{"id":4175,"date":"2011-09-10T01:00:15","date_gmt":"2011-09-10T01:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/?p=4175"},"modified":"2011-09-10T01:05:21","modified_gmt":"2011-09-10T01:05:21","slug":"artist%e2%80%99s-statement-%e2%80%93-gail-mcnaughton-february-29-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/artist%e2%80%99s-statement-%e2%80%93-gail-mcnaughton-february-29-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"ARTIST\u2019S STATEMENT \u2013 GAIL MCNAUGHTON"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARTIST\u2019S STATEMENT \u2013 GAIL MCNAUGHTON (February 29, 2008)<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHO IS FLOWERCAT \u2122 & FRIENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Flowercat \u2122 & Friends are symbols of peace and harmony. They reach out to the world to offer peace through their gentleness and friendship. There are specific characters that are intertwined in one another\u2019s lives \u2013 Angelica the Angel\/Woman, Flowercat \u2122, Sammy the Snake, Grapeapathia, Pow Wow the Sheep Dog, Dogflower, Chili-Chikka the Bird, Priscilla the Pig, Cornacopia, Ollie the Owl, Eli the Eagle, Choc\u00f3-Cat, and others that are constantly being developed. It is my belief that these doodle art characters can bridge the gap for world peace by bringing a softened heart to each and every person. When we feel love we can give love. The symbols of hearts and the gratitude symbol \u201cG\u201d invoke calm and serenity as I draw them. The energy of love that is put into each drawing radiates outward through time and space to reach those in need for where intention goes, energy flows. I am divinely guided to draw and use my magic markers and I hope that I inspire you to find your own voice through art.<\/p>\n

My vision for people is to look inside themselves and find their passion and go ahead and do it. A passion is something that gives your life meaning and makes you get up every morning. My Flowercat \u2122 and Friends characters live and breathe within me. They were developed out of a creative spirit who was feeling alone. By them being born on paper, out of my head, they have become my confidants and best friends. They are my children. They are a part of who I am as a person for I created them out of the very depth of my being and a great need to not abandon myself in the face of adversity around me with what was happening in the world and very close to home. My Mother had lost both her legs to diabetes, had several amputations, moved from home to a retirement home and then on to a long-term-care facility and I was two hours away. At times I was feeling homesick and didn\u2019t know how I could help. Flowercat \u2122 came to me and has inspired me out of my feeling of loneliness and abandonment and shown me a way to help. My Mother was also inspired by my doodle art characters and at times she became Flowercat \u2122 and personal drawings were done to celebrate her life. At 91, at the end of her life, I am feeding her like the Mother Bird feeds the baby so a lot of my drawings have taken on real activities that I\u2019ve been doing in my life today. They are one way of healing my heart from the loss that I am feeling but the longevity of her in my heart. Dementia of a parent really takes them away.<\/p>\n

Flowercat \u2122 & Friends have voices and want to be part of society\u2019s evolution to a more peaceful nature and speak to the world by spreading Joy, Love, Gratitude and Good Will.<\/p>\n

WHEN AND WHY DOES A DOODLE ARTIST DOODLE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I doodle all the time and have spent countless long hours drawing and colouring. Art can be doodled in the car, sitting in bed at night, sitting in a hospital room, in the middle of the night when you can\u2019t sleep, sitting on a long flight, watching TV or any time that you really want to. I have one rule and that is that any so called mistake cannot be a mistake and has to be turned into something else. So far, I have not destroyed one drawing.<\/p>\n

Doodling taps into creative sources that sometimes seem foreign. Doodling has made me laugh, cry, shifted my mood and lightened my spirit. I have had revelations of information and solved problems in a very creative way just by letting my imagination flow. By drawing the same things over and over again they often give you new interpretations and a new perspective. I sometimes sleep with my doodle art and awaken refreshed and motivated by my pictures. A routine in our household has been for me to put each picture in my husband\u2019s business mail box so that he can have a peek at what I am up to. After he looks at them, they are given back to me to file by date. These albums are accumulating and are as meaningful as photo albums as they are a glimpse of where I am in space and time and what my beliefs are. When I am traveling and in foreign countries or in new situations I find that I incorporate the culture into the drawings so this gives me a glimpse of where I\u2019ve been. I also doodle while in training classes and at seminars and when I come home I make books out of my notes and artwork so when I reread my notes the drawings are there as a spirit of good will and are watching over my learning and living.<\/p>\n

When you create something internally you really take on the nature of what you\u2019ve done and you become your creation in mind, body and soul. It is my greatest gift to help heal the world in my own way, at my own speed and in the context of my own self expression and for that I honour my soul.<\/p>\n

\"Flower<\/a>
Flower Cat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Birth of Flowercat<\/strong>
\nJanuary 21, 2007<\/p>\n

