Claire, my favorite literary architect! I love how you framed this - because, of course, framing is everything. The way we place images, people, and even opinions next to each other completely changes how we experience them. Have you ever noticed how some books just have to be read in a certain order for them to make sense, even if they’re not a series? Or how two songs, back to back, create a feeling that neither would on its own? What’s something you’ve seen or read that changed its meaning because of how it was placed in your life?
Yess! You’ve just reminded me of something I was thinking about. Albums. Remember buying one and flicking through each of the pages in the booklet? Songs running from one to the other. Collections. I love a collection.
Now I’m excited. All dressed up and nowhere to go.
KZ, you are a thief! Every time I read your posts you steal my attention. No, scratch that. You take my interest captive - and I’m always so pleased when you do. It’s like Stockholm syndrome for readers.
What’s so clever about this piece is how you subtly play with space in the writing itself. Exhibit A: the first 4 lines - two pairs of two lines that are almost perfectly symmetrical. Exhibit B: the two five-line paragraphs that book-end the Van Gogh paintings that you arranged with one painting-width between them - again, pretty much symmetrical.
I also loved your analysis of the two paintings. It’s incredible when you see them together. Or apart. Or slightly further apart. And so beautiful the analogy you draw with human relationships. Perhaps in our keenness to experience our energy completely intertwining with someone else’s, we can forget the value of entering into balanced dialogue, of our distinct characters echoing each other’s rhythms, or simply standing as two individuals in command of our own orbits.
Looking forward to reading this piece’s twin star.
Simon, you're like a detective of writing structures - and, like any great thief, I’ll take that without guilt. If I’ve committed reader Stockholm syndrome, then you, sir, are my literary accomplice, always offering the perfect getaway vehicle of metaphor. You caught my little game with space in the writing, too - I like to think of it like a secret message hidden in the brushstrokes of a painting. Also your comment (because you're the mixtape expert) made me think of how two songs, back to back, on mixtapes create a feeling that neither would on its own.
The sketch drawings are impeccable! -Van Gogh maybe
Loved the build up in this piece from potential art heist to analyzing space in art, and finally connecting it largely to the world and our capacity for love. This line “as if there's only one way for a heart to speak to a heart” really caught my eye. As someone who loves art curation (and Van Gogh, fellow Aries🤧), everyone approaches curating so differently—the same as we do with love. Doesn’t make each decision of order and distance less beautiful or transformative, and I think you do an amazing job highlighting the effectiveness of each shift.
Ahh, this is one of those essays I’m gonna always think about and refer back to isn’t it?
A'Daja - your insight about art curation and love being similarly nuanced is brilliant! I'm curious - as a fellow Aries and art lover, what's the most unexpected connection you've ever discovered between two seemingly unrelated pieces of art? Sounds like you've got a keen eye for those subtle resonances fr!
I never thought to consider this, the “unexpected” nature of piecing two very different things together. I’ve sort of gone at things with an open mind and found these “ah hah” moments when they slide into place, but it’s always more like fixing up a puzzle piece than forcing two things into dialogue. They fit because they’re meant to and it’s not unexpected, it’s just nice to witness.
But…to give an example of a recent digital curation I did on the topic of freedom I focused on photographs (and a couple of paintings). There is this image taken by Rafael Moura titled “Wayan and Made” of these two young boys from Bali just playing in the ocean at Padang Padang beach, spewing water from their mouths into the air. It’s very playful and the shot is from right above the water so we see nothing but the waves, their shoulders stretching up from the water and their faces of course, and the sky. It’s also a grayscale image (so no color, but the energy and movement of the piece is there).
There is this other image taken by Jeremy Snell titled “Boys of Volta #3” for a series he did surrounding child labor in Ghana. In the shot a little boy sits in Lake Volta in Ghana, perfectly still and looking off to the side, his shoulders sort of drawn in as if he’s cold. The photograph is taken right above the water, so you can see the stillness of the lake, the boy’s shoulders floating above the waterline and his face turned to the side, and the sky. There is color here but the image is very dark and dull—the colors limited to a muddy green-blue mixture and the dark tone of the boy’s skin.
