Alchemy and Calendrical Art

Introduction

I think the soul paints itself transforming.  I work with alchemy and the eight transitions point in the calendar year as a way of working attentively with the soul/psyche’s unfolding.  The calendar year begins and ends with the darkness of winter; a spiral of change.  Alchemy begins with the emergence of the Prima Materia, the brightest, blackest, most alive matter, and ends with the creation of the Philosophers’ Stone (Lapis Philosophorum).  The stone; a powder, a tincture, perhaps the Prima Materia itself, is, amongst other things, referred to as Lapis Occultus and Arcanum (mystery, deep secret, elixir, secret remedy).  The transition points -  the Celtic cross quarter days, the solstices and equinoxes – prepare for soul for what lies ahead.  Once manifested, the ripened stone then transforms through four seasons; participating in calendrical processes and relations of gestation, birth, growth, blossoming, fading, dying, absence, emptiness and birth again. This is what I paint.  Each year I work with similar material but from different perspectives and sometimes with new understanding.

Calendrical Art

Calendrical Art is the name that I have given to a way of making art that is sensitive to the unfolding of the calendar year.  I think of it as an intuitive way of working that’s in tune with the dynamic patterns, energies and qualities of the seasons. This Calendrical approach, is inspired by Anglo-Saxon and Celtic festivals: the solstices and equinoxes (quarter days) of te Anglo-Saxons and the fire festivals of the Celts (cross quarter days) celebrated in November, February, May and August.

The Calendric Circle

I find that it’s useful to find ways of visualising the movement through the calendar year in diagramatic and symbolic form, and I often begin with a circle. The Calendric Circle