I woke up one morning to find my life upside down and scattered across the floor. I decided to explore how each of us make sense of our circumstances and experiences. My featured artwork (non journal based) and reflective blog with regard to the 'Being Human' journey, in which there is wider public exploration, can…
Visual Arts Open 2022
Deeply grateful for being longlisted and shortlisted in stages one and two of the Visual Arts Open again this year. Those that go on to the final will be announced nearer the end of September and will be exhibiting in London this year. Wishing everyone well. I’m humbled for this opportunity once again. Much gratitude,…
Enough
I’m sick of this story and I rebuke the world, all of the madness…
Visual Arts Open Finalist
Visual Arts Open Call Finalist 2021 Breathe….
Update Visual Arts Open 2021
Visual Arts Open 2021 Finalist Well I am delighted to share that my piece has been selected as one of 33 final pieces out of 2,500 artist submissions. The finalists are listed here: https://www.visualartopen.com/finalists-2021. It’s official I am going to international exhibition once again. I feel honoured to have this opportunity. The winner is decided…
Grace In The Face Of Adversity
In the face of adversity Meet ‘Grace’ 84cm x 59cm (840mm x 590mm) mixed media on MDF. Throughout this blog there are themes that are beginning to clearly emerge for deeper exploration within this being human journey. This painting captures one of them, facing adversity. It is representative of a heart response to such experiences.…
Privilege
I created this piece in response to arising awareness of the inequality of privilege. I named it ‘Grief’ as this awareness holds so many stories of the effects that the creation or manifestation of privilege leaves behind in its trail. This painting is called ‘Grief’ a 91cm x 71cm (910mum x 710mum) on Canvas Mixed…
Coming Up
Not giving too much away at this point but keep a watch on this blog for what is coming up in 2021. There are a number of paintings, transformative work and participation opportunities coming up. Surprises… Preparation of a couple of surprises is underway, still working through strategy. Keeping this under the hat though, time…
VAA Exhibition Accompanying Speech
Visual Artists Association Spring Art Exhibition 2021 You are invited to attend the Spring 2021 exhibition by the Visual Artists Association (VAA) launching today. My artwork is exhibited here, you will find me in Gallery One ©️ Information below is my accompanying speech which introduces my piece above that was selected. It is called ‘Divine’:…
My Own Lockdown Experience
A personal story about lockdown in Covid-19
Thoughts On A Poem By Wayne Muller
creating an inclusive environment where we are all one in the same at the core…
Being Human In Lockdown Art Exhibition Now Live
An Art exhibition that explores being human in this moment, people’s personal global stories about their experience of Covid-19 and lockdown depicted in art and personal testimony.
Plot Twist
I had grown to have a sense of what I would really enjoy doing with whatever time I had left of this life and was aiming toward it. This has deeply and profoundly shifted, quietly, slowly, in an almost unnoticeable plot twist. I have shifted. Well whatever ‘I’ is. ‘I’ have no need to discover…
Visual Arts Association
Massive announcement!!! Tonight I was in utter surprise that my artwork was successfully selected to feature in such an international art exhibition! I’m humbled and shocked as a first timer applying to anything like this it has thrown me. I did not expect to be selected at all. The artwork selected is from ‘The…
Haiku Of Ireland
A poem by a friend of mine. I just love it and wanted to share. Can you share the whole, real you? You will find her here if you would like to read more https://www.facebook.com/haikuofireland/
Life 🌈
The Unfinished Piece
I have been working on a particular painting since 2016. I would engage and disengage…
Meaning Making
Today I was wonderfully reminded of a quote that was incorporated in an earlier post In Search of Meaning (ii), it still resonates deeply and was a delight to read once more. It is still as pertinent to this creative journey I am undertaking, so much so I wanted to share it once again. “The…
What Is It That Exists?
