" When human beings lose their connection to nature, to heaven and earth, then they do not know how to nurture their environment or how to rule their world - which is saying the same thing. Human beings destroy their ecology at the same time that they destroy each other. From that perspective, healing our society goes hand in hand with healing our personal, elemental connection with the phenomenal world. "
— The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Volume 8: Great Eastern Sun.
MANTRA
The studio has a few mantras. (It has itself a secret name which I will reveal later.)
I give these short formulas a sacred content and an empowering role: that of reminding me of the fundamentals of my commitment as an artist. They filigreely color the central intention which will mobilize any movement, from my zafu to the act of painting.
" Nature as Muse " is one of the most essential.
Of course, I still live and work in Saint-Malo where I was born. This, by choice and I will discuss the virtues of “ immobility ” in another post.
The Emerald Coast, its stunning tides, the predominance of the mineral and the marine, the heavy and constantly changing skies, its glaz** and grey-blue palette... it is this synergy that I tune into. It is here, in northern Brittany, that my axis is located, both physical and spiritual, and where my vitality is renewed every day by cycling along the coast.
Of course also, the exploration of the Norwegian fjords and a break from life in the Lofoten Islands, the discovery of the Himalayan world and a pilgrimage to the heart of Bhutan, the starry summer nights spent on the shores of the Lake of Annecy or in Ojai, California, contemplations on long abseileing upwinds or wanderings in the Japanese hinterland... did inevitably lead me to great moments of fusion with the elements.
But what I would like to evoke here is the daily relationship – eminently simple – with Nature, which underpins my work and provides the richest soil for my inspiration.
An immediate “Into the Wild”... far from the great outdoors, in my local environment.
* The other fundamental mantras are manifested from my Zen practice being “ Art as Dharma Rain ” and “ Art to Save All Sentient Beings”. We will talk about this in another post.
** Glaz: in Breton (dialect in Brittany), there is only one word to designate blue and green in an undifferentiated way, sometimes tinged with gray: it is the word " glaz ".
THE SKY & THE COSMOS
Living in northern Brittany involves welcoming the permanent changes in the sky and synchronizing with the rhythm of the highest tides in Europe, the cycles of the moon, the seasons and further with the cosmos. From a past as a sailor, I keep a passion for meteorology and the evolution of clouds, the arrival of gusts of wind, rainfalls and the promises of blazing sunsets...
Without ever having confided it to him, my Zen meditation teacher Sokuzan gave me the public Dharma name* : 雲明 — " Luminous Cloud "; you can’t make that up.
With my head in the air, I studied traditional astrology** which I work on every day, for myself, my friends and their friends... but also and above all in the studio since I integrate it into certain creative processes***
See the page Art • Strology .
* Two Buddhist names (or dharma names) are given to the student by his teacher during his / her lay ordination (or Jukai) in the Zen lineage: my public name is Meiun 雲明 (Luminous Cloud), my private name is Rentai 体虹 (Rainbow Body). They participate in the work of non-attachment to the ego. ** Traditional astrology is based on sources dating from Antiquity to the 17th century and is an Art different from modern or psychological astrology. I studied it in particular with the School of Traditional Astrology and obtained a Certificate in Horary Astrology (2021) with Deborah Houlding and a Certificate in Medical Astrology (2023) with Lee Lehman.
** Art • Strology : " When Love and the Stars move the brush " : https://www.carolinemaby.art/en/astrologie
THE MINERAL WORLD
I contact the stones and the crystals, by caressing the granite during my walks, by writing and drawing in the sand. I like to wear minerals and semi-precious gems, especially turquoise, smoky quartz, labradorite or moonstone and make my own malas*, chanting.
I also connect to the mineral world by making my alchemy crystal bowls sing. The resonance with their extremely pure sound is first felt throughout the physical body and subsequently interacts with the subtler bodies.
“ Just like the sun, crystal singing bowls emit photons (life force energy). This energy activates light in the body, and from this light, our consciousness is enhanced and expanded, allowing for personal awakening at the DNA level ”.
(Source: Crystal Tones® **)
* mala: Buddhist necklace of 108 beads used in particular for reciting mantras.
** Crystal Tones®: https://crystalsingingbowls.com
THE VEGETAL WORLD
The art of bouquets, Ikebana according to the Sogetsu lineage or made from wild flowers gleaned from the village market, is a practice close to sketchbooks and encourages creativity.
Aromatherapy, phytotherapy, flower essences, use of plants and vegetables, picked from nature or cultivated, worked or dehydrated... the palette that Nature offers is immense.