On their own they’re two vastly different images talking about/showing about two vastly different things. One is the playfulness of two young boys from Indonesia. The other is the coldness and cruelty of child labor in Ghana. But in my exploration of what freedom means they become this discussion of what it means to be truly free. Water/ocean was a big motif for me (thinking about the movement and enslavement of people across the water). The ocean is this very destructive and violent thing, but yet these two boys are playing so freely and happily in it. While lakes are often these still bodies of water (I grew up visiting my local lake and having fun with family there and splashing about) that are meant to produce some sense of calm and yet it’s so quiet and cold, almost as if the boy is trapped.
The waters and sky on each are so vast, taking up much of the composition. And the photos themselves are so eerily similar in the ways they handle color (or lack thereof) and the angle of the shots, and the vastness of the water and sky on each taking up so much of the composition. But energetically they feel like total opposites. (I wish I could pin the images here😭)
I want to do more little digital art curations in the future, and your piece reminded me of my love for it. If you’re interested in actually seeing it I can try to post them here to substack at some point (they’re on my TikTok @chan.trell as well)
Many teachings end up with this ultimate test — seeing the vessel through the content. 🫙
Feeling that we are the content is considered a blasphemy in modern societies, but it’s also true. And space between us, things we don’t do and don’t see, create the world as much as the actions and objects.
This article showed up in the feed recently. This likely means that others on this app measure the space to find what it means. 📏
Wild Pacific, your comment is its own meditation on space - it made me pause, which feels like the highest compliment given the topic. That Miyazaki article is a gem - he understands how silence and stillness shape meaning just as much as motion does.
I also love what you said about how what we don’t do and don’t see shapes our world just as much as what we engage with. What moments of silence or emptiness have been most powerful in your life? How do you experience those in-between spaces?
Rose, you caught me - I went all in for the bit. When the pursuit of understanding calls, even my hairline isn’t safe. 😂 The only solace I tell myself is that creativity looks weird from the outside. I'm wondering - what's the strangest thing you've done in pursuit of understanding something deeply?
Kwaku! If I’ve earned a chef’s kiss from you, then my work here is done. Relationships, like food, are all about seasoning and balance, don’t you think? Too much space, and the flavor disappears. Too little, and it’s overwhelming. Curious - what’s a relationship in your life that has shifted in meaning just because the distance changed?
I love this unique insight into space and art and love 😍 As a person in a relationship, I do need all those varying degrees of space, and I give it freely as well. Very well articulated. I will be thinking of this all day.
That's exactly what I hope my writing would do - inspire a little change in people and make people feel heard in this noisy world. I feel motivated to write more now!
Just loved this! I have never thought of space in this way, but WOW, so powerful. And to have it shown visually, for me as a visual person, brought so much clarity. Love it!
Thank you for your kind words - it’s always a joy to hear when an idea resonates so deeply. Space, whether in art or relationships, is indeed a powerful force, one that often goes unnoticed until we pause to consider its role in shaping our experiences.
Me too - a visual person. Being a visual person makes me see how art has unique ability to make abstract concepts tangible, to show us what we feel but struggle to articulate.
I’m so glad this visual exploration brought you clarity.
Van Gogh just happens to be my favorite and Starry Night well that is my Numero Uno. I love those two pieces of art and they do play well off each other. Many of his paintings play off one another and I believe he did that deliberately. The Cypress Paintings were all done when he was in Saint Paul Asylum in Saint Rémy, France. They all seem to connect in some way though, it's fascinating.
As far as spaces go, well there's a whole lot of those and we could measure the tiniest ones to the most gigantic. Sometimes it seems we never have enough in the largest of spaces or we can't get things close enough in the tiniest of spaces, but it's all about perception and perspective.
