the great wave

People will recognize the famous wave painting instantly, but might not know anything about the artist, Katsushika Hokusai. During his lifetime, he created an astounding amount of work. In 1831, he painted the great wave painting, 60 years after he began creating art. His life is a story of flow and endurance. Hokusai was a Japanese painter and printmaker born in 1760 who went by many names during his lifetime, which was common practice among Japanese artists at the time. He also never liked to stay in one place for very long and relocated 93 times by the end of his life. His life was defined by movement or flow. Change did not bother him. A series of personal traumas set Hokusai back, including the loss of two wives and the death of two children. Ten years after being struck by lightning at 50 years of age, he suffered a stroke in his sixties that required him to relearn his art! Financial hardship was another obstacle he had to overcome. I find Hokusai's use of his art to process the obstacles he encountered most inspiring, an example of art for life's sake. The great wave off kanagawa (1830), which he composed after facing multiple intrusive marker events, was among the 36 views of mount fuji he created. Mountains are often associated with endurance, inspiration, the nearness of God and overcoming difficulty. In my opinion, the peak of the mountain may represent a place of arrival within ourselves where we feel comfortable with who we have become and despite everything not being okay, there is a great sense of satisfaction and acceptance, a stillness within. Waves can symbolize a lot of things. Imagining a big wave makes me feel apprehensive, since I am not an experienced swimmer, but it also fills me with awe when I consider its power and how it can carry something from one place to another in a single swoop.

There is a surge of big emotions that water and flow go hand in hand.