Musings on Art and Creativity

Climate change is inescapable this summer with wildfires, record heat and flooding. And yet, we are further encroaching on wild lands, building in places that we should more carefully consider building on at all. But what about the wildlife? Where do they go? And as we ask this question, what about the magic in the world are we losing faster by the day?

Last year on the old blog, I introduced Ed Yong’s book, “An Immense World”. He uses the term “umwelt” to describe the different sensory worlds of the living creatures of Earth; everything  from insects, to mammals, through sight, smell, sound, and pain… Our identities as species are attached to these umwelt, and we, as humans, cannot begin to conceive some of the worlds living next to us. 

Magic. The very idea of seeing is magical. Human sight developed from modified chemical sensors, so we are essentially “smelling” light. But, an example of this magical world beyond human senses is that of the giant squid. They have layers of vision, different types of structures from the top to the bottom of the eye, some more useful for hunting in the dark below, and others for watching for predators above. All this makes logical sense, but here’s the magic: to the squid, a whale above appears as bioluminescent sparkles. I think I might be more mesmerised than warned, and end up whale food…

I like to think the magic of vision also goes beyond the senses. When we connect with another living being, it is on a level even more difficult to define. The painting, for me, has a feeling of magic, and the fear of its loss. I titled it “Ghost of the Sprawl”. This was a julvenile bobcat at the time the reference was captured. He visited with his mother while she was training him to hunt. We know it was a “him”, because he returned several months, and several pounds later and sprayed the rock at the front of the garage, marking us as his territory. Bobcats are generally shy creatures, but these ones were not concerned in the least by our presence. He looked straight at us, staring. To look into the eyes of this majestic creature is powerful in itself. I have not seen either of them since 2021/2. The real estate boom here has new houses, new lights popping up in this very rural area miles from town, and the forests are getting smaller, making our small acreage a sanctuary. The painting is full of symbols inspired by paying attention and wondering about his world. 

I’d be curious to hear what you read in the symbols and abstractions used in this piece, and what they mean to you. What is magic in your world? After all, this is the story of all of us.