Creative Spirituality

What particularly drew me into this excerpt was when the author, A. Grey, started to talk about his experience with DMT and how his trip influenced the outcome of his painting. Through this he saw a better and clearer vision of what he wanted his piece to look like as he “[brought] the inner solution of [his] artistic problem to an outward form” (pg. 78).

The way he found inspiration from “seeing” other artist’s work was interesting. I like how he mentioned the idea of looking at works from Van Gough and Michelangelo and hearing their voices inside of his head. Grey talks about the idea that drawing is an outlet for your spirituality and way of seeing into some deeper meaning of what your art is interpreting. He adds how he has not “completely ‘seen’ a work of art until [he’s] drawn it” (pg. 87). As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. If I was a better at drawing, I think I would thoroughly enjoy the ability to draw what I was thinking rather than just saying words to verbally expressing what I feel or think.

Grey then proceeds to discuss the idea of the chakra’s existing in each and every one of us and how each chakra will influence the way we interpret and perceive the world around us. The idea that there are vibes that either the art, the people we surrounds ourselves with, or our environment have on us as individuals help us grow. Grey brings up the fact that we feel vibes from reading artist’s work allows us to appreciate the piece at a higher level of cognition (pg. 97). This brings me to the piece written by Ellen Dissanayake when she mentions art having a psychological or emotional pull on us that cause us to generate our idea of art (pg. 15). I think our spirituality has an influence over the way we perceive art. We stem our spirituality from personal beliefs and experiences, which then influences our perspectives on art.

Dissanayake, E. (1991). What is art for? In K. C. Caroll (Ed.). Keynote adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention), (pp.15-26). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.

Grey, A. (2001). Art as Spiritual Practice. The Mission of Art (1st ed., pp. 205-233). Boston & London: Shambhala.

2 Comments on Creative Spirituality

  1. andreap
    May 14, 2015 at 1:26 pm (10 years ago)

    I like when you stated, “We stem our spirituality from personal beliefs and experiences, which then influences our perspectives on art.” I completely agree with this statement. I do believe strongly that our personal experiences help direct out spirituality and influences how we feel and make other feel around us. I guess in a sense, it helps us on how we view the world and the environment around us. I also think that it is interesting to see the all the different ways that people have in letting their spirituality out (if they believe in that) and to see in what way this is done. Just like you said that Grey doesn’t get to “see” the art until he has finally drawn it himself, and in this way, he is able to let his spirituality out, while others could use music or design or another ability to let through their spirituality. Brian from our group stated, “I took the time to look at the world around me, take in the sights, people and beauty, instead of seeing all of these things as an afterthought.” I really liked this because most people are always on their phone and don’t take the time to look at the world around them, and I think that is very important in order for us to grow as humans, which could contribute as a part of their spirituality.

    Reply
    • baconlover
      May 16, 2015 at 3:12 pm (10 years ago)

      I totally agree with the idea that people in this day and age spend way too much time on their mobile devices to truly enjoy the beauty of nature and everything around them. I feel in a sense the idea of growing technology takes away from what is truly beautiful in the world as well as diminish our spirits. Reading over Nickolas’ blog in our group, he mentions the idea of “looking is pure sensory perception with no further thought given to what the object is beyond what it looks like.” I think he is trying to encapsulate the idea that we must do more than just looking at a piece of art to fully understand it’s true value. It is vital for our spiritual growth to further our thoughts and ideas about ideology outside of our normal everyday issues. This will also allow our appreciation for all works of art to grow increasingly. We must try to live outside of our technological world to allow our spirits to grow.

      Nickolas. Creative Spirituality. (2015, May 13). Retrieved May 16, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/gemperle/

      Reply

Leave a Reply