Visual Instincts

Yesterday [it is now 5 days later, Tuesday 16 December, 2008 - edit], Thursday, 11 December, 2008, beginning at 11.30 am, the hour that traversed mid day, was an hour of fun. An hour of fun for me, Tony Nicholas, but Mephisto to you, in The Sandpit, aka the Devil’s Playground.

Those who read my blog, will know of my fondness for words, word play, their power and the images they conjure. Heck, I spent ages trying to compose a perfect title for this post, that encapsulates the self exploratory program I am doing, of which yesterday’s activity was the culmination of six weeks work.

The activity is called The Sandpit. I wanted a title that would encapsulate the content, the intent, and the conclusions of the Sandpit [and indeed, the self exploratory work that I have been doing. Of course you may think it is either an invitation to indulge in some child's play or an ominous portend to a disappearance. At any rate, as I was thinking about the post title, I remembered the song, The Sins Of Memphisto, by John Prine. I found it on my song list and double clicked to play. As I was listening, I scanned the lyrics, and it was, "Just as I thought!"

The hands on his watch spin slowly around
With his mind on a bus that goes all over town
Looking at the babies and the factories
And listening to the music of Mister Squeeze
As if by magic or remote control
He finds a piece of a puzzle
That he missed in his soul
Uh huh Oh yeah

Breaking it down, the post title comprises four concepts: time, what, who and where. The "hour" refers to the time spent [which can be an actual hour, if not time of unspecified duration], the “sins’ refer to the issues I wrestle with, the “Mephisto” is yours truly, and the “sandpit” is where it all takes place.

As for the Sandpit, there are two parts to the activity: Creating The Landscape and Populating The Landscape. Bear in mind, the sandpit in this case, was on a long table, with wooden slats to keep the sand from spilling onto the floor [as you can see from the pictures]. There is nothing to say, that the sandpit cannot be on the floor, or outdoors, or anywhere else for the matter [the beach?]. For the purposes of the self exploratory work, it is as described here, and shown in the pictures. The wooden slats create a boundary, border if you like, between the reality of the room you are in, and the sandpit, in which you will be dissecting [i.e. analysing, my favourite passtime, so suck it up FYD!] your thoughts, inner demons, or issue/issues that is/are driving you to distraction.

Back to creating and populating the landscape in The Sandpit [Damn. I just love this word. Sandpit! Sandpit! Sandpit! ]

1.
Creating The Landscape

You are given two minutes for this task. Standing next to the sandpit, you close your eyes. With your eyes closed, you place your hands in the sand. You move your hands through the sand, allowing them to create and follow whatever direction the motion and feeling dictates. Do not think about what you are doing, just do it. After two minutes, open your eyes, and survey the landscape you have created.

2. Populating The Landscape

This is the more considered, no less spontaneous, than the first part of this activity. You are given a number of objects. You are to choose any object that takes your fancy, appeals to you, or holds some meaning, and place it anywhere on the landscap you have just created. With as many or as few objects as you desire. Take your time. Once you are done, step back and survey the landscape [world] you have created.

Of course, the intention of this exercise, is to externalise your feelings, inner demons, or specific issues that are bugging you, so that you can become the spectator, and not the participator. In doing so, you can demystify, dismepower the demons, or gain some perspective.

And to answer the obvious question, “Are there any pictures?”

Happily, the answer is “Yes!”

It’s In The Sandpit. Click on the pictures to view the slideshow.

This article has been cross posted at my rant blog, i.Mephisto. I will be writing a more personalised assessment of this experience [and my self exploratory work] to be posted at a later date.

Powered by Zoundry Raven