Water and Stone: A Continuing Series

It is always kind of a challenge to think critically on your art work when you work full time an entirely different job. I came up with this series, "Water an Stone," a few years ago. I have slowly been adding to it. This spring I will be adding to it and displaying some of it, which I am quite excited about. I have added to the series since I last posted this photo. 

What drew me to this series was the idea of working with opposites. As an undergraduate, I explored the idea of the simultaneous coexistence of opposites. I first came across this idea when I had the chance to work with one of my mentors, Marion Epting. I also drew up some of my experience in martial arts. The idea of opposites in present in many forms in eastern thought and philosophy, but it can be found in the motion of American Kenpo Karate as well. 

The material of water and stone are opposites alone, but the myriad of ways to consider their uses and properties just adds to the exploration of how two simple materials can influence our world. Water is soft and flowing. It can allow things that are buoyant to float within it. Stone is hard and brittle, and things rest on it, not within it. They often go together, creating amazing combinations in nature and human made structures. There are so many ways to look at water and stone that it is possible to have series within this series. 

The photo above shows the nature of water flowing and how it appears in conjunction with a human made structure. The stone sits beneath it, abstracted by the bending of rays of light. Water and stone is often used as an attraction to draw people near, as is the case in the abstract representation of a fountain. Water and stone combine to make a soothing sound that moves people to sit in contemplation and/or frolic in happiness. 

Many of the images that will be coming soon are close ups of how water and/or stone combine to move a person in their various emotions. I look forward to sharing more of this series soon and I hope you, the viewer, will enjoy them also. Please stay tuned to my blog for upcoming pieces and they should be added to my gallery soon. Right now, there are a few pieces that sit in the gallery here that represent the beginning of the "Water and Stone" series. 

-Jesse Brown