As well as an artist, I am a trained Macrobiotic cook and health coach, I studied at the International Macrobiotic School in Devon. Yesterday, I taught an online class, we made the food from this photograph: beetroot and chickpea burgers, staranise infused tempeh, orange and broccoli bulgur, quick greens and coconut sweet potato fries.
What does that have to do with art you say? Well, of course cooking is an art, and I very much approach it this way, playing with colours and shapes, tastes and cooking methods. Macrobiotics is a really creative practice, as it is based on the “5 transformations” or “elements” from Traditional Chinese Medicine: Water, wood, fire, earth and metal. Each transformation is associated with a pair of organs (metal with lung & large intestine for example), and also with emotions (metal is grief), and foods, as well as ways to cook these foods. To me, it is an endless creative exploration. The beautiful gift of Macrobiotics is the sense one gets of being more grounded, calmer and more able to approach life and its ups and downs. I have used this in my life in a big way: as a person with bipolar, it has helped me tremendously to stay more in “the middle”, and to not venture too high or too low (I should say here, alongside medication).
I really enjoy teaching these online classes, but I also have much more to learn: I get thrown off when a mistake has been made, or when I am not sure about something. After the class, I tend to worry about whether or not the students enjoyed the class, whether or not the food they’ve produced is good, and I panic I said the wrong thing here or there. I am grateful for the lessons this venture teaches me, and I can take that into my art practice too.