©️ User 326726150 · Poem - Inadvertent Incognita ©️ This poem was inspired by an interpersonal exchange this week. Inadvertent Incognita When you think, feel and know that you lived, there’s a story of what happened but nothing to prove that it did. Nothing of substance than can be touched to say for sure ‘yes’,…
Live Like You Don’t Matter
Recognize that Who you call ‘I’ Is merely a consolidation of memories And a voice of hope. ‘I’ am but an idea. Afraid of its flimsy reality and so …
The Space… Community Art Studio
I am working in partnership with the NHS to host this community art studio. The aim is to help people find the space to explore, express themselvesand grow both interpersonally and creatively.
Music
After five years of not connecting with music something has truly shifted. Music was always a go to, a place to feel and find voice for the inner world. Since diagnosis of MS in 2015 I had thought that this loss…
Covid-19 Experience
Pre Virus As you will know from previous posts I have been undergoing treatment with a chemotherapy tablet, this means that I have been sheilding. It has been 16 weeks now (4 whole months). I began ‘quarantining’ off my own back early in March (official lockdown began on the 23rd) The Virus Unbeknown to me…
Life Lessons
What life has taught me on a personal level, hoping to help you make sense of your life. Exploring the grace in being human.
Black Lives Do Matter
#blacklivesmatter movement “Beacons” song by Nik Ammar https://youtu.be/TFCeHJSe5Dc There are many conflicting understandings out there about this movement and people are battling back. Firstly I need to say I am not black, I can lay no claim to personally understanding the ingrained generations of experience that are coming into public awareness right now. I do…
Our Map?
There has been so much that has occurred since the end of last year that has deeply and profoundly affected my heart and being. I don’t want to get into detail for now but it has me thinking about our lives and when we are no longer here. Where is the evidence of our story?…
Exhibition (2019)
shown up at Shambellie House for exhibition from 15th-30th November as part of an add on to the Royal Photographic Society’s (RPS) exhibition All works on display were incredible.
The Invitation
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Awareness
Being in awareness this year
Thich Nhat Hanh
We want to understand ourselves, the world around us, and what it means to be alive on Earth. We want to discover who we really are, and we want to understand our suffering. Understanding our suffering gives rise to acceptance and love, and this is what determines our quality of life. We all need to…
Identity
Who are we?
In Search Of Meaning (ii)
Continuing searching for a sense of meaning
As You Go Through Life
~by Ella Wheeler Wilcox~ Don’t look for the flaws as you go through life; And even when you find them, It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind And look for the virtue behind them. For the cloudiest night has a hint of light Somewhere in its shadows hiding; It is better by far…
A Search for Meaning (i)
Searching for sense of meaning
The Oak Tree
~ by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr ~ A mighty wind blew night and day It stole the oak tree's leaves away Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark Until the oak was tired and stark But still the oak tree held its ground While other trees fell all around The weary wind gave up…
Taking A Step
Very recently a long time friend of mine turned up at the Community Art Studio with the above gifts. A little hand decorated box filled with some shamanic love. I have been lost for words other than thank you for some time. In this past week these have played a beautiful part in preparation for…
D-day
Finally today I begun my chemotherapy treatment. It has been a long time in the waiting, many hurdles none of my own making however the day has been and gone the first two pills taken. I have not been one for medicines as previously mentioned but I just have to believe this will make a…
Love
~ by Jeff Foster ~ Love is not a feeling. If love were a feeling, it would come and go, like in a great drama. Love is not a thought. If love were a thought, it would have an opposite. Love is too small to be contained in thought. Love is not a belief. If…
Here and Now
Loch Ness you deliver time and again, a genuinely special space. So I have had the wonderful gift of amazing profound teachings this weekend on retreat. Made deep connections with people (both here and elsewhere) Spent time contemplating and learning what this human life is and a framework from which to take forward exploration. Offerings…
Traveling
Yesterday I began travels once more, this time to attend a mini retreat up in the hills of Loch Ness, this is my favourite part of Scotland, not only the vastness of space but the concept that this loch exists as a result of a fault line where two continents meet. I had always considered…
Well…
