The topic of spirituality has always been a difficult one for me to grasp.  I believe the main focus of spirituality is to find connectedness or wholeness in your life, to find something larger than yourself and discover meaning.  Spirituality can take on so many forms and for some people it means attending church weekly and for others it might include being outside in nature. I think spirituality can help people get through difficult times and give them a sense of direction and purpose.

For a long time, I connected spirituality with religion and believed that devotion was an important part of being spiritual. I still think many people connect religion and spirituality and for some, they are the same thing. To me, religion is the belief in a higher power and a devotion to this higher being in the hopes of living a fulfilled life and having a pleasant afterlife. On the other hand, spirituality has to do with living in the moment, finding peace, and working towards personal growth.

Creativity can be sparked from anything around us. I think of creativity as finding inspiration and working to create something that’s original and has meaning. Everyone has some level of creativity and whether people choose to act on their inspiration is dictated based on the person. Although I generally associate creativity with artwork, it can take on many forms. My form of creativity includes documenting the places I go with my instax camera and keeping a journal with my thoughts.

I think creativity can be found in anything, anywhere, at any time. Creativity comes from within us and certain objects or ideas will speak to people a different way. For example, I might see an empty wine bottle and think to recycle it whereas an artist could think to turn it into drinking glasses or a vase. We utilize our imagination to see the potential of something and our creativity works to help us create something important.

“The Mission of Art,” a chapter in Art As A Spiritual Practice takes many different angles on the relationship between art and spirituality. The author, Alex Grey, paints interesting, geometric designs that strive to bind the idea of mind, body, and spirit. In my opinion, Grey writes in a way where he wants to encapsulate all pieces of art work but in some ways his views are limiting and he spends a vast majority of the time with descriptions that only apply to his work. When he describes art and the creative process he often refers to people being inspired by divinity and trying to portray a subject. But, not all art is trying to portray a subject or is inspired by some spirituality. For instance, Piet Mondrian’s “Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue,” the famous oil painting of color blocked squares does not seem to portray a subject whether person, divine being, or a landscape. In this way I think Gray has limited his view of the creative process and by labeling and putting specific steps to the process is he in some way defeating one of the purposes of art? I do not think all art necessarily follows an outline of steps in it’s creation. There is not always some great spark of inspiration from taking DMT (as Grey did) or a long period of time where a subject, if there is one at all, must be observed.

When viewing components of spirituality within artwork Grey describes that, “Viewers appreciate art because they resonate with those states of being. No matter what state of being is expressed in a work of art, universal creative spirit is the prime mover behind all art media” (p. 79). There are many analyses that can come from this specific quote. Firstly, he uses the statement “all art media.” This statement is all encompassing and would include anything from street art to food to “Starry Night.” Is a universal creative spirit really every artists prime mover? Are there other things that can inspire and push artists to pursue a certain piece of art work? What even is this creative spirit Grey is referring to? I find difficulties with Grey’s description and cannot tell whether he refers to the creative spirit as a supreme being like God or Allah or rather if the creative spirit is something within us that binds all of mankind to one another?  Based off Grey’s liberal stances, admission to experimenting with DMT, and his studies of Hindu medicinal practices I believe it is the latter.

I find a lot of holes within Grey’s analysis of art and spirituality and feels as though he uses his own experiences with art and his own artwork to find reason and purpose. It may have been wiser of him to discuss his theory in relation to all works of art instead of his own or noted that his theory and most theories cannot always be all-encompassing.

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