2014 and the ongoing “Recovery” Exhibition project – Institute Of Mental Health/City Arts, Nottingham University, also in 2014
While my romantic, lyrical, expressionistic, abstract paintings offer a contemplative space free from cares and concerns, other strands of my practice engage with subjects ranging from violence, trauma recovery, psychoanalysis, and mental health.
Design and Artists Copyright Society DACS 2022 info
Do you need a licence to use one of my images?
I’m a member of the Design and Artists Copyright Society, (DACS) and my digital images are licensable via DACS.
Please contact me in the first instance with your enquiry. I’m flexible about fees, which are based on the industry standard, but negotiable. NOTE :All fees cited by the Design and Artists Copyright Society are proposed; not set in stone; and depending on circumstances, budgets, the nature of your project etc I can be flexible.
To get an idea of the industry standard fees for an image licence take a look at the Design and Artists Copyright Society Information page:
https://www.dacs.org.uk/licensing-works
You are of course able to simply fill out an image licence request via the Design and Artists Copyright Society form here too if preferred:
https://www.dacs.org.uk/licensing-works
The Design and Artists Copyright Society is an informative website and a good introduction to the process of licensing an art image for anyone seeking an image to use who is not familiar with the process, what information is needed, etc.
I am also happy to help you personally though as well, and have an extremely large archive of digital art images so do feel free to contact me directly and give me an idea of your project, intended use, and requirements.
Remember..
DACS will automatically propose a licensing fee in line with the industry standard. However, please note, this is a negotiable fee. I am happy to be flexible about the initial fee proposed, and it’s not a problem if the initially proposed fee is outside your budget.
It works like this…
Administration of the licensing process is facilitated through the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), who liaise between us with respect to the exact fee agreed. Depending on circumstances and the nature of your project, I can usually offer fee reductions for a certain percentage of licensing arrangements.
If you decide you want to use their online form, then you need to attach the low resolution image of my artwork which you have found on the internet, they will know which image you seek permission for.
As I’ve said, you can also contact me informally, in the first instance if you wish to, of course. Any formal arrangements will need to be made through the Designer and Artists’ Copyright Society, but I can often offer the opportunity to alter images, for example, putting in different aspect ratios or colourways, so it’s really helpful to communicate with designers and clients first with respect to the actual image required.
So, feel free to contact me. I will also be able to let you know the maximum size the digital image is available at. If you then wish to licence the artwork image, you would then contact the Design and Artist Copyright Society to arrange the licencing agreement according to your requirements. Once paid and agreed, I then supply the high resolution image directly to you.
General Info on Redbubble.com
Help with buying prints, soft furnishings, home decor and other merchandise for the home from redbubble.com
Redbubble are a “print on demand” site which I upload selected artworks up onto, meaning the products and prints can be manufactured by Redbubble and orders fulfilled directly by them.
There are thousands of artists on there, so it can be tricky to locate my specific art prints unless you have a link or the full artwork title.
So if you want to order anything with my art and design on, and are having difficulty locating it on redbubble, please do contact me directly via my blog with a screenshot of what you have seen and/or it’s full title, and I will locate it for you and send you the link.
Putting the full title in Google within speech marks also usually brings the specific artwork up, particularly if you include the “by Jenny Meehan” to it. Redbubble also have an internal search engine but as I have TWO redbubble profiles, using Google is better.
Contact Jenny Meehan UK Artist Designer
I’m trying to remember to insert contact forms regularly in my blog posts! Do please follow me on WordPress and if you want to be put on my mailing list then let me know! I only send out a maximum of TWO artist newsletters each year!
Jenny Meehan - Art Journal 