Stories to self

Telephone 11x14 watercolour & gloss varnish on papered board

Telephone 11×14, watercolour & gloss varnish on papered board

Sometimes I find myself trying to paint a story. Slogging though the details of the image, the narrative elements, I end up simply irritated. I’d rather be reading the words. In Telephone, I wanted the pay phone to be saying, “give up, stop while you’re ahead, end of story, leave.”

Everywhere I go I’m bothered by the peripheral sight of people nervously fondling their phones, checking for messages, holding off just…. 10 more seconds before checking again. What are they hoping to read?

pearcey_d_Safety

Stories shape us and we shape them. It’s a fine (im)balance. The words we speak out, and the ones we let in, all create a personal narrative that either helps us or hinders us. Congruence and incongruence (Carl Rogers).

pearcey_d_Shattered

Feeling safe comes when reality doesn’t threaten self-concept.

pearcey_d_Exit

What if the word Exit appears on a locked door? Memories shape our stories, but our stories can also shape memory. We are not hostages to our own plot lines; editing and even grand revisions can occur. But keep the red pencil of reality handy.

pearcey_d_BirdPhone

Don’t let the little birds tell you everything.