Relationships or as I sometimes refer to them; relationslips. Just like every living microorganism on this planet; they need to be fed, nurtured, given love, and space to grow. Yes, they also need to be stretched, poked, prodded, provoked, etc otherwise you'll never know the reactions of yourself or the person you're with. I refer to 'relationslips' as those people that we know we have NO business getting involved with in the first place because we already know that they are no good for us in any way physically, mentally, emotionally, or sexually. They are just Bad News!!! There are those times when we just want that familiar Bad News even though we know it's no good for us. UGH please just one night that's it...Yep heard that one...So the stories go...
I love your writings...I could write back for days lol
Raven, your term "relationslips" is devastatingly brilliant! It captures how we sometimes sail into emotional territories we know are treacherous... And relationships as living organisms needing nurturing, stretching, and provocative interaction? That mirrors Van Gogh's own artistic process of constant tension and release.
I'm struck by your raw honesty about the magnetic pull of "Bad News" relationships as well - what do you think creates that gravitational force that draws us back to patterns we intellectually know are harmful? You seem to suggest that we're not just passive recipients of relationship dynamics, but active participants in a complex dance of distance and proximity.
Is it a fortunate or unfortunate fate that I grew up in an abusive household? I spent my early childhood watching my father physically & verbally abuse my mother up until I was 9 years old (physically), 11 years old (verbally). I became the 'caretaker' for my mother despite my young age (3) in order to prevent some of the physical, when she was laid up in bed due to injuries and he would come home for lunch; peanut butter sandwiches were easy to make.
Even when she got away from him the second time around, she ended up with someone that was also abusive, mentally, emotionally and verbally towards both of us and physically towards me. Again she was too insecure and afraid to do anything about it. I just hid and rebelled every chance I had. I spent every chance I had away from the house whether it was at the hospital volunteering, at school, my Aunts house with my cousins, the beach to center myself, or with friends (good or bad).
I loved the "Good Guy" relationships but I would sabotage those because "I didn't deserve them". I'd go for the "Bad News" relationships because I knew my mother wouldn't approve and it would aggravate her to no end. It was an 'attention seeking' thing for me. It eventually became like an addiction. I had to heal my past before I could deal with my present and future. Once I started that and decided not to get involved with anyone and work on me was when my soulmate walked into my life. It was the fairytale that every little girl dreams of except I lost him in June of 2011. He was killed on his way to work. I've tried to be in relationships since but I just can't do it. My heart will always belong to him and I will always compare every person to him, it's not fair to them. So I just don't get involved anymore.
The dynamics of relationships can be tricky, they are complex because you need to be able to always give just as much as you take and sometimes it's more or less of one than the other depending on the circumstances. There were times even in my wonderful marriage that certain things would trigger from my past and it had nothing to do with him. It would be a phrase or a physical moment that was innocent but for me it was painful. I would have to walk away and take a breather to gather my thoughts and regroup so that I could explain what happened. Thankfully he already knew and understood my past so it was expected that this would happen from time to time. That's part of the "dance of distance and proximity", you have to allow yourself to be not only honest but vulnerable. Being vulnerable isn't always as easy as being honest, it's a different kind of honesty. If you look through Van Gogh's paintings, he had not only honesty, he had vulnerability and that vulnerability is what makes him as incredible as he is. I don't know how familiar with sculptures and their artists. One in particular that I have been infatuated with for years is Camille Claudel. She began studying under Rodin as a child; he had portrayed some of her sculptures as his own. It's quite the entanglement of how the love of art can become entwined in a relationship that is not only forbidden but unhealthy and where it can lead.
***I really didn't intend on writing half a book but you got my thought processes going again lol
William, if MoMA ever makes space for my scribbles, I owe you a front-row seat. 😆 I love that you picked up on how space itself is a relationship - between objects, between people, between ideas. Has there been an instance where distance (literal or emotional) made you see something in a new way? I'm always collecting these moments.
Hey Let's make it happen. I mean MoMA does have modern in its name. I would love front row seat. I prefer the end seat though. More leg room. =P
It's really interesting how space can be a helpful or harmful tool. I used to live in San Francisco and loved the tight spaces of the city. Now that I'm in Sacramento, I appreciate the freedom to move.
