Philosophy

"The creative process, so far as we are able
to follow it at all, consists in the unconscious activation
of an archetypal image and elaborating and shaping the
image into the finished work. By giving it shape, the
artist translates it into the language of the present
and so makes it possible for us to find our way back
to the deepest springs of life."

Dr Carl Jung

Dr Carl Jung recognised the contribution artists could make to the
understanding of human psychology. Jung himself used painting and
sculpting to give shape to his subconscious. In these indirect forms,
the psyche could be more easily interpretted and understood.

I allow the element of chance to contribute to the
final outcome of my works. I have often described the
process, as being the same as looking for images in
the clouds or cracks. Chance has always played an improtant
part as a source of inspiration for artists.

Leonardo da Vinci wrote in his 'Treatise on Painting':
"It is in my opinion not useless if you pause
in the realization of pictorial forms and look at the
spots on the wall, at the ashes of the hearth, at the
clouds, or in the gutter: on careful observation, you
will make wonderul discoveries there, which the genius
of the painter can turn to good account in the composition
of human and animal battles, landscapes, monsters, devils
and other fantastic things which you can use to your
advantage. These confused things awaken the genius to
new invetions, although one must have learnt well how
to do all the parts, especially the limbs of the animals
and the forms of the landscpe, its plants, and its stones."

Leo Plaw