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Tapping the Darkness

There are tender places hidden in the recesses of our psyches that long to be seen. I am compelled to go there. I have found that by cherishing and nourishing those bits, by falling in love with the forms that emerge from those places through my hands in clay, everything in life works more smoothly. The friction recedes and the internal voices stop battling with each other.
 
Because I am human, like so many others, I have discovered that my very personal tender bits are in fact not unique- they tap into the human experience.
 
My hope and desire is that these things I love give voice to that which is calling for attention in others, and will make their lives flow more smoothly too.
 
The imagination is an incredible bridge between the thinking mind and the psyche and the body.
 
After years of being an academic, earning my MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and teaching art at small liberal arts colleges, I found myself wanting to go deeper. 
 
Now I split my time between being a professional artist, showing both in galleries and in craft shows as well as creating temporary site specific figurative pieces, and commissioned portraits, and being a transformational life coach. They weave together beautifully. 
 
I help people find ease and flow in getting where they want to go by releasing the friction those tender bits cause when they cannot find voice.

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Valerie Gilman


​Image #1- Jadu Jadu, sagar fired ceramic on steel, 16 x 16 x 4", $600
Image #2-​ Sweet Spot, sagar fired ceramic, 28 x 8 x 4". $600
Image #3- "Portrait of Untold Stories", 12 x 6 x 8" one of a kind cast bronze, $1300

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​When:  Friday, August 4 at 2:30- 5 pm
Where: Sirius Community Hall, Shutesbury MA
Workshop leader: Valerie Gilman
Cost: $20 donation
Open to the public
RSVP to [email protected]
(814)282-0545

 
How do you tap into your deeper truth, bring awareness to the more complex and challenging parts of yourself, attend to the discomfort and disquiet such that you can do the transformative work that all of these parts are asking for? And why is it essential?
We are not separate from this earth- we are part of the skin of the earth and the work that we do on a personal level is part of the health of the whole. Your deep personal work sheds light on the and is part of the healing of all of the systems that you are part of, personally, culturally and ecologically.

 I am always fascinated by the way my work is transformed when I get it up in a gallery setting. When the Protest show was announced a number of months ago and I decided to make something for it, I immediately got an image of these boats, made of paper and hung high in the space. I had a lot of fun making them, but it was not until I saw them in the gallery space that they really made sense to me. 

The show is up until the end of July and there is an Art Forum on Thursday July 20 at 7:30p. For more information check out the Gallery A3 web site. I am super impressed with the work of my colleagues and how diverse the whole show is- it is powerful!

My piece is called Passage. People at the opening were asking what my intent was, and yes there is definitely reference to the refugees. There is also for me the reference to all of our individual and collective journeys- ongoing through everything.

There was indeed something magical about being with that kiln all day during the firing. Fire is a living thing- it breaths and transforms the stuff inside as it grows hotter and hotter. I felt very much that I was breathing with the kiln like you do a lover's breath in the night. 

The climax was spraying baking soda mixed with water into the ports all around the kiln- three separate round of 14 holes around the kiln. Imagine a yellow white heat inside the kiln, 2100- 2300 degrees F- flame licking out as you remove the plug brick and stick the steel sprayer shaft in, moving it around to spread the love.  I did not want to leave it and it was such a shock to the system when I turned it off. And then I had to wait two days before coming back to unload.