Emily Jalinsky

"Present Moment Trailing Thoughts," embroidery, graphite, metallic pen and ink on Rives BFK, 14"x14"

In my recent work I have been focusing on the idea of mindfulness, not just taming the mind but finding a calm space within ourselves during any moment. In Francesca Abbate’s prose poem “Seedy Mysteries” I responded to the notion of letting the mind drift and crawl between present experiences and past observations. In the poem Montaigne labels this process as idleness. I think Abbate's poem challenges this label. I found Not Baby’s thought process to mimic the inevitable crawling, encroaching rhizomes setting root where they were not intended to grow. In my piece, the roots are disruptive with jagged freeform lines, and yet form their own balance with the rhythmic, underlining pattern.