Lea Meisel

Cut out for it.

When reflecting on the course I think about the recurring anxieties that came up throughout the year. Challenging my abilities, my intuition and purpose, I continually asked myself: “Am I cut out for this?” Will I be able to hold others as I am learning to hold myself? Am I able to hold myself accountable for my feelings, myself and my actions? What role do I play or represent in the larger picture?

My linocut is of a small figure skateboarding in an empty pool and the print is presented in various ways in a forest.

The small figure has a little shadow that is not completely aligned to the body, portraying the inquiry into what I leave behind and its transience in the constantly changing surroundings. Its movement in this cellular and empty pool demands the figure to move organically according to the architecture and adjust or flow with the movement of the pool. Trusting the process.

The forest, being a place of nature and a step back from the everyday hustle, allowed me to evaluate my art making and new way of thinking that this course has been encouraging us to do. Presenting my linocuts in the forest felt like I was linking my structured, rational and slightly rigid mind-set with a more welcoming and wholesome self.