Sound and Art
What is Sound and Art?
It’s a concept we’re developing combining two sources of creation and stimulation for the senses. It’s a blend of experiences putting auditory musings from sound bowls, chimes, gongs, bells and more alongside the live creation of a free flow abstract painting, together in the same space for guests to enjoy. It involves meditation, intention setting and relaxation. It’s been amazing so far, and I’m excited for what the future holds.
The events have been taking place at YogaBound yoga studio in Carlsbad, California. Participants sign up, show up and find their space on their yoga mat. We set up the mats in a sunburst formation so that during the sound everyone’s heads can be centered in the room. The sound elements on a blanket laid out on the floor on the north end of the room while the easel with a blank canvas is setup on the south end of the room. We begin with an introduction of the sound artists, myself and the concept. We explain how the concept came to be and how it’s going to work. We begin with a short (5 minutes or so) meditation to get grounded in the space and the moment and to set our intentions for the experience. Your intention is based on what you want to see come together in your life, what you want to see grow and take place. Then we have participants lay down with their heads to the middle. People put eye masks on, put their heads on pillows, cover themselves in blankets, and basically get super cozy. There they will lay, relax, enjoy and sometimes fall asleep for the next 45 minutes to an hour of time. After it’s done they will be gently awoken and brought back to life. We finish with a sharing of the newly created artwork and our individual experiences with what took place.
The sound experience that takes place, in my opinion, is amazing. Our sound artists are Alexandra and Daniel. The main element is the crystal sound bowl. These bowls are tuned to different keys and resonate at different frequencies connecting to different chakras or layers of our being. If you’ve never experienced one of these bowls, you should try and make it happen. When played, they send out a beautiful resonance that penetrates into your matter. It’s powerful stuff. These sounds are like a massage for your being. The sound waves wash over us and to me feel purifying. They bring up feelings and emotions that in our alpha ways of being don’t often get brought to light. It’s a very inward personal experience. Even if one falls asleep, work is being done.
As for the artwork, I like to begin painting 5 or so minutes into the sound portion of time. I meditate with everyone, then soak up some sound until I feel ready and motivated to paint. For these paintings I have no preconceived plan for what will take place. I get up and approach the blank canvas and paint in whatever manner I feel like. These are journey paintings. For these I have no end goal, I just make decisions as I go and am lead by my gut. They remind me of getting into your car with a full tank of gas and just seeing where you and the vehicle want to go. These pieces are different levels of abstraction. They feel dreamlike to me, like an impression or a vision.
The beauty of it is that coincidentally when we speak of our experiences afterward, people seem to strongly relate to what was painted. This last time, Daniel mentioned that his intention was balance and the painting had a sort of yin and yang energy to it. He was blown away. It’s really cool. The artwork comes through me, the sound comes through Alexandra and Daniel, and the experience flows through the participants. It’s such an interesting experiment in stimuli, blending concepts and mediums. I’m really enjoying it.
If you are anywhere near Carlsbad on the last Saturday of each month, make your way over to YogaBound and check it out.