The Maine Chapter
From the Golden State to the Pine Tree State
Welcome to the 12th volume of Morning Pages, a newsletter sharing inspirations at the intersection of culture and identity, creative experiments, and occasional studio updates.
On Thanksgiving Day, my husband and I said goodbye to San Francisco after a decade of living here. Along with two cats, we’ve moved to the southern coast of Maine.
By no means this was an easy decision. In September, we came up with the idea during a camping trip by the Pacific Ocean. To make this move happen, the past two months were mentally and physically exhausting. Sometimes things do have to get worse before it gets better.
We’re thankful that the transition has been smooth. Both of us will continue working remotely in our current positions. Our family in the New England area was tremendously helpful. It feels great to be closer to your loved ones, especially during these isolated times.
For the past few years, every trip to Maine has been deeply inspiring for me. The water, the sandy beaches, and the rugged coastlines sparked endless creative inspirations. We look forward to experiencing a peacefully quiet winter. More opportunities to connect with family and nature. What’s also exciting, more reasons to paint.
I've been practicing figurative and head drawing during the past few years. There was a lovely drawing studio in my neighborhood in San Francisco. The process of drawing humans can sometimes feel technical and rigid. As a result, I was never satisfied with what I created.
Interestingly, my ink landscape paintings continue to appeal to folks after many years. This weekend, I Tweeted about my ink paintings to the #AsianArtistShare community. The support rekindled my desire to paint those imaginary landscapes more.
Seems to me the true artist must perforce go from time to time to the elemental big forms — Sky, Sea, Mountain, and Plain.
— John Marin, American modernist painter.
The big elemental forms are "landscape" in Chinese ink paintings. “Landscape” in Chinese consists of two characters: 山水, which means mountains and water. In the philosophy of Daoism, 山水 emphasizes harmony with the natural world.
I’m looking forward to this Maine chapter of my artistic endeavor.
In the upcoming volumes, I’ll be sharing artists and their work inspired by the beauty and grandeur of the Maine landscape. Until next, enjoy this poem from American modernist painter John Marin (1870-1953) who loved expressing his love of Maine.
Wonderful days. Wonderful sunset closings.
Good to have eyes to see, ears to hear the roar of the waters.
Nostrils to take in the odors of the salt, sea and the firs.
Fish fresh, caught some myself.
Berries to pick, picked many wild delicious strawberries.
The blueberries are coming on.
On the verge of the wilderness, big flopping lazy still-flying cranes.
Big flying eagles.
The solemn restful beautiful firs.
The border of the sea.
Good night.
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Yuan Studio is a space that explores the intersections of global cultures and identities. Currently, the studio is incubating a series of creative projects, such as Morning Pages, and offering coaching for people of color to harness the power of their creativity and leadership potential. You can reach out on Twitter and LinkedIn.