Paul Klee’s epigram of seeing acknowledges sight as a formal, technical and practical human function inseparably infused with the emotional and psychological aspects of our whole being.
To look is to be in dialogue. We bring our entire embodied selves to this process, seeing with all our senses, including the tangle of memories, associations and visions.
But slowly, through these aspects a prayerful lucidity can emerge. I want us to explore looking beyond ourselves, and to encounter the affirmation of being wholly seen by our maker and sustainer.
Creativity has become an optional specialisation, the domain of artists, allegedly a professional training. But creativity is a sacred gift, a hallmark of being made in the Divine image, innate in each person. As meditators we need to recover seeing with faithful eyes, a practice that requires discipline, patience and an open heart.
We are often offered dualistic choices; the Apophatic way of negation, focusing on what is pure and uncluttered or the Kataphatic embracing of ritual, symbol, narrative and detail. Sacramental seeing and the making that can come from it embraces both visions weaving a middle path. The starting point is to give ourselves over to seeing through the Holy Spirit’s prompting.
We will use artist examples to begin this journey into meditating with our eyes wide open! From Giovanni Bellini, William Blake, Sheila Hicks, Agnes Martin to Sophie Calle.
We will conclude with a series of practical departure projects to get you going, if you feel moved to try beginning this creative meditational path!
Leader
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Mark Cazalet
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Mark Cazalet is a contemporary British artist based in London and Suffolk. He was born in 1964, trained at Chelsea and Falmouth School of Art, after which he held two post graduate scholarships at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and at M.S. University Baroda in India. The influence of these locations and his tutors Christian Boltanski and Prof Gulam Mohamed Sheikh had a profound effect on his critical creative thinking and processes of making. He employs a wide variety of media in his studio practice, including mosaic, stained and engraved glass, relief printmaking, painting and tapestry. He has undertaken over twenty ecclesiastical commissions, and numerous projects working with communities. Major projects have included Silent Colour Meditation at St Edmundsbury Cathedral (153 heads painted in thirty-minute sessions) and Cathedrals of Industry at The Museum of London. In 2012 and 2013 he was twice invited as artist in residence at The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Connecticut. He particularly enjoys the interaction that his teaching brings at the Royal drawing School, UWE, and The Edward James Foundation West Dean. Travel has always played an important role in forcing him to experiment and make intuitive leaps under the twin pressures of scrutiny and limited time. In October 2019 he spent a month in Kyoto making direct drawings from the Zen Gardens and bath houses of the city. He is currently working on a series of glass projects in stained glass and meditation space paintings.
Register for the Full Series
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Register for full series (get 10 talks for the price of 7)
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All sessions include a led meditation
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Time to interact with the speakers
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Unlimited access to recordings
Q&A with the Speakers
In each talk, you will have the opportunity to ask questions to the speaker
Access to Recordings
By registering, you'll be given access to the talks' recordings
Meet Fellow Meditators
Whatever the stage of your journey meet fellow meditators with whom to reflect and share your thoughts about this series in a safe environment
Meditate Together
We offer the opportunity to meditate together at the start of each session
The prices reflect the need to achieve self sufficiency. Therefore if you’re able to give a little more we would be very grateful. If you need a concession please let us know. We do not turn anybody away for lack of resource.
Photo of sergio medina on Unsplash