Oh my. You are one clever and captivating writer, Kuriakin! You remind me of Jesus: He took everyday items (not that Van Gogh is every day, mind you) and told nuanced and meaningful stories with them (think vines and branches). Anyway, Jesus' stories keep me thinking long after my eyes leave the page. So do yours...Brilliant. 👏🏻
Jeanie, you just made my day - and probably my whole month. 🙌 The way Jesus used everyday objects to reveal profound truths has always fascinated me. There’s something sacred about seeing the infinite in the ordinary. What’s an everyday object in your life that holds a deeper meaning than it seems?
I thought it was going to go the way of The Thomas Crown Affair but glad it didn't 😂 I'll never take spaces for granted again. Another stellar piece...
Dipankar, I love that this piece made you rethink space. Here’s the thing: life’s all about the spaces - between art, between people, between ideas.
So here’s my challenge to you: go find a space today - between two buildings, two songs, two people - and really look at it. See what story it’s telling. Then come back and tell me what you found.
P.S. If you ever do pull off a Thomas Crown-style heist, I want in. 😉
Brigitte! I love that this analogy resonated with you. Distance doesn’t just separate; it transforms, right? It shifts meaning, deepens some things, erodes others. Have you ever had a connection that became more meaningful because of distance rather than despite it?
You make me feel seen Brigitte! I was just browsing Tiktok - yes I still do that - and seeing everyone insisting on their opinion being the right one...
You beautifully depicted that different spaces stand for different needs and hold a different energy in everything, even relationships. Our interpretation of said spaces, particularly in relationships, is what creates art or crime. It all depends of the context and perspective, as you brilliantly illustrated with your words. Love this piece and the priceless drawing!
Isa, I love how you took this further - spaces don’t just hold different energies; they shape the entire story. Whether something becomes art or crime, poetry or pain, all depends on perspective. Have you ever had a moment where a shift in perspective completely changed how you understood a relationship?
Absolutely!! And what a shift it has brought. When I started to see the masculine and the feminine as complementary instead of two different parties at war, my relationship with my man became so much deeper and what was already good was brought to a whole new level of reverence, love, understanding and connection. It was an energetic upgrade like nothing else. I could really see him, his love, and allow myself to be touched by, and receive, his love way more deeply. It's like everything opened all at once.
This is such an underrated perspective. Social media are pushing that certain opinions (often bringing down the opposite gender) are the right one and people just take them all in.
You're right, certain ideologies and beliefs are pushed onto us, often since a very young age, and we have no idea what a different perspective feels like. Of course, social media makes it way worse, because we don't have time to assess or reflect about what we're been fed, we're bombarded. That's the crux of the matter. Never reassessing what we believe in and asking ourselves if it really makes sense.
Corwin, ‘scrumptious’ might be the best word I’ve ever heard to describe notebook drawings. 😂 I’m stealing that.
I love the way you apply spaces to thoughts, and even sleep. They're so spot on. It’s like you’re saying, ‘Hey, even life needs room to breathe,’ and I couldn’t agree more.
And measuring those gaps between paintings - that’s the kind of playful curiosity I live for. It’s those little acts of danger - like getting escorted out of MoMA - that make life interesting.
Here's to noticing spaces and the magic they bring to us.
Yes!! This is wonderful. Love love the connection to distance and relationships. Perspective is a wonderful thing.
The framing of images, buildings, opinions and people are oh so important in how we see them.
Great work from my favourite art criminal, turned out beautifuflly.
Claire, my favorite literary architect! I love how you framed this - because, of course, framing is everything. The way we place images, people, and even opinions next to each other completely changes how we experience them. Have you ever noticed how some books just have to be read in a certain order for them to make sense, even if they’re not a series? Or how two songs, back to back, create a feeling that neither would on its own? What’s something you’ve seen or read that changed its meaning because of how it was placed in your life?
Yess! You’ve just reminded me of something I was thinking about. Albums. Remember buying one and flicking through each of the pages in the booklet? Songs running from one to the other. Collections. I love a collection.