On a wintry night,
\nThere was a pounding at the door.
\nI put the lights on,
\nAnd sitting on the front porch,
\nWas a present,
\nThat had a card that read,
\n\u201cOnly one who believes,<\/strong>
\n Should open this box,<\/strong>
\n For it contains magic.\u201d<\/strong>
\nThe red bow was enticing,
\nAnd I traced it with my finger.
\nI swear the lid popped up,
\nWhen I knelt beside it,
\nAnd put my face close.
\nWas this a jack-in-the-box?
\nI reached inside,
\nAnd there at my fingertips,
\nWas a round snow globe.
\nThere was a white ball,
\nEmerged in fluid just floating aimlessly.
\nIt intrigued me.
\nCompassion flew in my heart,
\nAnd feeling like the globe must be cold,
\nI held the sphere in my hands,
\nAnd watched it like a believer.
\nMy hands became warm almost immediately,
\nAnd I felt such an attachment to the globe.
\nIt was like an embelic cord.
\nBefore my eyes,
\nThe white ball started to spin,
\nIn the sea of clear soup,
\nIn its home in the globe.
\nLike blowing up a balloon,
\nThe embryo took shape,
\nAnd I smiled watching what appeared to be
\n\u2026Birth\u2026
\nA head, two furry ears, 5 petals around the face,
\nTwo furry paws with nails, a nose, eyes, mouth,
\nLong eye lashes under and over the eyes.
\nI was enamored.
\nI was a Mother.
\nThis heaven sent creation,
\nHung in animation,
\nAnd smiled at me,
\nFrom her self contained world.
\nWhen I shook the ball,
\nIt snowed and,
\nHer lashes and whiskers,
\nGot coated with snowflakes,
\nBut with another flick of my wrist,
\nAnd a twirl of the globe,
\nThe snow swirled faster and faster,
\nAnd my little newborn was dancing.
\nIt was magical,
\nAnd she looked like a ballerina,
\nAnd the next, a tap dancer.
\nIn my heart,
\nI could feel her urge to jump out,
\nAnd sit in my lap.
\nShe just stared with those sapphire eyes,
\nAnd I was caught in the moment,
\nMesmerized by my fate,
\nFor what had I done to deserve this honour.
\nI watched spots appear,
\nOne by one, on her petals,
\nAll in different colours.
\nThen a heart announced itself,
\nSat on one petal and painted itself red.
\nAnother heart appeared at her paws,
\nWhich she stretched forth to me.
\nIt warmed my soul as it sent thoughts,
\nOf pure love, harmony and joy,
\nTo the core of my being.
\nHer tail began to grow,
\nAnd became a lush vine,
\nFilled with flowers, leaves and berries.
\nIt just took root,
\nAnd circled the snow globe,
\nBlossoming and growing where it traveled.
\nI wound the crank on the base of the snow globe,
\nAnd to my delight,
\nIt turned on a magic light show.
\nThe pool was purple, then green, then blue,
\nAnd Flowercat<\/strong> that I named her,
\nPulsated with brilliant white light.
\nHer love radiated beyond the snow globe,
\nOut through my heart,
\nTo every living creature, plant and animal.
\nThere was such an infusion of harmony,
\nThat happiness multiplied.
\nThe peace of the moment,
\nBecame the peace of the world,
\nAnd the lushness of living,
\nAnd the symmetry of the world,
\nWas readjusted just by one small,
\nGesture from Flowercat<\/strong>,
\nWho ignited her whole heart,
\nInto believing in the survival of the world,
\nThat the body of the world followed in pursuit.
\nThat\u2019s what love is all about.
\nFlowercat<\/strong> had been created by God,
\nTo bring peace and harmony to the world,
\nAnd limitless opportunities for us,
\nTo blend together in true love.
\nIn this moment of joy that I and the rest experienced,
\nFlowercat<\/strong> walked through the snow globe,
\nHopped onto my lap,
\nHad a nice long nap,
\nAnd now resides in my mind\u2019s eye.
\nShe brings her gestures of love to the world,
\nWhen we have communion,
\nAnd I set pen to paper,
\nAnd draw her in vignettes.
\nHer voice is strong and she initiates intuitiveness,
\nAnd through one drawing at a time,
\nThe world will be healed,
\nAs she radiates her love willingly,
\nTo mankind.<\/p>\n

(Flowercat<\/strong> was created in 2006 as part of a dream)
\nGail McNaughton, Canadian Poet & Doodle Artist<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ARTIST\u2019S STATEMENT \u2013 GAIL MCNAUGHTON (February 29, 2008) WHO IS FLOWERCAT \u2122 & FRIENDS Flowercat \u2122 & Friends are symbols of peace and harmony. They reach out to the world to offer peace through their gentleness and friendship. There are specific characters that are intertwined in one another\u2019s lives \u2013 Angelica the Angel\/Woman, Flowercat \u2122, … Continue reading ARTIST\u2019S STATEMENT \u2013 GAIL MCNAUGHTON<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4175"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4177,"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4175\/revisions\/4177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailmcnaughton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}