Archetapestry II: The Artist / Creator

Size:

38 x 54 cm (15 x 22 inches)

Medium:

Inks and mixed media with underprint on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm HP Watercolour paper.

Original handmade variant:

1 edition only

Status:

Available

The artist archetype, is generally seen as the alchemist of imagination, pulling ideas out of thin air, pushing boundaries and colouring outside the lines. Amidst the chaos of art supplies, they’ll unearth that one rare paint colour without breaking a sweat.

They are the storytellers, masters of chaos, and the gut wrenchers…the emotion whisperers, communicating through emotions and telling stories that words can’t capture. Their artwork can manifest as a secret language of the soul, mystically evoking tears, laughter, ire, devastation.

And the artist is not limited to the arts – the creator archetype is just at home in the pioneer of innovation, the mad scientist, the life-changing researcher, the office PowerPoint wizard who leaves a boardroom speechless…the one who makes seemingly illogical leaps of the imagination, which seem to come from somewhere else.

When I studied the philosophy of science during my master’s degree, our esteemed professor spent a lesson teaching us about the true nature of creativity and intelligence. There are intelligent and clever people he explained, who will in some ways always be help back by that attribute because they play by the rules. The same, he said, is true of the most brilliant creatives. The chaos surrounding creativity can swallow a person whole.

The true magic, he explained was when a marriage of intelligence and creativity occur within a soul and a true creative is born. He cited the likes of Einstein and Leonardo, but in my mere 48 years on this planet, I’ve seen the combination manifest in many, varied people from all walks of life, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. People who have me watching them open-mouthed as they think and tease out ideas or produce work that reduces me to tears.

In a world of black and white, they are the ones who see colour. They can look afresh with eyes of wonder, which coexist with torn and jagged souls. Enigmas to most people, they, in my experience are never what one would call “normal”. And if my experience is anything to go by, they bear a terrible burden.

What I’ve represented here is perhaps a little more the shadow side of the archetype. I haven’t used any of the traditional symbolism, as I mentioned in my last post. This is the archetype as it manifests to me. Here, the mind so busily pecking away at the ophidian egg – the source of all creation. Having seen beyond the mundane, maybe others sometimes feel as I do, (beautifully said by Joshua, wordsmith to the stars), anchored, hobbled, and trapped in one world while yeaning to be in another. It feels like being trapped here with one foot nailed to the floor, tethered to a world I don’t understand or belong in. Homesick.

But that’s just one way of looking at it. It really isn’t always that dark. Less and less these days, as I slowly find a path to wellness. Perhaps you see something else?

I have decided that I WILL NOT be making editions of these works. There will be one only of each aside from my artist proofs, and very limited-edition prints. Perhaps an oracle deck as I previously said. They take too much out of me for repeat performances.

For anyone interested in the behind-the scenes shenanigans…JOIN the Patreon…it’s cheap and I dish the dirt there.

~NM