Now I’m excited. All dressed up and nowhere to go.
Yes! My first was BSB's casette album. Heard casette albums are making a comeback. So you can go to a record store near you 💀
KZ, you are a thief! Every time I read your posts you steal my attention. No, scratch that. You take my interest captive - and I’m always so pleased when you do. It’s like Stockholm syndrome for readers.
What’s so clever about this piece is how you subtly play with space in the writing itself. Exhibit A: the first 4 lines - two pairs of two lines that are almost perfectly symmetrical. Exhibit B: the two five-line paragraphs that book-end the Van Gogh paintings that you arranged with one painting-width between them - again, pretty much symmetrical.
I also loved your analysis of the two paintings. It’s incredible when you see them together. Or apart. Or slightly further apart. And so beautiful the analogy you draw with human relationships. Perhaps in our keenness to experience our energy completely intertwining with someone else’s, we can forget the value of entering into balanced dialogue, of our distinct characters echoing each other’s rhythms, or simply standing as two individuals in command of our own orbits.
Looking forward to reading this piece’s twin star.
Simon, you're like a detective of writing structures - and, like any great thief, I’ll take that without guilt. If I’ve committed reader Stockholm syndrome, then you, sir, are my literary accomplice, always offering the perfect getaway vehicle of metaphor. You caught my little game with space in the writing, too - I like to think of it like a secret message hidden in the brushstrokes of a painting. Also your comment (because you're the mixtape expert) made me think of how two songs, back to back, on mixtapes create a feeling that neither would on its own.
The sketch drawings are impeccable! -Van Gogh maybe
Loved the build up in this piece from potential art heist to analyzing space in art, and finally connecting it largely to the world and our capacity for love. This line “as if there's only one way for a heart to speak to a heart” really caught my eye. As someone who loves art curation (and Van Gogh, fellow Aries🤧), everyone approaches curating so differently—the same as we do with love. Doesn’t make each decision of order and distance less beautiful or transformative, and I think you do an amazing job highlighting the effectiveness of each shift.
Ahh, this is one of those essays I’m gonna always think about and refer back to isn’t it?
A'Daja - your insight about art curation and love being similarly nuanced is brilliant! I'm curious - as a fellow Aries and art lover, what's the most unexpected connection you've ever discovered between two seemingly unrelated pieces of art? Sounds like you've got a keen eye for those subtle resonances fr!
I never thought to consider this, the “unexpected” nature of piecing two very different things together. I’ve sort of gone at things with an open mind and found these “ah hah” moments when they slide into place, but it’s always more like fixing up a puzzle piece than forcing two things into dialogue. They fit because they’re meant to and it’s not unexpected, it’s just nice to witness.
But…to give an example of a recent digital curation I did on the topic of freedom I focused on photographs (and a couple of paintings). There is this image taken by Rafael Moura titled “Wayan and Made” of these two young boys from Bali just playing in the ocean at Padang Padang beach, spewing water from their mouths into the air. It’s very playful and the shot is from right above the water so we see nothing but the waves, their shoulders stretching up from the water and their faces of course, and the sky. It’s also a grayscale image (so no color, but the energy and movement of the piece is there).
There is this other image taken by Jeremy Snell titled “Boys of Volta #3” for a series he did surrounding child labor in Ghana. In the shot a little boy sits in Lake Volta in Ghana, perfectly still and looking off to the side, his shoulders sort of drawn in as if he’s cold. The photograph is taken right above the water, so you can see the stillness of the lake, the boy’s shoulders floating above the waterline and his face turned to the side, and the sky. There is color here but the image is very dark and dull—the colors limited to a muddy green-blue mixture and the dark tone of the boy’s skin.
On their own they’re two vastly different images talking about/showing about two vastly different things. One is the playfulness of two young boys from Indonesia. The other is the coldness and cruelty of child labor in Ghana. But in my exploration of what freedom means they become this discussion of what it means to be truly free. Water/ocean was a big motif for me (thinking about the movement and enslavement of people across the water). The ocean is this very destructive and violent thing, but yet these two boys are playing so freely and happily in it. While lakes are often these still bodies of water (I grew up visiting my local lake and having fun with family there and splashing about) that are meant to produce some sense of calm and yet it’s so quiet and cold, almost as if the boy is trapped.
