“To be ourselves we must have ourselves – possess, if need be re-possess, our life-stories. One needs such a narrative, a continuous inner narrative, to maintain identity and self.” – Oliver Sacks
At five, it never occurred to me that it would take fifty years to become the artist I was at that age. I did not question the inner world where I dreampt and drew.
Wisdom comes from the reality of practice. Art is a powerful practice, and not for the faint of heart. It requires time and solitude. For me, it requires a willingness to go inward, to journey to the recently unconscious world of memories and dreams. What arises from the rich soup of the inner core is art, plain and simple. I construct stories using synthesized symbols and revised images. Somehow, the conscious and the unconscious participate in creating the vision. I have come to trust the process.
I am optimistic about the human race. Courage is needed, however, to live life fully. The Women as Birds series expresses confidence in transformation. What if we had the ability, as we are told in legends and myths, to move into another body, become another creature entirely? What if we could fly?
From life to death we are but one human, a unique combination of culture and experience. Through art I have sought to know who I am, this proprioceptive creature of mind, body and spirit.