I have spent most of my career trying not to conform but to follow my own path. My goal has always been to create unique work regardless of the medium. Even if I try to imitate something, I can’t. My imagination immediately seeks a tangent and off we go in a new direction.
Intuitive sculpture - works in progress. These are driven by curiosity rather than logic as I explore ideas.
There’s a downside to this creative drive. I never know how to categorize my work. It is exploratory, though not in the cutting-edge, shock-value, boundary-pushing sense. It’s more internal, personal, spiritual. It’s fed by what I read. I read everything from physics to metaphysical to philosophy.
Physics has always provided a source of inspiration for me. What we don’t know is a much larger and grander realm than what we do know. Recently, I’ve been studying the concept of consciousness. It’s very much related to quantum physics. The observer alters the observed. Although we may both observe the same event, we see it differently based on our experience and ability to process what we see.
Last night while reading “The Lens of Perception” by Hal Zina Bennett, I rediscovered the term “Intuitive art”. A timely coincidence? More likely a synchronous event. Searching for a definition, I found many, all either too general or focused on painting. So I dug a little deeper into the concept of intuition first.
Merriam-Webster defines intuition as “the power or faculty of attaining direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.” Logic has no real influence here.
Artist, Cheryl Bannon defines intuitive art as “a spiritual, connected process that allows the art to lead the way as images form through the layers of paint and other media. Intuitive art is a process of creating art using an inner awareness that is heart centered and does not rely on analysis or head-based questions. It is a way of creating that is about connecting into your emotions and responding to what feels right.”
I experiment with archetypal characters and situations – with the narratives that connect us rather than segment us into micro categories. My process is definitely intuitive, driven by anything but logic. So I am going to wear this mantle for a while and see if it fits.