The waters and sky on each are so vast, taking up much of the composition. And the photos themselves are so eerily similar in the ways they handle color (or lack thereof) and the angle of the shots, and the vastness of the water and sky on each taking up so much of the composition. But energetically they feel like total opposites. (I wish I could pin the images here😭)
I want to do more little digital art curations in the future, and your piece reminded me of my love for it. If you’re interested in actually seeing it I can try to post them here to substack at some point (they’re on my TikTok @chan.trell as well)
Beautiful.
Space is indeed the final frontier. 🚀
Many teachings end up with this ultimate test — seeing the vessel through the content. 🫙
Feeling that we are the content is considered a blasphemy in modern societies, but it’s also true. And space between us, things we don’t do and don’t see, create the world as much as the actions and objects.
This article showed up in the feed recently. This likely means that others on this app measure the space to find what it means. 📏
https://screencraft.org/blog/hayao-miyazaki-says-ma-is-an-essential-storytelling-tool/
Wild Pacific, your comment is its own meditation on space - it made me pause, which feels like the highest compliment given the topic. That Miyazaki article is a gem - he understands how silence and stillness shape meaning just as much as motion does.
I also love what you said about how what we don’t do and don’t see shapes our world just as much as what we engage with. What moments of silence or emptiness have been most powerful in your life? How do you experience those in-between spaces?
So committed to the quest Kuriakin, that you even wore a bald cap 😮 I hope to one day be as talented as you 🙇♀️
Rose, you caught me - I went all in for the bit. When the pursuit of understanding calls, even my hairline isn’t safe. 😂 The only solace I tell myself is that creativity looks weird from the outside. I'm wondering - what's the strangest thing you've done in pursuit of understanding something deeply?
The way you crafted that analogy and drew the parallels with distance in relationships?! *chef’s kiss*
Kwaku! If I’ve earned a chef’s kiss from you, then my work here is done. Relationships, like food, are all about seasoning and balance, don’t you think? Too much space, and the flavor disappears. Too little, and it’s overwhelming. Curious - what’s a relationship in your life that has shifted in meaning just because the distance changed?
I love this unique insight into space and art and love 😍 As a person in a relationship, I do need all those varying degrees of space, and I give it freely as well. Very well articulated. I will be thinking of this all day.
That's exactly what I hope my writing would do - inspire a little change in people and make people feel heard in this noisy world. I feel motivated to write more now!
Just loved this! I have never thought of space in this way, but WOW, so powerful. And to have it shown visually, for me as a visual person, brought so much clarity. Love it!
Thank you for your kind words - it’s always a joy to hear when an idea resonates so deeply. Space, whether in art or relationships, is indeed a powerful force, one that often goes unnoticed until we pause to consider its role in shaping our experiences.
Me too - a visual person. Being a visual person makes me see how art has unique ability to make abstract concepts tangible, to show us what we feel but struggle to articulate.
I’m so glad this visual exploration brought you clarity.
Van Gogh just happens to be my favorite and Starry Night well that is my Numero Uno. I love those two pieces of art and they do play well off each other. Many of his paintings play off one another and I believe he did that deliberately. The Cypress Paintings were all done when he was in Saint Paul Asylum in Saint Rémy, France. They all seem to connect in some way though, it's fascinating.
As far as spaces go, well there's a whole lot of those and we could measure the tiniest ones to the most gigantic. Sometimes it seems we never have enough in the largest of spaces or we can't get things close enough in the tiniest of spaces, but it's all about perception and perspective.