Ok there has been a delay with regard to some treatment I was expecting to have had already for my illness. I have twice tried to come away in the past few weeks, first time I was not really in the best position to leave home and the second time I was sharing a hostel…
Poem~ The Passing Of The Lost Lands
~ by Stacie Amelia ~ An abyss falls within, an unwelcome weight, pulling down into darkness where the other lost wait. Each soul is crying in heaviness of grief, (There is hope though for that pain to fall away ...like a leaf) It takes time for each soul to find their own way out, be…
Poems by Erin Hanson
A selection of amazing, beautiful, authentic, heart true poems written by Erin Hanson
Seeds Planted
From seeds once planted So much has happened, so much experienced and processed. Life has a wonderful way of occurring regardless. I'm forever writing and rewriting this blog post and yet not publishing it. I have been in and out of heart and thought, everything keeps shifting, changing and I'm forever doing my level best…
Reflections On Ambiguity
"In transitions, we must learn to be still. Being still is, in part, about learning to be comfortable with ambiguity" ~ Janet Rebhan, Creative Options For this past while I have been considering different creative methods and trying my hand at some new approaches. I love working with clay, oil and acrylic paint and have…
Existential Beauty
This process between heart and mind can be pretty messy. I have always struggled with uncertainty and have needed things to make sense. But I have been learning these past few years that things mostly do not make sense, that there isn't always visible or easily detectable rhyme or reason. There is logic there however…
Best Laid Schemes O’ Mice An’ Men
It has been such a long time since I last posted, there have been many reasons for this not least a loss of confidence in my very being. After many attempts approaching this work I have found it challenging as it is asking me to both look deeper into human nature and therefore also deeper…
When Great Trees Fall
Just a share from a moments reflection on the experience of emotion. What is emotion? What does it mean? Are there key experiences that each of us share even if the way in which each of us make sense of our feelings differs? The offer of a poem and a quote. Poem This beautiful poem…
Potential?
After much contemplation I am thinking (not 100% certain just yet) of focusing on 'emotion' as the theme to explore this year or at least emotion being a big part of the theme. Emotion, we all experience it; we feel it, express it, embrace it, hide from it, distract from it by engaging in another form…
Poem – The Thief in the Night
~ by Stacie Amelia ~ Outside grew a storm in the midst of the night It's arrival insidious, its impact a fright. It grew above so selfish, so dark It's rain dampened all connection and spark. Quietly in sleep it let itself in Came in the night carrying sacks full of sin. Slowly pouring its…
For Now
It has been a while since I have posted. I have been quietly working away and feeling the enormity of the task I have set myself in exploring this art project. I need time, however, to integrate all of what has arisen so far and to be realistic in recognising that it is more sensible…
Thich Nhat Hanh
We want to understand ourselves, the world around us, and what it means to be alive on Earth. We want to discover who we really are, and we want to understand our suffering. Understanding our suffering gives rise to acceptance and love, and this is what determines our quality of life. We all need to…
The Heart Of It
Emotion It seems more often of late that wherever I turn I find a heart offering from the universe. It got me thinking about emotion, what is it? How does it affect us? How does one capture and express it? Dictionary definition Emotion is a strong feeling deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with…
Poem – The Thief in the Night
~ by Stacie Amelia ~ Outside grew a storm in the midst of the night It's arrival insidious, its impact a fright. It grew above so selfish, so dark It's rain dampened all connection and spark. Quietly in sleep it let itself in Came in the night carrying sacks full of sin. Slowly pouring its…
Vulnerability
Part of my life turning upside down was learning I have both a rare health condition called Transverse Myelitis as well as Multiple Sclerosis. Neither condition can be cured, the Multiple Sclerosis may or may not get worse and I now need to help sustain my current health by injecting medication. Having been someone whom…
Evolution Through Time
In earlier posts I have found myself contemplating the concept of time, that there has been a past which isn't happening now whilst simultaneously being aware that there is a moving on from right now, that there is no static. People, circumstances, objects all change form, nothing is as it was and nothing will stay…
In Search Of Meaning (ii)
Why here? Why now? Why at all? This blog post is more on a personal note than the others. It is more a pulling together of everything to date so I can consciously move forward into a fuller focus and commitment to this work. I hope naturally though that the posts that follow are more…
