Ambages

[ am-bey-jeez ] (Archaic): winding, roundabout paths or ways.

6" x 6"

140# cold-press watercolor paper

acrylic ink, wire, LCD display

For the more abstract pieces based on the Word of the Day, I usually have an immediate visual layout that comes to mind. In this case it was a simple, amorphous shape with some sort of winding overlay. The challenge is often trying to get what’s on the page to match what’s in my head. For these pieces, the process is also discovering exactly what’s even in my head. I often begin by looking through my supplies to find the right thing that speaks to that vision.

Black wire was pretty clear, but it’s difficult to get the shape right. That actually wasn’t it, but by the time I reached that last curve I was just trying to glue the wire to the paper instead of my fingers. It was originally twisted in a 3-strand cable so it was difficult to work with.

The wire represents the general path of life/career. The LCD display in the bottom left corner represents the heart/brain/passions. Generally those things are evident in kids because there isn’t a lot of self-censorship yet. As life goes on, interests change, are discouraged, and the school/college/career path can end up winding around, overlapping. It’s a process of discovery, but at some point it seems to wind back to where it all began. I believe the work people are most often gifted at and passionate about is an intersection of their unique talents, skills, and interests. I don’t mean work as in a J.O.B. either. That thing can be a hobby. But at some point you realize what you’re really good at. You see how unique it is to you, and how the things you’ve learned in the wandering have pointed you back to what was always there. The path of life is never linear.

Ambages mixed media word painting by Sarah M. Schumacher