Aromatherapy is my preferred treatment option, in response to frank symptoms. I reinforce it with the more subtle use of flower essences that fascinate me — I rely on Perelandra's suggestions and protocols which I often complete with my set of Bach Flowers*.
At the studio, the message and the vibrational force of these flowers are used in a very personal and original way and I never start a day there without having first consulted my elixirs.
I bring the flower essences or essential oils necessary for the balance of the space, my physical / emotional and / or spiritual state as well as the creation in progress. As for Art • Strology (dialogue between the canvas and traditional Astrology), I have developed interactive techniques between the creative process and the flower essences.
* Bach Flowers and Perelandra Essences are systems of using flower essences in which I have been trained.
THE ANIMAL WORLD
I am lucky to be the guardian of two sensitive and wonderful little beings: Tsuki and Morsifish.
Morsifish is my pretty blue Betta fish.
Tsuki, the little Bengal, is a graceful and athletic feline, to whom I attribute great psychic powers. She sees the invisible and shows it to me on a daily basis with her skillful means such as the use of art supplies or her behavior with wild atavisms: she moans with a high-pitched meow, wrinkling her nose like a big beast, pointing towards that which I cannot see. She spills the appropriate medium when I cannot decide on the evolution of a painting, focuses her attention (and her ravages) on an abandoned work, or a book to renew interest in it.
What is astonishing each time is the high relevance and barely hidden meaning of her gesture.
And then there are the birds that live in the garden of the home-studio. I listen to them, distinguish them and observe them patiently.
THE " BUDDHIST WITCH "*
Hydrangeas in the garden, Tsuki in the studio, my collection of alchemical crystal bowls, shrine, the bay of Saint-Malo, divination.
Photos © Caroline Maby
My daily life is animated by an improvised choreography between all these subtle energies that Nature offers.
The unchanging priority in the morning is to feed my little animals, talk to them, stare at them — what more wonderful wake-up call than making oneself available and present to the living...?! Tsuki will definitely ask me to play with her if I'm in too much of a hurry. I slow down and talk to my orchids garden, not necessarily out loud but in a thought form probably close to Alpha mode. These twenty or so phalaenopsis, a delicate collection in constant flowering, reminds me of climbing in the Himalayan heights.
From dawn, the calligraphy of gestures is written in forms and rituals often spontaneously invented, inspired by my intuition or guided by the tradition of green magic** (or blue magic if inspired by the sea). This is truly about connecting and interacting with the invisible by mobilizing the forces of Nature.
And with the greatest sincerity, I confess that a real dialogue is taking place. I hear my cat, I understand my fish, I receive the message of plants and flower essences, I resonate with the energy of the stones... The wonderful thing is that they also hear me since the interaction is tangible.
The creative and uplifting nature of the intention is decisive. Meditation, body awareness, the pragmatic issues of life and Bodhicitta*** help me channel and clarify it.
To work towards its manifestation, I create my remedies, spells and synergies in a ballet composed of rituals that I try to load with meaning and beauty thanks to the support of the vibrational energy of flowers (essences, essential oils, hydrosols, bouquets ...), plants (herbalism) and sound baths, minerals and candles, sigils and prayers. I collect things... everywhere, in my garden, on the beach which are charged with a symbolic and energetic force infused by intention.
Why is it important to share these practices with you?
Because my respect for the elements and this permanent link with their simplest and local offerings are one of the two fundamental pillars**** of my inspiration and my commitment as a painter. Without it, creating is meaningless.
This wildly inspiring dialogue with Nature decenters me and demarcates my place at the same time into its bosom, as a part, with tenderness. By allowing myself to re-inhabit this biosphere, not being separated from it, I remain aware of my role to play in the era of the Anthropocene, that of learning the language of the invisible and taking care of my lot of land, surrounding air and water with respect through sympathetic listening.
May one day a sketch, a drawing, a canvas be an inspiring witness to this aspiration. Here's what I'm working on.
* My American friends kindly call me the " Buddhist witch ".
** Green magic: The oldest form of magic uses the medicinal and spiritual virtues of plants, trees, flowers, stones...
*** Bodhicitta, the “ Spirit of Awakening ”, which means the wisdom of Love and Compassion, is the ultimate goal of all the vehicles taught by the Buddha in the sutras and tantras. This “ Spirit ” presents an absolute aspect: emptiness; and a relative aspect: the wish to achieve the omniscience of Buddhahood to better serve all sentient beings without the slightest exception. This aspiration deepens in the meditation of love, compassion, joy and equanimity.
**** The other pillar is the Dharma, or study of the Buddhist path.
