“Afloat” Image. Ceres Gallery. New York. Solo Show.

Technique has never inspired an idea for one of my shows. Or even a title for a piece. By the way, titles mean very little to me. It’s a visual medium. If you have to look at the artwork through the lens of what the artist wrote as its title, you are not using the discipline for what it was intended. You are not looking.

A man and a woman walked into my exhibition, “Afloat: An installation” in New York last March. They were an extremely engaging couple. They “got” my work to an extent that no one usually does. We laughed and joked about things and it turned out they were artists.

The woman had been doing some work with crayon and a hair dryer. Blowing the hot wax around. Using acrylic paints as watercolors by watering them down and letting them drip. Artist talk. I enjoyed them immensely. They could see the theme of most of my collages was based on natural disasters. They were inspiring me to use the technique of paint running all over the canvas as something to try for my new body of work.

Mudslides and Meteorites.

“Afloat” Image. Ceres Gallery. New York. Solo Show.

Very recently, I purchased an infrared sauna. Now, this idea came to me from my allergist who told me it would clear the toxins from my body, such as environmental toxins, like metal and plastic. He also told me it would help relieve a sinus problem I have had for a very long time.

I even heard from some metaphysically minded folks that infrared sauna use would eliminate “bad energy.” Such as someone glaring at you in the supermarket, which apparently goes into your system. Or more blatant bad events, like a car accident or a fight with your spouse. Or someone’s jealously that manifests into so-called “thought evil” doing your body harm.

Infrared waves (heat waves) go through the sauna, and unlike a regular sauna, a person doesn’t get as hot. But profuse sweating occurs. The toxins come out of the person’s body by way of sweating. Being in it for a much longer period of time is possible.

It’s a little spooky to imagine these unusual waves are shooting around in this small box. I have seen movies where infrared glasses are used to track down criminals at night. And there are infrared cameras, familiar to us all. A kind of green light is shown.

No green light. Just a regular-looking sauna.

The first day, after being in the infrared sauna, I noticed that food tasted better. After the second day, things got a little weird.

I felt so clear, calm and clean, that toxicity was craved. I needed some crap in my life. I felt this urge to turn on the news. (I never watch/listen to the news) Apparently, my body must be so full of toxins that the absence of them produced this effect. I had two Diet Cokes, not one. Three glasses of wine, not two. I craved bags of m and m’s before dinner. Not like me at all.

Hopefully, we have not evolved to the state where being normal is being full of crap.