I am wondering where this image was birthed from and the symbols that emerged from it were not conscious or intentional. But maybe they became that way as part of the evolving mystery that was unfolding before me?

Part of the collective approach to the human being’s psyche is we have a conscious and unconscious part of ourselves. So if something is unconscious are we actually able to know it? If we make the unconscious conscious, it cannot be considered unconscious anymore, and therefore seems like the process of creation itself.

A Dreaming Mindset for Making Art

Our dream landscapes are a world of symbol, like a language, they use images, colors, mood, feelings, and setting to tell a story. Our psyche’s nightly dreams are innate and natural to our physiology. The psychic being side of self needs to do this in order to be well. Deepening into the different levels of sleep and dreaming is moving through and out of the dimension of space and time. The mind is processing, sharing, and compulsively story telling.

Painting this was like dreaming for me. I couldn’t sleep and heard the call so I got up and got to work. By allowing the force of over-thinking to be put aside, I shifted my mind into that malleable space in between. My hands and body already know what to do with the colors and paint brushes. It is a skill that is present in me already, so I do not need my analytical brain to direct the energy.

For me, this process is about letting the Subconscious mind or other vision lead. Instead of plugging into mechanical creation mode, I let the emotional self be seen and make space the overwhelming need to release what is locked within spirit to come through. This part of my being feels very familiar and also like a stranger at times. I can feel the shift when the magic is ready to recede and return from where it came, then I know to stop working on the painting or it will become distorted by overthinking and manipulation.