Mar 14 2006
About
I was born in Los Angeles in 1968 like a fresh water fish into the ocean. By the time I was 4 years old I was making faces in clay and have never turned back. My early years were spent roaming our family orange farm in Ojai, California where I developed a deep love of mud and clay (never losing a chance to get covered in it). Later when we moved back to LA, in the social isolation of adolescence and parental divorce art became my means of emotional survival.
As a teenager I became obsessed with the process of birth & often took the opportunity to wear my carved foam pregnancy stomach. I loved to mimic the difficulties pregnant women have sitting down, especially if I there was a substitute teacher! Oh, the judgments… Later I realized my obsession was an obsession with the nature of creativity itself. I quickly came to the conclusion that my own creativity did not issue forth from me but through me.
My college years were spent deep in the company of mystics such as Plotinus, Meister Ekhart, & Hildegard of Bingen. I pursued God with vigor and fell very deeply into the “dark night of the soul”- that stage on the mystical journey when your life crumbles and it seems that God has abandoned you. I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called scleroderma. I became very ill. I had trouble walking; I couldn’t open a door; couldn’t sleep from pain.
I knew from my study of ancient mystics that although one feels utterly abandoned by the Divine during the dark night of the soul, it is really the moment when we are closest to God. We see darkness, but we are really blinded by the light. For 10 years as my illness kept me from fully pursuing my art, it forced me deep inside. Ultimately, it has shown me the face of the Divine on this earth which as it turns out was always my goal anyway.
During this time, without the physical energy to create, I began an in depth study of the sacred art tradition of medieval illumination, co-founded the Gabriel Guild, got involved in teaching art techniques and ultimately co-wrote the forth-coming book Lapis & Gold: Unlocking the Secrets of Medieval Painters and Illuminators. Although, I produced many illuminations about the relationship between spirituality & creativity, it was a side trip for me. Ultimately, the process of illumination teaches us to control our artistic vision in order to surrender to Divine will as manifest in the physical materials used to paint. I am interested in more. I wish to surrender everything into the creative process, to allow the Divine spirit of creativity to flow through me, perfected, untarnished by my own small desires. My illness has taught me in great and excruciating detail how to begin to do just that.
As my acceptance of my illness has grown, so has the quality of my health. I have emerged from my illness, not unscarred, not completely healed, but more fully alive and connected to my artistic process. The years I have spent away from my art have deepened my understanding & depths. I am more committed than ever to my exploration of the roots of creativity through art.
To see more of my work, please visit my On-Line Gallery & my Artist’s Statement & Resume.
The universe moves in strange ways. I, too, was born in Los Angeles, but in 1948, 20 years before you. I’m glad that your health has improved. Souls recognize each other passing in the night. Thank you for your “hello”
Your art is absolutely amazing and fills me with tremendous gratitude–thank you very much for being such a prolific mother! I get great comfort from Julian of Norwich and her positive trusting faith. I am also comforted by Hildegard and Meister Eckhart. I would like to spend more time looking around your website. Thanks for your inspiration! All the best…Drew in Winnipeg