Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

THE CARTOMANCER

Home
Pagan
99 PERCENT CLARITY

99 PERCENT CLARITY

Last updated on: December 6, 2018 at 10:21 pm by Camelia Elias

99 PERCENT CLARITY 2018-12-06T22:21:21+02:00 Camelia Elias

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Photo: Camelia Elias

I’m sitting with an art project that involves exhibition of photographs. I’m staring at the thing, and wait for the perfect vision about it to unfold. One percent of knowing exactly what I’m trying to do is missing, so I’m having a controlled moment of waiting for a chance revelation.

Where art is concerned, the type that grabs your heart mercilessly, I have no illusions. If I don’t have the one hundred percent clarity about my project, I drop it. The reason for the dropping act has to do with acknowledging the million of other artists on the planet who prove to be better, whose ‘perfect’ is better than my ‘good enough perfect.’

Here’s a something that might inspire you, in case you experience a similar situation.

When the one percent is missing, I take it from the other end. For instance, I start cutting the mats to fit my prints in, even before I know about the exact measure of the prints.

I’m buying chemicals, gelatin silver, lith developer, gum bichromate and such, even before I make up my mind as to whether or not I’ll step into a darkroom at all. In the end I might as well smack a Hipstamatic filter combination on my raw files, and go with one hundred precent iPhoto art.

Selfie in the mirror with iPhone, waiting for a revelation.

What’s interesting is not the medium, but the process.

While I sit with archival tape, transparent corners, and the matting kit, I pay attention to where my knife goes. Something is already in my head pertaining to the idea of getting close, of cutting to the bones. I’m there ninety-nine percent. Perhaps the missing one percent is about close-ups, about holding a memory.

Recently I shared on Instagram an old memory. I always liked experimenting, as playing with chance, control, and accident gives me the air of a scientist. When I was in fifth grade I almost convinced myself that I was going to become a chemist. At least that was what my teacher thought, after having witnessed a fine demonstration of my recitation of the Mendeleev table by heart. I so loved this teacher and I thought that one way of making her happy was if I did something that was not required, but still a good idea, which was to memorize all the elements and their position in the chemical order of things. Perhaps memory is also an element.

Forty years down the road I find myself rummaging through chemical concoctions that respond differently to light. Today there’s a thick witchy fog. What if I overexposed in this light? This is a never ending story. Meanwhile I made the decision to have ten perfect prints for the exhibition.

I asked the cards, in all humbleness: What am I waiting for? Secretly I’m hoping that the cards will reveal the missing one percent just like that. I took out a very old playing cards deck that has very thin ink writing on it. The person who wrote on the cards clearly used them for fortunetelling.

The ink and the hand-writing aged on the stupendous card stock in a very delicate way. This is already art in the highest.

I got all red cards:

Early 19th c. English Playing Cards (Photo: Camelia Elias)

7 Diamonds, Ace of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds

There’s hand writing on the first two, but not on the Jack, who is self-explanatory in the old fortune-teller’s worldview.

Seven diamonds is ‘Thoughts,’ and the Ace is the ‘House.’ Yeah, I need this in the bag, as it were.

Early 19th c. English Playing Cards (Photo: Camelia Elias)

The Jack of Diamonds following seems to suggest that the one percent that’s missing is about polishing. Polishing the idea that’s familiar to me. I think of my love of chemists and the regret over what I don’t have. I don’t have a bloody darkroom. I have mats that are cut into shape and their empty space.

My eyes fixate on the Ace of Hearts. Such a marvelous singular expression. But the Jack of Diamonds gives me the cold shoulder. He’s not impressed with my effort, retorting back: ‘If you don’t know what it is, if you don’t know why the one percent is missing, why don’t you ask, ask me, for example?’

Damn. Reading the damn cards is a merciless affair. I think I’m going to do just that, bring my thoughts into a close-up and then ask the one who knows better.

Before you know it, I’ll have 10 prints that will be the expression of having answered the why. Why am I doing this?

Art is exciting for this reason alone. Wish me luck.

♠

Stay in the loop for cartomantic courses.

About Camelia Elias

Camelia Elias, PhD, Dr.Phil., is a former university professor. After 20 years in the academia, she left her career to pursue her interests in teaching and writing on the philosophy and practice of reading cards. She works with contemplative arts, oracular language, and martial arts cartomancy and Zen at her own school, Aradia Academy. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

November 27, 2018

CONVERSATION WITH OR ABOUT THE CARDS?

Next Post

December 13, 2018 FUNDAMENTALS IN READING A VISUAL TEXT

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Columns The Cartomancer Uncategorized

Select a Month January 2024 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 November 2022 October 2022 August 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

According to James, if you show favoritism, what have you become?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Lawbreakers Judges with evil thoughts False teachers Hypocrites