A Chrysalis is Not a Tomb (8/1/20 - 10/21/21).
A chrysalis is not a tomb, though it may surely feel as such during the long, painful process of transformation.
Zen, as practiced through the drawing of an enso, is fundamentally an exercise of being aware and fully conscious of the present moment. I took this practice, and adapted it to create “A Chrysalis is not a Tomb.” Every day, for 447 days, from my late grandfather’s birthday on August 1st, 2020 to the successful completion and defense of my PhD Thesis on October 21st, 2021 I added one enso stroke to the growing canvas. I would choose the color of each stroke based upon what color best represented my feelings about the day as a whole.
The piece can be thought of as an emotional historiography, a therapeutic exercise, and a process of transformation.
Days 1 - 100
August 1st - November 8th, 2020
Days 101 - 200
November 9th - February 17th
Days 201 - 300
February 18th - May 29th
Days 301 - 400
May 30th - September 7th
Days 401 - 447
September 8th - October 21st
