International Spiritual Experience: Gina's Artist Statement

Home About UsRetreatsContact Us GalleryLight ToolsSpiritual ArticlesSitemap Online Store Links Newsfeeds ServicesCrystal Skulls

Testimonials

Hot Springs Crystal Cert. Retreat, July 2009

I learned so many things at the retreat, I can't name them all!
Thank you!Thank you! Thank you!

Becky

I love myself and feel whole again!

Amanda

I learned I should follow my heart more- since it lead me to be here!!! Powerful!

Patsy Ruth

I loved the Hot Springs Baths and digging for crystals! I feel more connected now and the energy was great!

Jeudi

It was a beautiful experience-infused with so much knowledge

Samantha

Explorations in Energy Consciousness Retreat, Sedona, Spring 2008

Such amazing and extraordinary things happened to me while I was there- the whole retreat experience was so very special- the place, people, food, and presentations and all I learned. It truly was one of my best vacations ever! I was able to relax, make new friends, experience new things and most importantly look at my life in a brand new way. The retreat you led changed me forever. I am so grateful to you for putting together such an awesome retreat!

Mary Beth

Thank you for this beautiful time. I admire you for your amazing light and determination to bring spiritual experiences. You are in my being and an incredible healers. I am blessed with your friendship. Thank you for all the creative gifts you gave me and for your teaching and discoveries.

Margo

Spiritual Experience, Mexico, 2007

I am so grateful to have connected with "Spiritual Experience Tours" the best hosts of any that I have ever attended; very thorough and truly cares about everyone, so I will be sure to go to any of their events in the future. I really enjoyed myself and met some new friends that have made a dramatic impact on my life for the better!
Laurie

This trip was truly a life changing experience for me. Words can not express the deep graditude I feel for the time I was able to share with my new friends in Cancun. I feel very blessed. We went to the Mayan Pyramids and I went swimming right there on the site. The purity felt within the water was the most elation I can ever recall feeling in this life. I could fill a book with my experiences, transformations, healings, connections, and syncronicities that took place during my week.

Starla

Gina's Artist Statement

Art can be an expression of physical, emotional, intellectual, and instinctual activity within a person. Moreover, the combined effort of those factors exceeds the level any one part could attain by itself. Thus, for me, the process of creating art becomes a holistic and spiritually reflective activity. It is with this emphasis on process, rather than product alone that gives me the most personal satisfaction as an artist.

My work is in both two dimensional and three dimensional forms. Primarily, I use raku in ceramics and oil painting, but also work with wood, bronze, watercolor, photography and mixed media. I love raku for its unpredictability and beautiful colors. As with clay itself, I find that raku, in particular, has a say in its own making. Similarly with painting, I never entirely allow myself to feel that I know exactly how the picture will turn out. I strive to let something beyond my intellect navigate the creation. Instinct and inspiration flow more willingly into a piece of art if one keeps an open mind. Often I find that something new can emerge which I had not originally conceived or planned.

The specific themes and symbols that I am presently working with deal with mystical landscapes, masks, mirrors, and doorways. I want to express the landscape and nature as a way for others to see and experience spirit in its purest form. Trees, mountains, streams and other forms of nature seem to exist without intellect, yet contain endless knowledge about life, growth, and self-acceptance, as well as death. Contemplation of nature, in this regard, can be a tool for healing people. Masks, mirrors, and doorways are also symbols and tools for transformation throughout history, in many cultures. They represent the liminal or in between space that rides the cusp of change. This state of being neither here nor there is a position of uncertainty, but is also a key to spiritual transformation and power. These are themes I have been interested in my whole life and anticipate their continued appearance in my work in the future.

My major influences are artists like Anselm Kiefer, Salvador Dali, Andy Goldsworthy, and Thomas Moran. While each of these artists expresses art in a different style, their process of making art as a spiritual or psychological practice is clearly conveyed in their work. As a painter, sculptor, and photographer, Kiefer uses a range of freely combined religious and mystical symbols on large scale works in abstract or surreal landscapes. He often mixes symbolically significant materials in with paint (clay, seeds, leaves, ash, and lead). He believes in the possibility of healing and transformation through artistic expression. Dali embraced painting as a way to study the psyche through subconscious images. He used Paranoiac Critical and Oniric-Critical Methods, in which the artist pays attention to his/her dreams. By painting his subconscious musings, he was better able to interpret himself and convey meaning through his work. Goldsworthy is an environmental sculptor who uses the natural surroundings to create art. He “feels the energy from nature and transcends that energy into art.” Process and decay are implicit. Goldsworthy's artwork reinforces the relationship of human existence within nature. His work shows that we as humans have some ability of controlling nature, but eventually, in the end, nature controls us. Comparably, Moran painted majestic landscapes on large canvases featuring small figures to show the power and spirit in nature as he traveled through the United States. Through his awe-inspiring depiction of places such as Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, he became a key factor in establishing our national park system. These artists’ dedication to the importance of expressing the mystical aspects of life and nature and the spiritual and psychological processes involved in making art has been an inspiration for me. My primary artistic goal is to strive similarly for a complete and cohesive effort of my physical, emotional, intellectual, and instinctual capabilities to achieve this kind of expression.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, politica, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.