I'm a dancer. People who are not dancers do not understand me. My background? The gay discothèque scene of the 1970's. At the end of the 70's- bored with the top 40 (oh my god not this piece of popular trash AGAIN) musical program being presented to drinkers/alcoholics- I became a DJ myself. And I promptly got fired from my first bar gig after only 3 months for being too progressive. I've been too progressive ever since. Finally- in the mid 1980's- after a stint spinning records for men having sex with each other- I walked away from clubland and began programming music for me to dance/meditate to. No Sufis anywhere. Also- no somebody else's religion- structure- limitation and/or dogma anywhere. And this became a necessity as I watched hundreds of my friends pass away from HIV. I had to KNOW what was going on. I had to evolve or die. I had to grow UP. I had to become the master I've always been. And I could do this because there have been and continue to be many enlightened songwriter/performers out there- producing lyrics/music that can be listened to on a superficial level- but that can also be heard at much deeper levels. That of course- requires the continually expanding depth of the listener/dancer. For background- there are multiple kinds of dancing. The most familiar is performance dance- people on a stage dancing for an audience- partnered or not. The second is competition dancing. The third is club dancing- the people themselves dancing for pleasure- mostly in partnership- but usually as a pre-requisite to or a part-time aspect of dating/relationship. The fourth would be group Sufi dancing- a specific way of movement that has spiritual repercussions/ramifications- but that exist within a spiritual system. And then there are people like me. Loners- often hermits. I dance to connect myself up the the god/goddess force of the Universe. And then what- you might ask? And then I send that maximum flow of energy coursing through me back out into the Universe as a healing agent. Now it's true- I don't physically spin that much anymore. But my musical programming abilities (mixing music harmonically correct- in key- with linked lyric concepts- creating not only a meditation- but an actually story- using many varied performers- from up-tempo electronica to down-tempo ballads- to wordless space music that speaks directly from the emotional heart center) has become an integrated aspect of my creation experience. And I literally go back and forth- programming/listening to music while working on my fiber art. It is a constant symbiotic interaction between the music and the physical art production process. And it is always a dance. It is also a direct trance-inducer. And it facilitates entering into an open meditative state. But guess what? I can rarely even talk to people I would describe as living in Mundania- in the land of normal. I evolved myself right into a future that doesn't even exist yet- except in the hearts/minds of those of us who've stepped/danced feet first into an expended dimension of awakened consciousness. So- I program music for myself. I share it with a rare few individuals who can hear what I'm doing- on a donation basis- to help me defray my costs- and continue to help support my creation/studio experience. If anyone out there in Genn-land is interested- send me an email- dj.bw@jbrucewilcox.com. Enlightenment is not only possible- but probable for anyone doing their own work. Don't waste another second living in Mundania. Dance yourself into god.

After visiting Turkey and experiencing the fascinating dervish dance of a Sufi, I have made it the subject of numerous watercolor paintings. These have been appreciated and even one accepted in a juried show. It is a great subject to show graceful motion. I am now preparing a lithographic stone and carving a woodcut to produce prints of this magical movement.

Dervish Dancers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFIQMM8bZQk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_ACMyqDDDg&feature=related

It's good Robert that you wrote about the dervishes; yes there is much in common. Just one point, what is present Afghanistan is previous Iran. Since Rumi wrote his masterpieces in Persian and not Afghani, or Indian, it makes sense to be more complete.

Keep it coming, we appreciate your insights into life and art. For most of us our art is our life.

We have so much to learn from spiritual traditions of other cultures. It is arrogant to think that "we" have all the answers. I have traveled the world in search of lost tribes and am always astounded by what I learn and see. Art almost always has a spiritual significance for them. We are all human and in search of the same things.

People have asked me how I decide what to do when I paint? Or, how do I know a painting is finished? Using Rumi's words, it is that artist inside, who you don't know about, that decides. Or as the author Joseph Conrand said, "Your inward voice decides." You may not be able to explain how this all works, but the fact is, that if you listen to that voice and trust it, in more cases than not it will give you the proper advice.

This inward voice is intuition. And from what I can tell intuition is based on past experience. And the level and strength of that experience determines the quality of the inward voice. If this is true, which I believe it is, then it is essential that we constantly develop our awareness and understanding. Though we should trust our inward sense, we should also be open to new experiences and awareness.

Basically, we have all sensed in one way or another the changes in our understanding of things. Compare what we believe and are of aware of today verses what we were aware of when we were younger. Or, compare our current work to that which we did when we first started on the path of creating images. Generally, at every stage of our development we listened to that inward voice, and the newer work is stronger and more complete than the earlier.

There is always room for improvement in our work and in our inward voice. It basically comes through constant attention to the appearance of our everyday visual world, and through the continual observation of the work that is considered to be the greatest from the past and today.

