Jo Campbell Artist
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    • Trees Exhibition, Fairholme Gallery 2013 >
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Getting going again!

3/17/2015

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My husband has just one entry on the blog page of his website. It reads, 'I once had delusions that I would have time to write a blog". 

I am feeling a little like that at the moment. It has been almost 2 years since I wrote this blog (OK, I published a post earlier today, but it doesn't count as it was written in draft back in 2013). 

So, anyhow. Why did I stop writing blogs, apart from going through a spectacularly busy year with 5 exhibitions, doing up and selling a house, running a retreat and changing schools for my son?

In short, I was experiencing burnout at the time and that lead to a bout of depression. I mention this as I think our culture's ability to be open (and supportive) about mental health is a very important issue - and I want to remind anyone out there who is overdoing it to take a break! 

Luckily, I am on the mend again and have had a couple of years of fewer exhibitions (about 2 a year - much more doable), lots of cycling and also a wonderful 6 month travelling stint with my kids and husband which took us to Australia, Indonesia, Nepal, France and the UK. I shall post something on this later....

So now I am back home and getting back into the studio. I have 2 exhibitions coming up, one in Kereru and another in Oxford Arts Centre. And I am also keen to get back into keeping a blog. It's important for me to reflect on my work and I hope it's useful to share some of those thoughts with anyone out there who might be interested in a similar form of art practice or who simply might want to know what is behind my work. 

So, here is my intention: To write a blog entry at least once a month. Let's see how that goes... 
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Doors: Unhinged

3/17/2015

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Picture
After much exploration, (and very little time to keep up with a blog), I finished my contribution to the 
'Doors:Unhinged' show back in 2013.  I chose to explore the Zen metaphor of the Gateless Barrier. 

I made 3 large pieces for the show, each one a doorway. The first is an encaustic painting on an old rimu door, the second an empty space created by a frame of 20cm square encaustic paintings, and the third a large panel with a white doorway (on which the audience is invited to draw their body) framed by the following words: 

"What do I stand for in all my imperfections, just as I am right here? Placing my body on this great body. Where do I stop and you begin? And will you gather with me here?
It's said, "If you cannot go through as you are, you cannot go through at all". How then should we go through? How should we enter this barrier, or any door for that matter?
Standing tall as myself, I walk into my life as each moment asks. With nothing missing. On this threshold of intimacy, where are the barriers now?"


These three pieces are my presentation of the Zen Koan 'Mu'. 
Photos to come...

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