Metal-arms-Wings by Mia and Elliot.

`Metal-arms-Wings

Mia and Elliott Van Veen Loeb (and figgy’s) yin blog for Love Light Yoga, 2024

When my daughter was born, the first thing I noticed and said out loud several times in my post – birth state of mind was that ‘She has onyx eyes’. 

I’ll  never forget the first time baby Elliott (now 8 years old) and I laughed together in the purest way  on the yoga mat while we transitioned from one pose to the next. The transitioning from one posture to another have since then developed new meanings and insights through studying the art of Yin.

Working as a Metal Artist, I have been studying the element of  metal (arms) through experimentation, handcraft and conceptual ideas around metals, oxygen and fire. Having studied yin with Danielle for the past  ten years, Yin has slowly been integrated into the everyday and in the studio. It is a work in progress, like when you learn a whole new language and spend months observing and listening for the tones, pronunciations and body language. 

I think it would be enough for me just to walk around in the world as an Artist, not making anything or ever trying to;it’s not really any protection, but i think it could be enough, a loan you take out against language. that’s a choice you make, carelessly, to decide what you do, what to do. 

– Oscar Tuazon for Marius Engh, An aggregation of adversary, Torpedo press, 2011

Merging ideas from visual art and yin theory/practice, one of the thematics that inspire my work is the Fascia, the interconnective tissue that holds our body together. In a 2020 exhibition at Jane/K.O.S.A (NO), curated by Sara Yazdani, Vera Wyller and Sverre Wyller, I was researching the conceptual aspects of Faciae ( fascia) and applied it to the exhibited works. 

Thinking of the 3 principles of yin- Find your pose -Find your edge – Hold for time.

In the metalshop I work with heat, tools and equipment that can be irritating and frustrating, but when applying yin to the process I am able to rest in the poses required of the body to mold and shape metal which though is hard and strong, can also be soft and gentle. Body movement and breath becomes part of the work while welding, soldering and melting the element. 

In “ F a s c i a e ” Van Veen investigates boundaries existing within human and nonhuman bodies, things and infrastructures. Her man/made/organic fragments exist within, above and underneath bodies, technologies and natural landscapes, constantly negotiating within their surrounding environments. They are guiders, leaders, manipulators, knitters connecting as much as rupturing externally and internally, fissuring and fusing the human body with the natural world.

Even while situated in the protected vicinity of Maridalsvannet—the essential supplier of drinking water in Oslo— “ F a s c i a e ”draws inspiration from quantum physics and its relational world-view. For her installation Mia Van Veen brings forth aqueducts, signals, heatwaves, and quantas. Her focus lays on making visible hidden structures and energies by emphasizing the transformative encounters between living and nonliving matter. She makes a prothesis for water, organs (iris), and plants (iris)–in energy waves on steel, a figure with a heat pool of molten silver and tin. Her concrete skin piece calls up the smallest human cell or a grain of sand—a moment between mind, matter and technologies of nature and its forms. Behind the glass in the diorama, the sculptures model a universe where air, heatwaves and water flow, move below and above earth

Curator’s statement/text by Sara S. Yazdani, 2021

`Fascia is the felt sense´

–Danielle Hoogenboom 

Metal is strong, but adaptable. It represents grief, sadness and bravery. We hold grief in our lungs and upper body, and it can be challenging and irritating to breathe in and out. Yin uses the principles of the meridians, by stretching the fascia you are stretching the meridians. These highways of energies through our bodies. It creates a kind of organized chaos, just like polishing metals-it is scratches put into order. Or a web with no weaver .

One of my favourite things about Yin (and Art) is the variations for every pose. It creates a freedom within the practice, there’s not one way. Not a specific container. Not one final destination. It’s the place between emptiness and fullness. 

For the past year, soldering and brazing on sheets of metal have made way for new techniques in the metalshop. From soldering with a soldering iron, light as a feather and gentle to manage – to taking on brazing, which requires large scale gas and propane tanks, open flame and different body movement. It’s a rhythmic/dynamic dance with the torch, letting in space between each time the flame hits the brass and melts it onto the surface. Two opposites yet still they carry a part of the other with them.

Conversation between Mia and Elliott: 

M: Do you remember when you started with yin? 

E: I was so little that I couldn’t remember 

M:Why do you love yin?

E: Because it makes me calm and I love drawing in class. 

Words from Elliott Iris, age 8 :

Lay down and pretend that the roof is the sky

Sit with your legs crossed and say ooooooooomm

I like to just lay on the ground and relax and focus on the good stuff that is happening in your life

I have a yoga teacher named Danielle , you may have heard of her – she’s really pretty and a really good teacher. She likes yin and she likes to read. She’s very into yoga and that is so nice. Cause when you’re stressed it makes your body goes a little ‘coco’ and when you do meditation your body gets slower and calmer. Your body feels nicer to live in. And when you meditate it’s not so hard to be crazy. But if you do get a little crazy, it’s ok because there’s someone there to help you. There’s always someone who is good and not bad. 

One time I drew a really pretty flower that turned out so nice that my mum put it up on the fridge so we could look at it each time we are stressed. Then we could look at the flower. And one thing that always makes me more calm – it’s a good hug. So if you ever feel stressed – it’s ok! If you don’t know what to do – here are some things you can do : 

To do when stressed :

To hug 

To meditate 

To draw 

Smell some rosemary oil 

Close your eyes 

Find stillness 

Breathe 

Long exhales 

I like Sundays because then we see Danielle and I can fall asleep next to my mum on the yoga mat with lots of blankets and our Yinnie dog figgy. Danielle’s voice is nice to fall asleep to. 

One day I want to make a yin children’s book with my mama because I think more kids would  appreciate experiencing it. 

A short story by Elliott: 

There was a girl who was going to yin and she was named Tina. Tina had a lot of talent, and not everyone had it. And she didn’t just have a regular talent, she had a special talent. She could rest and sleep. Good night , love from Elliott✨

My yoga dog – she is the best dog ever

Love yin from Elliott            ❤️