I was pleasantly surprised to be reading about Sufism in your newsletter. It hit home with me.

Last year I was confronted by a patron who commissioned me to do religious and spiritual based paintings. He handed me a bunch of photos and topics in which to start. One of the images was a Sufi sitting in a bustling public place singing and telling stories. I was immediately attracted to the image and started doing research. What I found is how much all of it helped me as an artist.

The man in red in the painting is a Sufi mystic. Like any artist, what the Sufi does is for himself as an act to reach a higher goal, but shares his very personal act to enlighten others. I am not saying all artist are mystics, but that there are parallels.
Artist talk about being in the zone, and how paintings almost create themselves at times. Of course the zone doesn't happen without a lot of study and understanding beforehand. I have learned I have rituals, (routines), I go through as I travel through the process of creating a finished painting. As I grow as an artist I find my rituals become more and more important to my art. I read, look at other artist work, sketch, whatever it takes to fully understand and get myself in the state of mind I need to do my best work.

God gave me the talents I have. It is up to me to use them to the best of my abilities to honor his gift.

Your words bring to mind those of the world teacher J. Krishnamurti, who described and embodied the highest aim, which is to make one's entire life a work of art.

For me the making of art is a direct emotional response to my experiences.

The dance I perform is pure gestural expression. I marry my heart to my hand and together they speak visual music. Sometimes the beauty, colours and light play are overwhelming and I am forced to blurt the information onto the surface in quick strokes saying just enough about how I am feeling towards my subject rather than telling what my subject looks like. At other times I linger and drink in all that I am perceiving and gently caress the painting surface with delicate information out of pure respect and amazement. The dance on the surface is always unique, rhythmic yes, but not contrived. It has to be genuine, it has to express my inner most responses, and it has to be mine and mine alone. Though I dance alone I dance for others to enjoy so they to can palpate the emotions of the visual music.

Any background music or external stimuli to set the mood is absolutely second place to my emotional response and should I choose to use music my preference is classical as it allows me to pursue my own thoughts with silk-like ease.

Dance, art, spirituality; it is all the same thing to me. As I dug deeper to pull out bits of my soul to transform into art, I found that music and dance aided that work. Bruce Wilcox's (first comment above) programmed music is really that good. It plays across a wide expanse of awareness, which, when listened to as background while creating art, sometimes whispers of boldness, other times of gentleness, for example. I recommend his creations, both fiber and music.

I very much appreciate this discussion, as I "discovered" Rumi 10 years ago, and always search for more about his life. At that time, I bought a coffee table book of his poems that we could not afford, and it is still treasured. His words, and the mystery of his insights still intrigue me. More, please.

I have to laugh! I have been told by my interns that I am a whirling dervish, and now finally someone has put it in terms of art and being in the moment of sheer joy. Although I may not exactly spin and swirl literally, my mind and emotions and energy towards my projects feel exactly as I see the dancers ecstatically in their invidual, and group spins. I get caught in the excitement of creativity, one thing leads to another and it is a thrilling ride. I prefer not to think that I am spinning out of control (like some "in the box" thinkers might perceive). It is whirling in the joy of creativity, and following the energy of one's heart, what is going on around them, and following the unknown path, enjoying every side spin and fellow traveler.

I am using golden acrylic paint on the side of a metal building. What would be the best preservative to cover it from the elements?

We all have religion in one form or another within us no matter the name we call it or the orthodoxy. Humans have an innate religiosity build in. Anyone who has witnessed a dawn or sunset, watched a child being born, a flower opening, the changing seasons, the ocean cannot help but feel what we term a “religious” experience. If you take the “religion” out of religious you get “ a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion”. If you find one doctrine over another speaks to your soul, go with it. Underneath all religion is the same intrinsic message. All religions pursue inner peace and an oneness with the true self or God if you will.
The basic problem with religion, as I see it, is not the message but those who hear, or rather selectively hear what is being said and interpret that message to suit their own needs. When you personalize religion you run the risk that other orthodoxy that doesn't fit your thinking may cause one to openly reject other orthodoxy. Religion, as such, has caused more wars than any other difference between people. Religion(s) are not the problem, those who ascribe and embrace it dogmatically, chauvinistically without tolerance is the problem.
Humans throughout history have “adapted” religion to suit their needs. They made it easier to live with. In so doing, they have separated themselves into groups that exclude others of different faiths who ultimately want the very same things.
It’s when we think “our” god is better than another God is when we run into a wall.
Modern society has “commercialized” god. Made religion a commodity to be traded. We use God to make a point. Show surprise, in anger. God is no longer the thing we aspire to become, at least in the purest sense. Despots aspire to be God on earth. It’s when we place ourselves in this role that religion becomes something bad.