Adversity and When Enough Is Enough
I have had to hold and work with a lot in this life, as too have so many others. There comes a point where we say enough! When we begin to chose what is important to our hearts, we chose to work with and through what matters most dearly at the end of the day.…
In The Still Moments
In the still moments I find I am sitting with much grief. Grief has to be the most painful emotional experience of them all, feeling attachment to something we hold dear whilst simultaneously knowing we can not be connected to that anymore. The swirl fleeting between feeling the yearning for and the feeling of loss,…
Entertaining Angels Unawares
On my journey I was sat next to an interesting lady of 82. Quite a character and happy to chat. Often she chose poetry or phrases from the bible to convey her sense of meaning which was quite endearing. We talked about health, family, love, youth, art... Moral code again. The older lady , we…
Connection
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking out new landscapes but in having new eyes.” ~ Marcel Proust This first trip has two purposes, to explore the 'beingness' of humanity and also to find some space within myself to be with my own soul and take the trip I was meant to take…
Lewis, Harris, the open road and I
Travel around the islands was a challenge so in day two I hired a car and the choice offered vast opportunity. The views along each road were breathtaking! The journey between Lewis & Harris had me driving high up in some very large hills and the were hills rolling for miles. I managed to spend…
All Aboard To Lewis and Harris
Gorgeous day to have been on a ferry, managed to get some amazing photos of mainland Scotland. Incredibly stunning! To anyone whom hasn't been up to the very north of Scotland I invite you to add it to your travel list. The further up you travel the more beautiful it is. Decided this trip…
Between A Rock And A Hard Place
Still on the 'time' question I was thinking about my stay at Loch Ness these past couple of days. The loch itself was formed upon a huge fault line where two parts of land have come together and are moving into each other, the sides are as steep as the mountains that overlook it and…
Question of Time in Ullapool
For the first time I have experienced travel sickness, the plan for today was a trip to Durness' Smoo Cave however a short leg of the journey had me unsure. Seems the roads are more twisty than I was prepared for. Adjusted the itinary and have settled for a day of down time in Ullapool,…
Goodnight from Drumnadrochit
As the sun sets on Drumnadrochit I am grateful for my day. I spent some time on Loch Ness (which so far is my most favourite place when I need to find space) and had a visit to Fort Augustus to sit on the banks of the water. Not much reflection this evening just a…
Existential Moments
Arrived in Drumnadrochit last night to find I was invited to share a very special birthday moment with someone I had just met. The backpackers lodge has just been taken over by new management (and their adorable baby), they had prepared a birthday cake for a member of staff and just as I arrived in…
In Search of Meaning (i)
It has been an arduous task trying to define most precisely what I have been aiming towards with this work. I have spent many months in a sort of hibernation, tossing and turning towards understanding my real intention here. This is it. Fundamentally I am searching to understand how each of us make meaning of…
The Journey Begins
The journey begun early and after some cinema in Glasgow I am now aboard my connecting bus to the first stop of this trip, Drumnadrochit. I was surprised to discover I am travelling on a luxury bus! A nice flow of free refreshments, I'm feeling fortunate. Discussion so far has focused on the the natural…
Growing Older Solo Art Exhibition October 2015
As part of Luminate Scotland's Creative Ageing Festival I hosted an Exibition of my work on Growing Older in the Stove Dumfries. The exhibition was a huge success with thousands of people participating across the globe. My work can be found in the Growing Older section of this website. Some behind the scenes images: Thank…
PART OF A SECOND EXHIBITION!!! (2013)
From the 25th May this year for four weeks I had three pieces on show at the "Queens" exhibition, one of which was a video of a small community celebrating the wedding of Will and Kate in April 2011. The exhibition was celebrating the Jubilee, 60 artists to celebrate 60 years of our Queen and…
My First Opportunity To Exhibit (2012)
My very first exhibition was held in the Virginia Gallery, Merchant City, Glasgow from April 27th 2011 and my work was on show with a group of other artists for three weeks. It was themed bond, the things that bonded and connected us. Below are some pictures from the preparation and opening night... This was…
Stacie Amelia Contemporary Fine Arts 