PATRICIA ARIEL’S JOURNEY TO ETERNITY!

By likemindblog

PATRICIA-ARIEL-April-10-280

 

I was born in Brazil 40 years ago, during a military dictatorship, after a new generation had spread ideals of love and equality, ideals that, in spite of all the decades past, didn’t come to reality yet. Although while I was growing up the hippie movement was fading, I like to think that I got to absorb the last of all that energy. I come from a very spiritual upbringing, a family of natural healers and mediums. All the things I saw and experienced in my early childhood, the herbs, the spirits, the Afro-Brazilian/Catholic images of entities and saints, the ritual drumming of the sacred days, all this magic got printed in my heart and mind and helped to shape up much of my inner world. But there was also that strong feeling of not belonging anywhere,  that solitude that lead me to build a place inside where I had my own laws, a world that I brought to reality through images and words of my own creation – and I have never done it as intensely as I do now. I am a gypsy, a witch, and a storyteller.

I create for a necessity to understand. The more I understand, the more I see how light and darkness intertwine and compose a symphony that is at one time so grand and so simple… Life.

Lifting the veil opens up new worlds, but also provokes, forces you to see inside yourself and face demons. Everyone wants to get close to God, butDuality first you need to retire to your personal desert and talk to the Devil. While we don’t cultivate the courage to lift the veil and contemplate the abyss, while our demons are kept untamed, apart and misunderstood, we will never be able to achieve the peace we aim. We have to seek for our own truth, not denying it. Denying our essential nature is getting away from God.

My hopes for humankind are simple: that they learn how to be who they are. That they finally understand the ultimate meaning of Love, and through Love, find Freedom. And through Freedom, being able to continue on their journey to eternity.

Patricia, welcome… welcome!

No. 1)  What is art to and for you?  (generally and personally)

Art is manifestation of ideas in the physical world. It is revelation of truth — whatever that means. Not the visible truth, which is an illusion, but the individual reality and understanding of one’s world. Painting a rose is not enough — you have to communicate what that rose represents for you in your own reality. By doing that, you are expanding your viewers vision and establishing a deeper level of communication that words are unable to reach.

For me, art has a sacred, magic character. It first rose from religious beliefs and to manifest the Divine,  and this use of imagery to make things happen in the physical plane has been always fascinating me. The artist is a “shaman”, a mediator between the visible and invisible. The so-called “good art” cannot be measured by the artist’s technique, or how skilled they are in representing what the eyes can see, but in how efficiently they communicate how they “see” that subject, in a particular way.

 No. 2)  What inspires you?

I draw inspiration from lots of sources: nature, Paganism, mythology, Jungian concepts, tarot, astrology, Italian Commedia Del’Arte, dance, theatre… My spirituality plays a big role in the themes of my paintings, the things I believe being good and true. I like to inspire people, to lift their spirits, to help them believe that there’s much more under the veil, and this “much more” is absolutely liberating. Stylistically, I am inspired by the great movements of the late 19th and early 20th century, like  Symbolism and Art Nouveau, that more or less encompass much of my line of thought and aesthetic ideals.

TheCalling No. 3)  When you are creating, painting, where does it take you?  I mean where does your mind (spirit) travel?

It’s hard to describe… I experiment a feeling that is very close to a meditation state, when my mind stays focused in the reality of the art-making, but my inner vision expands. It’s like being in two worlds at the same time. Suddenly I know exactly what to do, I see the colors the are supposed to be used, new elements to be included into the composition, and many times my initial plan modifies entirely.

 No. 4)  Do you think visual art, music and health are related and if so, how?

Yes, they are connected in levels we can’t imagine. Basically, colors and music are the same energy vibrating in different frequencies. Shapes (as well as numbers) are physical manifestations of universal laws. The human body is also composed of energy — the physical body is nothing less than condensed energy. Health is a state of balance and integration between our several parts – spiritual, physical, mental, emotional. If one of these is out of whack, we have a disease. Music and art can affect positively our energetic system, making it flow according to our basic natures, therefore helping in the process of integration and in the restoration of health. This mechanism is full of subtleties and it’s hard to describe it in just a few lines. Moreover, when we create or even by merely contemplating or being in contact to a piece of art, we open a channel to our inner selves, or the part of us that connects to the Divine or the Whole, promoting that same integration.