Relationships or as I sometimes refer to them; relationslips. Just like every living microorganism on this planet; they need to be fed, nurtured, given love, and space to grow. Yes, they also need to be stretched, poked, prodded, provoked, etc otherwise you'll never know the reactions of yourself or the person you're with. I refer to 'relationslips' as those people that we know we have NO business getting involved with in the first place because we already know that they are no good for us in any way physically, mentally, emotionally, or sexually. They are just Bad News!!! There are those times when we just want that familiar Bad News even though we know it's no good for us. UGH please just one night that's it...Yep heard that one...So the stories go...
I love your writings...I could write back for days lol
Raven, your term "relationslips" is devastatingly brilliant! It captures how we sometimes sail into emotional territories we know are treacherous... And relationships as living organisms needing nurturing, stretching, and provocative interaction? That mirrors Van Gogh's own artistic process of constant tension and release.
I'm struck by your raw honesty about the magnetic pull of "Bad News" relationships as well - what do you think creates that gravitational force that draws us back to patterns we intellectually know are harmful? You seem to suggest that we're not just passive recipients of relationship dynamics, but active participants in a complex dance of distance and proximity.
I really love how thoughtful your comment is.
Is it a fortunate or unfortunate fate that I grew up in an abusive household? I spent my early childhood watching my father physically & verbally abuse my mother up until I was 9 years old (physically), 11 years old (verbally). I became the 'caretaker' for my mother despite my young age (3) in order to prevent some of the physical, when she was laid up in bed due to injuries and he would come home for lunch; peanut butter sandwiches were easy to make.
Even when she got away from him the second time around, she ended up with someone that was also abusive, mentally, emotionally and verbally towards both of us and physically towards me. Again she was too insecure and afraid to do anything about it. I just hid and rebelled every chance I had. I spent every chance I had away from the house whether it was at the hospital volunteering, at school, my Aunts house with my cousins, the beach to center myself, or with friends (good or bad).
I loved the "Good Guy" relationships but I would sabotage those because "I didn't deserve them". I'd go for the "Bad News" relationships because I knew my mother wouldn't approve and it would aggravate her to no end. It was an 'attention seeking' thing for me. It eventually became like an addiction. I had to heal my past before I could deal with my present and future. Once I started that and decided not to get involved with anyone and work on me was when my soulmate walked into my life. It was the fairytale that every little girl dreams of except I lost him in June of 2011. He was killed on his way to work. I've tried to be in relationships since but I just can't do it. My heart will always belong to him and I will always compare every person to him, it's not fair to them. So I just don't get involved anymore.
The dynamics of relationships can be tricky, they are complex because you need to be able to always give just as much as you take and sometimes it's more or less of one than the other depending on the circumstances. There were times even in my wonderful marriage that certain things would trigger from my past and it had nothing to do with him. It would be a phrase or a physical moment that was innocent but for me it was painful. I would have to walk away and take a breather to gather my thoughts and regroup so that I could explain what happened. Thankfully he already knew and understood my past so it was expected that this would happen from time to time. That's part of the "dance of distance and proximity", you have to allow yourself to be not only honest but vulnerable. Being vulnerable isn't always as easy as being honest, it's a different kind of honesty. If you look through Van Gogh's paintings, he had not only honesty, he had vulnerability and that vulnerability is what makes him as incredible as he is. I don't know how familiar with sculptures and their artists. One in particular that I have been infatuated with for years is Camille Claudel. She began studying under Rodin as a child; he had portrayed some of her sculptures as his own. It's quite the entanglement of how the love of art can become entwined in a relationship that is not only forbidden but unhealthy and where it can lead.
***I really didn't intend on writing half a book but you got my thought processes going again lol
What a wonderful exploration of space and our relationship to it. Hoping that your artwork can be displayed at MoMA one day =D
William, if MoMA ever makes space for my scribbles, I owe you a front-row seat. 😆 I love that you picked up on how space itself is a relationship - between objects, between people, between ideas. Has there been an instance where distance (literal or emotional) made you see something in a new way? I'm always collecting these moments.
Hey Let's make it happen. I mean MoMA does have modern in its name. I would love front row seat. I prefer the end seat though. More leg room. =P
It's really interesting how space can be a helpful or harmful tool. I used to live in San Francisco and loved the tight spaces of the city. Now that I'm in Sacramento, I appreciate the freedom to move.
