I've been thinking about how art and spirituality come together recently; I always find that so many in the community use some kind of artistic skill to translate into their practice, often enhancing their spiritual experience through a form of artistic expression. This takes so many forms, I find it really quite beautiful.
I was curious about your thoughts. How is art or the process of creating relevant to your own practice? Do you use a form of art to express your spirituality and, if so, how? Art can sometimes be difficult to define, so I'd be interested in hearing your own definition too - for example, some might call a ritual a form of artistic expression, whereas others might disagree.
It is the solitary act of seeing something through beginning to end. Knowing it was me who put my energy into something and I received. The more time you put into it, the more energy as well, the greater your chances of having a return just the same.
My Art is usually mundane, landscapes etc, but once in a while, I will do a painting just for me and I will delve into a more esoteric field. I have been painting eyes onto feathers, some times they are cats eyes but sometimes they turn out to be more otherworldly eyes. I have made smudge fans and single smudge feathers with the painted feathers.
I have other paintings that I do with Owls and Ravens.
I find that when I paint, the mind is not engaged and time passes without notice. Like a meditation.
I add a lot of drawings and diagrams to my Book of Shadows. It makes it special to me.
Personally, I use art a lot in my practice and I view it as a way of either dispelling negative energy by getting what I'm feeling out on paper and into the universe or by magnifying the good emotions that I have. I think of activities like painting as a ritual in and of itself simply because I'm focusing my energy on contributing to something that's helping me grow and learn, especially when the final product is rich in symbolism that only I would understand, whether it be visually or through metaphors in writing. I never thought much about how this is so intertwined in my path, and this is a really interesting concept.. I think beginners should focus on creative activities when first starting their path and getting used to energy work so they can apply the same skill when performing spells.. I may have to start recommending that :-)
Art is in everything. All 'creation' is artistic in nature. The planets, the lights, the sky, horizon, clouds and so on. It would be most likely impossible to exclude art from anything.
Madeofsage said, "I view art as a way of dispelling negative energy".
I had not thought of that when I made my comments but I did that when the planes hit the Twin Towers. That was such a horrifying moment in time that I had to get it out of my head and onto canvas. My husband made a twisted metal frame for the picture that looked like one of the towers. I still have the painting hanging in my art room. My own kind of art therapy.
