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 important 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.”

The “easiest” way to find inspiration is not to be attached to the artwork. Treat it as play and not a precious masterpiece. If you treat it as play, then those moments of serendipity come into play, the divine inspiration so to speak. If you treat it as a masterpiece, you become too cautious and reluctant to make a bold move. Learn to enjoy the mistakes… there are no rules… play. Have fun!

To be inspired is to be in the Spirit… of things. There is no relationship to the divine for you to sort out. To do so is to worry over semantics. Like your creativity, the more you question and analyse it, the further you are from the serendipity, the center of the creative maelstrom, where all flows with (divine) grace.

The “divine” is the wonder that things happen the way they do with out your conscious (ego’s) intervention. That is the perception that there is something greater than the day to day mechanics of the little voice in your head. It has also been called the Muse.

Lastly, never take things too seriously, and look for that which is aMusing.

That includes me!

Leo Plaw

The highest intent of art is to transform. However, the greatest transformational effect is actioned on the artist. They are after all in direct? communion with the source (Muse) while creating. The artwork, then remains as a guide post for others to follow or explore.