On My Process with the Various Forms of Art that I Work In.

               The intention of this journal essay to describe my process of art making in various mediums.  I’ve never been able to stick to one form of expression in the arts, and I find that I need various avenues to fully encapsulate all of my spiritual ideas.   All of my work is based in Hermetic and Pagan symbolism.  In my drawings and paintings, I use the human body as a magical cipher along with different animals as zootypes for different godforms.  In my playwriting and screenwriting, I focus on drama and the spiritual form of tragedy specifically, but modernized.   I also occasionally act, and that is also a spiritual practice.  All of this will be analyzed here.

            The artforms that I have been practicing the longest are drawing and painting.  My process involves a mix of observation utilizing found material, automatic drawing, and imagery from my subconscious.  While painting, I use profound accidents within the application of paint to bring out certain emotions and visions of entities.   In these works, it is my goal to channel an actual spirit or elemental.  Several of my paintings and drawings were the result of astral travel and walking.  In these works, I channeled communication from various astral entities.  This is done through the combination of automatic drawing and observation.

            In many of my paintings and drawings, I use photo images of the female form found in various sources.  I look for both a power and a vulnerability in the image in which I manipulate through the act of drawing and painting to create the image of the Priestess as a mediator between the two worlds.  The automatic drawing is used to conjure elementals as seen in some of the otherworldly faces and creatures in my work.  The human body is often distorted in a biomorphic way to create a sensual experience with the line or mark.  I find that these beings are real entities revealing themselves on paper.  The process of automatic drawing opens a gateway between Universe A and B in a “slight of mind” act.  Much like the glass on a Ouija board, the pencil or paintbrush communicates with the other realm.  To draw means to “bring out” and this is what I do in this process. 

            Much of my work in fine art deals with the Divine Feminine as I mostly work with the female form. I use the male form occasionally, though I find it less interesting.  I also use eroticism and sexual content to create a transcendent experience.   Sex is a key to the mysteries.  In the Pagan Tradition and in Eastern Tantra, sex, when done with magical intent, assists in the raising of consciousness and communication with those on the other side.  The Divine feminine is the gateway to Universe B. 

            I also use animal imagery in my work, often utilizing photos as source material.  In these works, the animal is associated with various gods or goddesses.  In comparative religion and occult terms, this is called a zootype.  The animal is a symbol of the energies of the god or goddess and how they manifest in nature.

            My poetry is a meditative exercise.  It is not really autobiographical, but are impressions of the world around me.  They are also full of occult symbolism and act as incantations or prayers.  These works are conceived as spells to expand human consciousness and give a secret insight into the mysteries hidden in the material world. 

            In the theatre, everything to me is a ritual.  Each play I write and perform is a magick spell.  In my modern tragedies, people are running away from something, usually inside themselves.  During the course of the play, the action on stage becomes a ritual that purges spirits of decline.  The katharsis of Tragedy occurs as we watch the Tragic Protagonist reach beyond his or her limits and thus bring their own downfall.  The spiritual pessimism of Tragedy is absolutely necessary for the health of our culture.  It is important to witness via art, the pain of others, and Tragedy makes pain its specialty.

            In my plays, I use female characters as the leads because of what they represent, which is the goddess on stage.  Also, there is a greater conflict between the social self and the private self in the female character, and this creates a bigger sense of drama for the stage.  Women in my plays are often in conflict with their desires and the strictures of the modern world.  Men also experience this, but the inner-psyche of the female is more dramatically expressed in the language that I write.

            The tragic form in theatre was used by the Greeks to banish unwanted energies from the public realm.  My works function the same.  Through the acts of the tragic protagonist, the fears and anxieties of the audience are banished.  Theatre is occult ritual.  Shakespeare, Strindberg, and all other great playwrights knew this.  This is something that is missing in our contemporary Western society where postmodernism has stripped anything spiritual out of the arts.

            My acting is used to embody the energies of the spirit in my body during performance.  I find this to be best done on stage.  Working in both film and theatre, I much prefer the stage, as one can fully inhabit the character, perform, and have a catharsis.  In film, things are shot out of sequence and everything is done in the editing.  On film the actor is more of a model.  On stage, he or she becomes a shaman, someone beyond human.  During performance I strive to transcend my limitations as a human and enter into a mystical state.  Prior to performing, I often meditate and do rituals to prepare for this action.

            Overall, my work is an exploration into the Western Tradition of tragedy and figuration.  All of the Western archetypes, especially those that are Pagan, are expressed in my work.  I use the concept of the Divine Feminine as the anchor for all my explorations.  The intent of my work is to have a magical effect on the viewer and offer him or her a glimpse into the mystery of the world.