Musings About "From the Bridge"
Bridges fascinate me. I painted "From the Bridge" thinking about how they are steeped in symbolism. They are about transition. Taking you from one shore to the other. Spaces of transition are called liminal spaces. A space between the familiar and the new, the past and future, the seen and unseen. They are places where you don’t spend much time. You generally don’t live on a bridge. You have to trust the bridge will support you all the way across, that you can face any troll lurking under the bridge that might impede your crossing. Profound wisdom to guide our life choices are embedded in sayings such as ‘cross that bridge when you come to it’—a reminder to take care of today and not to try to solve tomorrow’s problems with today’s tools. Or, ‘don’t burn all your bridges,’ a warning we all understand. Bridges connect. The fleeting light and long shadows in the painting add to the feeling of transition and transformation. Day is deepening into evening. Rivers are the most dynamic of ecosystems, always transforming. We each have our own symbolic meanings for rivers. “From the Bridge” is also a tribute to two dear friends who died of COVID19 this past year. Our lives are fleeting but precious, ever changing. We need courage to keep crossing over, to not get stuck, to unify and connect. And there is the simple magic of just walking over a bridge, a moment of walking over air. A moment to remember.
