La Valise Noire (5) The dark side as inspiration

It is sometimes ironic to see how crises in your life become a trigger to explore new ways, seriously reflect and face the challenges that you didnt see before, provide the courage to go in the deep and be less superficial, ...
The same for my art since my divorce some time ago. It provided insight in the patterns I follow, especially in relationships, it made me more deeply engage with every step I took, more clearly seeing my own beautiful sides and the dark sides that come with them.
Specifically I have seen how important it is to have balance between the magic side of life as well as the rational part.  Our basic vital powers are very earthly, very powerful but also easily out of balance. We can use our rational side to guide ourselves back to balance, without losing touch with these catonic powers.

Today I made some notes when artist Frederik Beerbaum used to explain some of these things, mainly by using a metaphore that was taken from an eskimo family, it is quite shocking the way the eskimo explained it but I trust no fragile souls to read this ;-)
The mother of the eskimo was a good witch and she mastered the magic side of life and ensured protection, she kept things in balance and kept danger from happening, for example when the eskimo would go fishing.
After his mother died the eskimo used the skin of his mother to cover the outside of the boat. As a miracle the boat was in perfect balance, and the eskimo was safe when going out fishing. After some time, under influence of the salty water the skin dissolved and the boat became unstable. Then the eskimo took paint and decorated the boat with magic patterns linking the boat to the powers of his mother. The boat was again in perfect balance.
In Frederiks words this metaphore symbolises the role of art, bridging space between magic and the conscious self, creating and maintaining that balance.

So, we need to stay connected to the earthly powers and not be afraid to engage with them. These powers are our origin; it was not ratio that was used as the origin from our creation. These earthly powers can create happiness and pain, and exploring and expressing this pain is at the basis of many art works; the basis of inspiration. Good art scratches the soul of the artist...