BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH I thought to try another track and ‘stop beating about the bush’ but then John and I digressed onto the meanings of ‘beating about the bush’John says it is either ‘beating a bush’ to see if a bird or an idea fly up, or it means ‘come to the point and stop ‘beating about’ or wasting time’. I see it as ‘beating about in the bundu’ (bush) when you are lost and trying to find a track to follow home. Perhaps also the birds that fly out of the scrub will be unique and lovely. ANOTHER TRACK I need to find the elements that I can use to make my art. This means returning to the elements that I have previously used.So I search my ‘track’ record. This might be a tendentious and tedious pun but I start to wander about the daily metaphors that we use that have connections with journeys. However I don’t want to explore that path now though I will mark it for later perhaps. ELEMENTS What are the elements that I use in my art? Colour and mixed media used as a process.Some element of women’s domestic arts like embroidery or weaving.Drawing – both abstract and storytelling.Installation and conceptual ideas coming out of feminism and politics.My personal experiences in life. So process is important and a journey is a process.So also is connecting – ideas – concepts – processes and media.Is a journey about connecting? Is a journey about joining the end to the beginning? CONNECTING THE END TO THE BEGINNING. Is this how we hope to make sense of our individual lives? ANOTHER TRACK I need to return down the paths I have followed extracting the significances, the connections, the elements that attract. I am playing but not just playing with words to be clever. I have to keep throwing the ‘bones’, the elements up into the air like a witchdoctor, nganga, until they, bones or elements, start to make patterns and therefore sense of a kind. CONNECTING THE END TO THE BEGINNING. Is this what art tries to do?
