The world is a fourfold --Earth, Sky, Mortals, Divinities-- to which we belong. It is only within this fourfold that we can be. Our most basic feeling is that of belonging. My vocation, painting, puts me in touch with the natural world, and through this I experience the feeling of belonging. Many other kinds of vocations also provide this same feeling of love for the earth and belonging. It is a moot point what this "in touch" means, but presumably many people are "in touch" with nature.
The feeling of belonging to earth, sky, mortals, divinities (the fourfold) is what I experience as I paint. And as I step back to view my painting, if an impression of the fourfold is present, I am pleased because I have embodied it in paint.
One day a young woman told me that it makes her feel so good to catch a glimpse of the beautiful day put into a little picture which rests on the window sill in her kitchen. Martin Heidegger's poem holds the feeling of belonging and which has been at the core of my work from the very beginning.
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Forest spread Brooks plunge Rocks persist Mist diffuses Meadows wait Springs well Winds dwell Blessing muses |
August 22 at the 
JazzTalk
