“Numinous means having a strong spiritual, mysterious, or awe-inspiring quality that suggests the presence of the divine or supernatural.”
This is the definition of the word and idea of the numinous and I don’t know if my art is numinous but that is what I aspire to.
One wall in my Big Ci studio residency bedroom is covered in mainly black ink drawings of Mary MacKillop, Saint Francis and some self portraits and another wall in watercolour and all are on the back of cut up Coles bags from a big grocery store chain in Australia.
There is, also many drawings of Converse high top sneakers. I love the Converse branding as it is All-Star and I feel all the people in the world are a part of a team either a family, a sports team, a workplace or a local community. I used to feel very alone and outside of society but now I realise that being part of any sort of group takes effort and just doesn’t come easily without trying.
I love drawing Mary MacKillop and Saint Francis as sometimes I get quite afraid as me and my grandmother mum were very close and lived together until she had to go into a nursing home and I joke that we sort of become each other’s mother. And when I miss her I think of these saints. Also when I miss her I draw Mary MacKillop and Saint Francis and sort of hope that they guide me and become my mother.
“Never see a need without doing something about it.”
I love this quote by Mary MacKillop and I feel this is a fantastic lesson by her on how to build a loving community.
“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.”
I love this Saint Francis quote and I feel the best attribute to build community is charity and wisdom and to actively become part of a community.
In conclusion in my life I have overcome great adversity by becoming part of a community of friends in my local community and mum said not to play favourites but I have a soft spot for Gwenda Shinner aged 83 and a great grandmother friend at my local pool where I do laps five days a week and joke that the only advice better than a grandmothers is that of a great grandmother. The day before I left for my residency I sent her a small book of drawings and a letter and as I write this I miss her greatly. Also at the Big Ci there are five Australian creatives and we are slowly building a community but we only have three weeks left. Tonight we are going to watch a movie together in the projection room and tomorrow a lunch party.
Perhaps the best community I’ve heard of is Gwenda’s rummy group on Thursdays and it is made up of a group of grandmothers and great grandmothers and what could be more loving and wise than a group like this.
