Yoga

I doodled this in ink on a piece of paper, while at work in the lab 35 years ago, waiting for a cycle of PCR tests to run. I can't remember exactly why I titled it Yoga, as the concept was largely unheard of in Romania at the time - except perhaps during some of the talks we used to have with sensei in Aikido classes. Of course, the caduceus is the symbol of medicine, but I have no idea where everything else came from. 

In 2020, my daughter Adina signed me up to participate in the Global Art Project for Peace, an art exchange program from the USA - she is the regional coordinator for Romania, and suggested this doodle would fit the theme of the project. She then proceeded to sample and add this colour scheme from Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch’s alchemical vision of paradise (The Garden of Earthly Delights, 15th-16th century) that had been the focus of one of her research papers. I see now that there are some resemblances with my doodle, indeed, like the strange fountains, vegetation and the interwoven shapes of various creatures. The resulting artwork was printed on canvas and shipped to my correspondent. 

Doodling has become a lot more popular nowadays, and of course I still enjoy it from time to time. It's a wonderful practice because it helps with defocusing the mind and allows new inspiration to flow - though I personally didn't have a clue about what exactly this inspiration was telling me (too much concentration is certainly bad for your health, no argument from me there!). 

  

The Global Art Project for Peace was a great experience and I'll probably participate again - this is the watercolour I received from Maggie in Washington State, from a place dubbed "Little Norway"... it is now proudly displayed in my hallway. 

Find out more about the project (and if you're from Romania or diaspora, sign up here!) at: 

https://globalartprojectromania.wordpress.com/