I would love to share a piece I wrote. https://thestoryofyourvoice.substack.com/p/a-slice-of-the-apple
Maybe this fits what you have in mind.
Oh my. You are one clever and captivating writer, Kuriakin! You remind me of Jesus: He took everyday items (not that Van Gogh is every day, mind you) and told nuanced and meaningful stories with them (think vines and branches). Anyway, Jesus' stories keep me thinking long after my eyes leave the page. So do yours...Brilliant. 👏🏻
Jeanie, you just made my day - and probably my whole month. 🙌 The way Jesus used everyday objects to reveal profound truths has always fascinated me. There’s something sacred about seeing the infinite in the ordinary. What’s an everyday object in your life that holds a deeper meaning than it seems?
candle=hope, light in the darkness, Jesus, relaxation, company coming, fancy dinner, a life snuffed out, another year (birthday), mood, the Way...
I thought it was going to go the way of The Thomas Crown Affair but glad it didn't 😂 I'll never take spaces for granted again. Another stellar piece...
Dipankar, I love that this piece made you rethink space. Here’s the thing: life’s all about the spaces - between art, between people, between ideas.
So here’s my challenge to you: go find a space today - between two buildings, two songs, two people - and really look at it. See what story it’s telling. Then come back and tell me what you found.
P.S. If you ever do pull off a Thomas Crown-style heist, I want in. 😉
"The key isn’t finding the right distance, but developing a taste for how connection transforms across distances."
YES! Genius analogy, it works beautifully!
Brigitte! I love that this analogy resonated with you. Distance doesn’t just separate; it transforms, right? It shifts meaning, deepens some things, erodes others. Have you ever had a connection that became more meaningful because of distance rather than despite it?
Not sure I’d say better…but different, teaching me how to be comfortable with "more space"/distance also, and in that way maybe equally meaningful.
You make me feel seen Brigitte! I was just browsing Tiktok - yes I still do that - and seeing everyone insisting on their opinion being the right one...
You beautifully depicted that different spaces stand for different needs and hold a different energy in everything, even relationships. Our interpretation of said spaces, particularly in relationships, is what creates art or crime. It all depends of the context and perspective, as you brilliantly illustrated with your words. Love this piece and the priceless drawing!
Isa, I love how you took this further - spaces don’t just hold different energies; they shape the entire story. Whether something becomes art or crime, poetry or pain, all depends on perspective. Have you ever had a moment where a shift in perspective completely changed how you understood a relationship?
Absolutely!! And what a shift it has brought. When I started to see the masculine and the feminine as complementary instead of two different parties at war, my relationship with my man became so much deeper and what was already good was brought to a whole new level of reverence, love, understanding and connection. It was an energetic upgrade like nothing else. I could really see him, his love, and allow myself to be touched by, and receive, his love way more deeply. It's like everything opened all at once.
This is such an underrated perspective. Social media are pushing that certain opinions (often bringing down the opposite gender) are the right one and people just take them all in.
You're right, certain ideologies and beliefs are pushed onto us, often since a very young age, and we have no idea what a different perspective feels like. Of course, social media makes it way worse, because we don't have time to assess or reflect about what we're been fed, we're bombarded. That's the crux of the matter. Never reassessing what we believe in and asking ourselves if it really makes sense.
You have made logical connection with the theme of space in your article.
I have realised that spacing out from myself ... works too.
Corwin, ‘scrumptious’ might be the best word I’ve ever heard to describe notebook drawings. 😂 I’m stealing that.
I love the way you apply spaces to thoughts, and even sleep. They're so spot on. It’s like you’re saying, ‘Hey, even life needs room to breathe,’ and I couldn’t agree more.
And measuring those gaps between paintings - that’s the kind of playful curiosity I live for. It’s those little acts of danger - like getting escorted out of MoMA - that make life interesting.
Here's to noticing spaces and the magic they bring to us.