persimmon

A Persimmon is an extraneous fruit. It’s color somewhere in between yellow, orange, red, and pink. Its texture is soft yet solid. I’ve heard it called “fruit of thegods”, or a “velvet apple”. Supposedly, it is actually a berry, however it looks like a tomato. I am relating April to a persimmon, not only because I am relentlessly
attracted to its color, but also to its extraneous or alien/irrelative/foreign quality… It’s not an easy color to create, nor is it a mainstream fruit. There is something strange and enticing about persimmon to me, simply because it is different. This month, I feel surges of creativity, potential, and wonder as I work with new mediums, foreign materials, and a new inspiration. This newness is also apparent in other aspects of my life because it is truly my perception that is new, so everything looks slightly extraneous…

As an artist I am constantly challenging my perception, yet now my perception is challenging me. Instead of me choosing to see something differently, like seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty, now the glass has disappeared. The challenge my perception is offering me is beyond full or empty, good or bad, right or wrong;
it is asking me to see beyond my minds eye and what I perceive as reality. I have been toying with the idea of “reality” my entire life. To me, reality is relative to the individual experiencing it. It is based on a collection of perceived experiences to relate the present moment to. Like lenses we look at the world through, every person will see life differently. I see this all the time with people reacting to my paintings. They see what they want to see. I see what I want to see. So much like wearing prescription glasses, perception is individual and rarely transferable.

However, energy is transferable. It is inherently neutral, until given a charge, which is then perceived individually. Energy is never created or destroyed, just transformed. Even the smallest thought can change energy. Like laughter can be contagious, its really just the energy charged with happiness that we perceive. So perception is really where the experience comes from. Before perception, there is no experience.

I love exploring the possibilities of energy and this month I am deep into the extraneous elements due to me examining and polishing my “perception” glasses. Seeing a change as a potential loss or a potential addition is perception. Seeing destruction or seeing creativity is perception. Seeing fear or seeing love is perception. Perception is a choice that projects “reality”… I might go as far to say… perception is the only “real” choice. Becoming aware of my perception has made me aware of its immense power and my power to choose my reality. Now one step
farther… The challenge. Staying clear and seeing the energy in ANY given moment as neutral, and asking myself what charge do I really want to give it? What type of experience will I have?