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An Artist's Thoughts on the Ensō
by Deanna Gabiga I am fascinated by ensō, by the dark splashes of black ink on white paper and how a single, meditative loop represents a single moment of open creation. What happens when multiple moments are looped together in three-dimension versus a two-dimensional piece of paper?
Stitching for me is a meditative action as the smooth copper wire glides through my fingers and over my crochet hook. Each crochet stitch I make is created from a varying set of loops, each loop is a copper thread telling a story in sculptural form. From this single thread of looping wire, in flows a single thought, like trickling water. My hook pulls in more smooth copper and adds a twist to the loops, yet another twist and a dive through a different loop to then pull another loop through. Loop upon loop grows into stitch upon stitch. I find my flow and my stressors slip away. Here my mind opens and connects with new, limitless ideas. As the stitches accumulate, the thoughts become a sentence, then two sentences. More stitches and the ideas grow, building worlds in a myriad of colors. The story I am sculpting begins to coalesce. With the final twist and pull of the wire the three-dimensional space is filled, the story is told. I discover the story is sometimes a completely new direction for my stitch work, and other times a clearer way to tell an older story keeps the momentum going. The story told by the raw metal sculpture can be perfect as it is, ready for a home. Other times, I enjoy returning forms to the two-dimensional space, utilizing photography, which I have done through this series of ensō images. Deanna Gabiga is most recently from Hawai’i and currently resides in Japan. She is an internationally-exhibited, interdisciplinary artist creating sculptures and installation pieces utilizing textile techniques, working with fibers and metals, sometimes together and sometimes not. Through classes in the US, Europe, and Japan she honed her creative skills into a unique sculptural practice that combines the masculine and feminine materials with the organic, tropical inspiration of Hawai’i and the meticulous aesthetic of Japanese craftsmanship. Follow her on Instagram @StudioDeanna
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Images by Deanna Gabiga
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