Finding the Edges

Yesterday a dear friend and I went to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit in Sarasota, Florida to celebrate both of our birthdays. I won’t spend much time describing it - it is something that truly must be experienced.

We were almost literally soaked in the art and life of Van Gogh — steeped in it, even. The walls and projected images bring the art alive in such a way and at such a scale that caused me to re-experience his work with a fresh and ever more appreciative eye.

This afternoon I sat down with my watercolors and a few fresh sheets of toothy paper. I have been walking around so inspired by Van Gogh’s utter fearlessness in the work of his creative genius. I wanted to taste some of that fearlessness for myself. I put brush to paper and painted two paintings unlike anything I’ve ever done before. They’re still works in progress, but they are works in courage as well.

But that’s the lesson I’m learning again. Art requires the courage to try something new. Art requires us to find the edges.

And in that way it’s not unlike creating sanctuary. Really going deep into creating an environment that supports us requires some experimenting. There’s a reason Philip and I refer to our house as the sanctuary laboratory. We try things out all the time. Sometimes times they work, like when I decided to put a hammock in our living room — we love it, and we still sit in it. Other times things don’t work out, and we move on.

This house is a space that is just for us, so experimentation is totally allowed. It’s not for the neighbors, it’s not about status, and while we try to make our home welcoming to our guests, for the most part our home is made to cater to the two of us who inhabit these rooms the most. For our exploration of sanctuary, we must find the courage to find the edges.

And that reflects upon my approach to creating sanctuaries for my clients. While we employ the most sumptuous of materials put together with the most sublime craftsmanship, our work isn’t about creating something to impress. It’s about creating a space that calls our clients into the present moment through the tactile, sensual experience of being surrounded by an environment that is made just for them. Finding the edges means finding ourselves, and putting that into our work.

And that comes back to Van Gogh: 

“I try more and more to be myself, caring relatively little whether people approve or disapprove.” 
    ― Vincent Van Gogh

With love and appreciation and courage,

Lisa