Elementary

Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2007.If creativity is a missing component for understanding, the first thing we need is a working understanding of creativity. Although the mechanics of creativity are indefinable, we can address it in the forms in which it appears. F. David Peat, in his book The Blackwinged Night. Creativity in Nature and Mind. addresses the aspect of creativity involving renewal and makes the point that "much of what we see, hear, and otherwise sense around us comes from within. Our sense of life and the world we inhabit is intentional. It is put together in a creative way so that all that is needed for things to fall in place in a totally novel way may be a minuscule change in perception." (peat 2000, pg. 14) One such change that has fundamental differences from present thought is to study the world as something internal and integral, rather than as something external and secluded. If one is to take a holistic philosophical stance to describe the world, it must by definition be open to all components of the world. As a human this means considering not only what we can know and observe of the world around us but also be able to turn inward and seriously consider the information that comes from our participation as an integral part of the universe. This relationship of the internal/personal to the external/impersonal world is the domain in which art lives. David Lynch writes about this in his book Catching the Big Fish Meditation. Consciousness. and Creativity. "Life is filled with abstractions, and the only way we make heads or tails of it is through intuition. Intuition is seeing the solution- seeing it, knowing it. It is emotion and intellect going together." He continues 3 by saying "I think intuition can be sharpened and expanded by meditation, diving into the self. There is an ocean of consciousness inside each of us, and it's an ocean of solutions." (Lynch 2006, pg. 38) The second part of adopting a holistic philosophical approach to the world is applying it to all parts of one's life. As an artist this means that one creates art by the same guiding principles by which one lives one's life. This takes form in my art as an open approach towards all media Each holds a component of the whole, and when certain knowledge of one medium is attained it is possible to find its connection to other media as well as its place in the whole. My thesis exhibition, entitled Elementary, is based on this holistic approach to life and art. The same elements of nature that give me guidance in my life are present in my art. Repetition, balance, patterns, as well as diversity and chaos are expressed in my art. My aesthetic considerations have a conceptual backing that unifies seemingly disparate elements. Symmetry balances chaos, form presents pattern, material reveals nature and the whole is organized by the concept. My goal is to manifest elements of the material world that express the underlying unity and order that exists throughout the universe. The primary aesthetic elements of my work are those of layering and geometry. Layering is an aesthetic that has association with many parts of the natural world; it manifests in many forms from the sedimentation of sandstone to the growth rings of trees. Depending on the color, composition, size, orientation, line, and other variables, patterns develop that reflect certain aspects of the laws of the nature. My working methods are such that I am not interested in controlling every last variance in the layers, but instead try to provide an environment in which the layers can find their natural place 4 and pattern. The patterns that I am most interested in are those that deal with time and manifest in processes such as growth, distortion, evolution and destruction