A LESSON ON THE METAPHYSICAL/METAPHORICAL

The pic below is part of a dream I had
the pic on the right...something I'm still busy on which I started with Noreen..my first abstract!

Ihave been told that I am subconciously adding Christian symbolism in all my work. Today I saw this for myself! ART THERAPY FOR ARTISTS..... my first of four lessons that I had with Emma (UNISA).

This is the outcome:

The complete picture: we were given a storey which we had to reflect on, involving walking through a forest, finding a small clearing, a little house in the clearing and a small child in a back room of the house...what I said to the child (Thank God you are OK), what the child said back (you found me!) and me leaving the house (but not without the child!!!!!).

My interperetation: The 'spirit person' sitting on the rock on the top R is an old soul, looking through a magnifying glass into a mandala of pain...the yellow person (life, happiness) is shown to have her skin pulled away and the raw pain (burning heart and cracking down her core) to truely show her pain. The 'uterous' allows an escape, a re-birthing, into the forest by the 'me'(at one with creation) leading the 'little me' out of the pain, both naked and vulnerable, but doing the journey together...as a cognative whole

YES, I AM ON A JOURNEY.

The first question I asked myself today: Am I and artist in the true sence of the word and the second, how would 'Art Therepy' impact on the art that I've been comfortably doing for a few years, classical style, fine art...pretty pictures.

The most interesting thing for me to learn, was that we need both left and right brain in order to do art. Alber Einstein said: " The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithfull servant. We created a society that hoours the servant and has forgotten the gift" How profoundly true!!!!!!!!!

I know that I rationalise my art to the point of being anal, and that my inner critique is my nemesis. But of late, the layers of my 'onion' have started to fall away and I'm going into uncomfortable areas of my psyche and my life which, yes, leave me raw and exposed, but also free. There is great power in metaphorical expression, something I learned today...a great power to visualise the internal, and heal it through the sence of touch, sight, smell, sound and even taste ( not really.... I put the wrong end of a ink-loaded brush into my mouth!!!)

In answer to my own questions, yes!!!...I am an artist in the true sence of the word and to the second; art is a form of on-going therepy, it sustains me, it feeds me, it complete's me .....but is not part of me, its just a gift which I choose to honour, hopefully to give not only myself, but others, pleasure. Its all a process of learning, sharing, creating. If a single person in the whole world valued and empathised with whatever I choose to share from deep within, then mission accomplished!! I have to be true to myself always...I am drawn to the classical style, the old-master genre..but not the challenge for me is to be able to incorporate both. Both have the same value....and I value both.

At the end of today, when discussing my pieces, motivations, symbolism, etc, the comments seemed pretty unanamous' that my work was akin to Frida Cahlo. (not sure about the spelling).. I know little about her other than what my soul sister told me...i,e. she has/had a mother of a uni-brow, ...and I recently read somewhere that she bats/batted for both sides...but other than that, nothing! I'm not a little intrigued! I dont believed that I truely cracked the metaphorical, I used a load of symbolism....but then, maybe I did...although I buggered it up by being aware of the metaphor as I was busy with the picture then able to interperate it to the class. Lord, I gushed in excitement!!!