Art is about Connecting

"Only art penetrates ... the seeming realities of this world," said Saul Bellow. "There is another reality, the genuine one, which we lose sight of. This other reality is always sending us hints, which without art, we can't receive."

For me, the most important part of my creative process is making connections. It helps me make sense of things. When I paint or write something, I usually don't know what it's really about until long after I've completed it. Some works come and go quickly; some stay with me for years. My art teaches me about myself and the world around me.

My Beyond the Skin series (2001-03) started as an attempt to understand my practice of Kundalini Yoga, the energy of chakras, and my experiences in recovery from addiction and mental health issues. During that series, I processed the September 11th attacks, my father's death, and my changing spirituality. Looking back, I can see that it was also the begining of "unselfing"—opening up into a less personal, more universal experience of the world.

Sometimes, my art making is prophetic. During the pandemic, I wrote a novel about two Finnish-American immigrant brothers trying to build new lives in a mining community in 1890s Upper Michigan. One of the brothers reminded me a lot of my brother Andy. The day after I finished writing a scene where that brother succumbs to his addiction, I got the call that Andy had overdosed--and he died six weeks later. Working on the book helped me walk through the grief of that time.

Art making doesn't just connect me with myself; it connects me with my Muse—that creative energy of "God" or Great Spirit or whatever it might be called. When I plug into that energy, I feel like I'm part of everything and everyone. There's nothing like it. I see things more clearly, I feel more than my heart can hold. Words fall away and I'm just in it. I surrender to the evolving flow of creative life. I trust that amazing things will unfold, I'll see the world in a new way, and I'll evolve more into my bigger Self.

I love how Virginia Woolf put it: "[When I create] I reach what I might call a philosophy; at any rate it is a constant idea of mine; that behind the cotton wool is hidden a pattern; that we -- I mean all human beings -- are connected with this; that the whole world is a work of art; that we are parts of the work of art. Hamlet or a Beethoven quartet is the truth about this vast mass that we call the world. But there is no Shakespeare, there is no Beethoven; certainly and emphatically there is no God; we are the words; we are the music; we are the thing itself."

And a beautiful line from her book Mrs. Dalloway: "The compensation of growing old [is] that the passions remain as strong as ever, but one has gained -- at last! -- the power which adds the supreme flavour to existence, -- the power of taking hold of experience, of turning it around, slowly, in the light."

Art Heals

I stumbled upon Sybil Archibald's art while looking for more information about Meinrad Craighead, another favorite. Sybil's work is very similar in tone and intent. She has turned challenges into strengths using her creativity. As she says, "More than 27 years ago, I was told I had 5 years to live. Using art as an agent of change and healing, I’m still here thriving today. My life’s work is to explore and reveal how sacred creative energy passes through our world transforming everything it meets. I chase these moments of transformation through printmaking, sculpture, collage, and painting.”

With love and light,

Maggie

P.S. If you want to work with me, I offer classes, workshops, and private instruction and guidance. Check out www.parrcreate.com for announcements.