COMMUNION
The river receives us.
holds us, slippery smooth,
swallows our bodies
to slake its thirst.
We laugh, dive,
rise to sun-specked surface,
rise into reflected trees,
cloud-streaked sky,
become one
with the wetness,
timeless flow of summer,
living river spirit.
Ginger Lang Vela
Ginger wrote this lovely poem while waiting for my painting Cold River to arrive at her home. She was inspired by the image to write Communion. This touched me deeply and brought forth these thoughts on inspiration:
From the Oxford Dictionary, Middle English enspire, from Old French inspirer, from Latin inspirare ‘breathe or blow into’ from in- ‘into’ + spirare ‘breathe’. The word was originally used of a divine or supernatural being, in the sense ‘impart a truth or idea to someone’
To impart a truth or idea to someone, isn’t that the definition of art? Or at least the intent? In that sense it isn’t only artists that are inspired to create but a person is inspired by partaking of the art. It is like a chain of inspiration.
A Friend asked me recently how the spirit (or god or the divine, use whatever name suits you) fits into my art? I approach painting from a spiritual viewpoint and consider my art to be a personal seeking for truth. From this perspective I find that words can get in the way so first let me define some terms.
- An icon is a representation of the truth or spirit that is close enough or transparent enough so that the viewer can perceive the divine.
- Seeking truth is what I call the search for the iconic in the subject, thus a representation of truth that is so transparent that the viewer can see the spirit through the work.
I believe that spirit underlies all in the natural world and that by listening closely to that still, small, voice of the spirit within (a Quaker concept) I can distill from the subject the iconic in some degree. So for me, creating is close to worship. I find that my mind is in the same state of receptivity to inspiration.
Looking at or hearing or reading an inspiring work of art puts me in touch with the truth or spirit. That sense of rightness or wholeness or holy-ness that ironically, considering the origins of the word, make it hard for me to breathe when I am in its presence.
And so the breath of inspiration is passed from the spirit, to me, to Ginger, to you. What will you do with it? How will it move you?
Roger Vincent Jasaitis 
Roger, it is an honor to have my poem here with your painting, now hanging in my house, and I thank you for that and for the wonderful definition of inspiration that reveals how you approach your art. The “chain of inspiration” continues to connect us all.
Roger, there is nothing as cleansing as being bathed in a natural body of water like a river. It’s quenching rush of wetness enfolds us and creates a deep feeling of jubilation. The beautiful hymn “Wade into the Water” conjures up an image of what ones body experiences when delving into a body of deliciousness like a river. I absolutely love my mom’s poem and your painting and the harmony the two create making them one. XOXO Kath
You are absolutely right, inspiration can come from so many different places. Music, art, poetry such as Ginger’s beautiful ode. I also get inspiration from people like you and yours. You always make me want to lead a better life, be a better person. Basically you inspire me.
Thank you for that.
I like the way you describe the transparency of the icon, which is visible itself AND the window that the light can shine through. That’s something I’ll keep with me. Thank you.
I agree Matthew. I enjoyed your poem relating the bird, the song of the bird in the stillness of winter, also.
I’m Roger’s cousin, hope to meet you someday when we visit him and Nancy.