ART EXPLORATIONS
Discover and deepen your creative process
through realistic or abstract art making.
Painting, drawing, collage, mixed media, fiber, or sculpture.
All levels welcome!
Fun multi-media art explorations in a nonjudgmental and encouraging environment. No experience is necessary. Just a willingness to explore and the courage to make a mess! Those who feel that they have no artistic talent are especially welcome to attend, as well as anyone who feels blocked creatively in any capacity. The freedom to explore art mediums and creative process without expectation, may allow creativity to flourish in other areas of one’s life. This group offers already established artists the opportunity to work in the company of others, take new risks or discover a different approach.
Each person engages in their own explorations, but guidance and creative assignments will be offered for any who need it. Everyone has the capacity to make beneficial art. One does not need special skills or abilities. An open willingness to explore and freely express the self is enough. However, many of us have been conditioned to believe the opposite. We have forgotten that unselfconscious naivete makes for great art. For example, “outsider” or “primitive” art becomes highly valuable years later, once the work acquires a degree of antiquity and serves as historical reference.
People make art for all different reasons, not just beauty and decoration. Oftentimes, purpose or meaning arise unexpectedly out of the process itself. Possibilities include journal or diary, visionary, religious or spiritual purposes, subconscious insight, spirit communication, healing, discoveries about yourself, make new pathways and connections, problem solving, inventions, maps, nature learning, learning to see
An art process can serve multiple multiple purposes and is often a fun and satisfying way to explore the nature of materials and discover hidden elements of oneself.
Engaging in a creative process can be helpful for many areas of life, not just art.
If you are already an established artist, feel free to bring your art and explore working on it in a supportive group environment.
When making art for inner development, I have found that the quality of the art is relatively unimportant. What matters most is receptivity and inner listening. Spending time gazing at a new image is an effortless way to absorb nonverbal communication that flows from the unconscious. I make art as a way of partaking of the vast unknown mystery. I have learned to not reject any work that feels like failure or a mistake. It is even more valuable to sit with and absorb uncomfortable elements that arise. It's a means of becoming more human, more whole. Art making then becomes a practice of learning to judge less, and a way to integrate rejected portions of self. Along with beauty and inspiration, art may bring forth imperfection, shame, messiness, immaturity, or some other shadow aspect of self. I hold uncomfortable things with compassion and love. It's an ongoing practice.
When looking at the work of another, I search for clues to better understand an individual and their process, especially that which compels them as a human being. I want to reclaim and promote art that expresses humbleness, vulnerability, sensitivity, and intimacy. Art that serves to keep us open and human, connected and whole. Art that allows us to recognize and value under-appreciated aspects of each other and ourselves.
