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My Knives

Blogs: #3 of 3

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My Knives

“Art teaches nothing except the significance of life.” ― Henry Miller
Artistic life is often misperceived as bohemian lifestyle sometimes impractical, tragic and pessimistic. In fact, it is an enormously positive and sensible approach towards one’s own sanity and inner peace and a healthy respond towards life challenges. Heart recognizes goodness and goodness never contradict logic. Intuitive left brain pertaining to what exists through intuition and one’s heart which is the brain of an artist. The nature of creativity is to receive and to reflect, to share one’s passion (flame) through action. To receive and to return.
1- Knives
What matters is precisely this; the unspoken at the edge of the spoken -Virginia Woolf
The painting knives became my essential tools to use. But, let’s call it Lena's tools as it easy for me to speak from the third person perspective, so I can look at the whole picture without being attached to it.
So, knives became a big part of Lena’s studio existence as technique and means of daily living and means of making living as her chosen tools, companions and the technique of an alternative voice of expression without words. Each has its name, aim, and role. The role of a knife is to shape, trim, split or slice. In tender hands, it can butter up reality, brings inspiration, energy, and joy. Or became a magic wand or a sword for a battle.
2- Art
"There is a sun within every person." - Rumi
And art helps to reconnect with that within inner-self. Deep inside, there is strong, ancient voice of life itself within each individual, stirring up the human potential to live productive, happy life without a conflict. But somewhere on our collective journey, we lost touch with it, and in that "out of touch" state, we developed different degrees of a so-called modern epidemic of psychological disorders: dissatisfaction with life, depression, anxiety, fears. Daily social life with its demands to fit ... to submit ... dominate ... to please ... conform .... compete ... to be stronger, smarter, faster, bigger adds to that stress and cast life energy away.
That lack of energy affects all aspects of life. Humans have the ability to create or to destroy, and to destroy, is far less laborious, it takes less energy and less mind power, so we do what we can do with that kind of energy and as follow up there are strong negative emotions, sensations and reactions as a response: anger hatred bitterness, disgust, envy with destructive outcome in everyday life. These catastrophic storms with waves of distress and all other sorts of harmful effects mess around with well-being and happiness.
It is important to understand that force of suppressing one’s inner state of mind which may be acting out of distress only stimulates destruction. Suppression is not a solution towards inner health.
3. Art Therapy
Martin Heidegger calls it: "forgetfulness of being" as the state of being absorbed in every day, lost in the crowd, but yet, feels isolated and lonely, where so-called state - "loneliness of spirit" with its self-centered movement of thought is an alert and 'invitation' to examination and cure. Contrary, "mindfulness of being" as the state of being aware of one's existence with the spirit of responsibility for this existence, where even subtle recognition of the importance of living authentically with awareness and admiration for life and it's beauty, heals.
A balanced connection between inner and outer heals not only on an individual level but like a fragrance of a flower it gives it's healing power freely to an aspect of human’s life. In order to modify reality, one has to invade inner revolution and the 'control room' is within and the operator is self.
It is well-known fact, that art can have a great healing effect. There are many examples when art and connection with beauty as a ‘healthy choice’ saved people’s life from anxiety, addiction, depression, anger, as an effective psychotherapy. In situations where the artist’s inner being is harmonious, everything, including arts have a wonderful outcome.
One doesn't need to be an artist to appreciate art, to understand it and to get into artistic, creative state. What is needed is to catch a wave of the inner state, when life itself became a form of art, no matter what you produce.
Art as a form of expressive therapy is not just about being able to 'express oneself' and to create a 'thing', to learn a trade, or to have a joy while working. But the ability to be still, to witness and to be in the connection that creative energy inside. reawaken that inner voice, to return to our natural state is like psychologically defragmenting of one's hard drive when fragmented parts fit into a harmonious whole. Physically and psychologically, transforming 'disorder into order' when everything gets in its right place, which is goodness itself. In Arthur Danto's term - “transfiguration of the commonplace.”
Interestingly, word art means action, formation, bringing something into existence where everything should be put together in a right place, order. Word religion (from Latin - relegare) means: to tie, to bind, "unite" "put together". In other words is to make separated, falling apart, fragmented parts into the whole - Holy. Art is a creation and in its psychological give-and-take sense the 'sacred' act of creation, where an artist is a creator, taking the raw material of existence, turning it into the orderly organized state as in while the returned essence of that process affects his own personal psychological shift - very personal process.
“Art teaches nothing except the significance of life.” ― Henry Miller
4. Art As Religion
Interestingly, word art means action, formation, bringing something into existence where everything should be combined in a right place, order. Word religion (from Latin - relegare) means: to tie, to bind, "unite" "put together". In other words is to make separated, falling apart, fragmented parts into the whole - Holy. Art is a creation and in its psychological give-and-take sense the 'sacred' act of creation, where an artist is a creator, taking the raw material of existence, turning it into the orderly organized state as in while the returned essence of that process affects his own personal psychological shift - absolute personal, solitary affair. .... Continue follow ♥◠‿◠♥! - Lena Owens @OLena Art #paletteknife #olenaart #arttherapy