 No. 5)  When you are painting, how do you feel?

I feel an absolute joy and fulfillment while I am painting. A sense of belonging to something bigger than myself. For me, this is “religare” — to bind together, to reconnect to a higher reality or the force we usually call “God”. It’s the ultimate feeling of freedom.

 6)  Under what conditions, when do you feel you do your bestTheScream work?

Emotionally speaking, when I do something I really like, I feel an overwhelming feeling of joy and accomplishment. Usually I can’t take my eyes of the work when I know I am going toward a satisfactory direction. It kind of “pulls” me into it. In a more “technical” way, I know that I did a decent job when I have a balanced composition according to my own rules. But the most important factor is really internal. When you do something you feel pleasured or happy with, that feeling will transmit to your viewer, and if you can communicate, you have accomplished one of the major functions of the art.

7)  Do you identify with your subject and if so, on what level?

Totally, in a level of total absorption. I am my art and my art is me. It cannot be other way, or there would be no truth.

No. 8)  Does painting help you connect with your “Higher Self” whatever that may be for you?

Yes. Painting has become my spiritual practice and the most perfect way I found to connect with my Divine portion.

No. 9)  Many people feel that school systems tend to kill creativity, how do you feel about that?

As an art teacher by academical formation, I totally agree with this statement. But it’s just because the traditional school system is subject to a bigger system, that obeys to the Western line of thought, and seeks to Hecateprepare individuals to “survive” in it. That system values the development of the left side of the brain, which is linked to the rational thought, and is poorly equipped to  deal with questions related to the abstract thought and emotions — which creativity is intrinsically connected to. This system has generated  devastating effects on the human behaviour, by creating fragmented personalities. People are labelled and compartmentalized. They are not treated like individuals with particular needs.  We grow up putting everything that is abstract in a secondary place, valuing analytical thought above everything and all people that “fit” in this standard. Imagination is not important or “practical”. It is not a tool required to live in the “real” world. Therefore, soon students are oriented to more “important” matters, like Science, Math, even sports. Arts are frequently seen as a secondary practice in school. However, the Eastern thought instructs us that is only through imagination and creativity that we can connect to a higher consciousness and become a whole. Integration body/mind/spirit is the key to balance and good health, and it’s lamentable that we give so little importance to such a basic truth.

10)  If you agree with no. 9, what do you think could be a very simple solution?

Integration between subject matters, with a more humanistic approach to education. Imagination and creativity being developed side by side to the analytical approach. The concept of multiple intelligences must become more largely incorporated to the educational system, and arts be seen as a fundamental part of the cognitive process.

Patricia, I want to thank you so much for this incredible article.  You have in so few words said it all and anyone who cares to read this article will learn something of great value.  You are truly inspired and I am grateful.  Be blessed!

TO THE READER :MateriaWater

We hope you have enjoyed this priceless article.  You are invited to visit Patricia’s website to see more of her great art and to find out more about her.

http://www.patricia-ariel.com

http://mesmerizedbythesirens.blogspot.com

http://facebook.com/patricia.ariel

http://patricia-ariel.com

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Filed in: ART • Friday, September 10th, 2010

Comments

I Love You ! and I intensely love your art too. however, don’t understand it really well. Maybe some day you will be able to help me to more fully understand. I know you might think I don’t know you well enough to love you so. however, I feel I do. I study your art, I study your words. and I read about your life and your interviews. I feel I know you much more than you think I do. I have my intuition and I feel your sincerity. I feel your personality through your art.
I Love You ! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhuh!
you are so special and sweet.mmmmmmmmmhuh!
Sweet Precious Diva. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Very interesting and inspiring!

Very special interview and paintings. Enjoyed your openness and enlightening thoughts. It was a true pleasure to read. Thank you for sharing all of it with us.
.-= Cecelia Gay´s last blog ..The Spirit Door =-.

Hello my loved one! I want to say that this article is amazing, great written and include approximately all important infos. I would like to look extra posts like this .

 

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About

My name is Michele Andree. I am an artist, I paint musicians in action. I think I’m a musician at heart, my instrument being… a brush, so I play…brush and I paint… music.
I love jazz. I call it freedom music. It promotes special values. I love intelligent people and good conversations.

Some people ask me how music relates to art. Personally I find they go hand in hand. Music is what turns me on to painting. It makes me see colours