Philosophy

Making Art is like entering a labyrinth: it is a conscious decision to begin the process of evolution in the knowledge that it is only by travelling inward that we can hope to make sense of the external. It is both a physical and a spiritual endeavour and must be engaged with as a purposeful process.
All artmaking provides an opportunity to dive deeper into life, to discover territories on and below the surface. If we see the self initially as a surface and as material to work with, it is possible to mine that surface in the same way we mine the surface of an artwork. Things can be understood on ‘other’ levels, explored and developed, delved into and synthesised.
We begin with the material of self as we do with the physical materials of armaking – the media, the equipment, the blank paper surface, the initiating idea. The tactile manipulations of raw materials (light, form, object) that engage the sensual inquiries of making, experimentation, development, resolution, are identical with the initiating processes of the labyrinth journey. It is in the making, the doing and the reflection on the conscious process that we are given entry to the deeper realms of meaning and the making of meaning.
In this light the making of art becomes the embodiment of the search for self and understanding – a process, that in the first instance engages the physical, but carries a great deal more in its potential. In the end artmaking provides access to levels of spiritual realisation if you chose to engage fully with the opportunities.

We enter on the surface, using the tools of the sensory world to negotiate the first layer. Here, we learn about the images, symbols, systems etc that equip us with the necessary schema to allow us to recognise the signs presented on other levels.
As artists, this is the level of raw materials; visual language, paint, pencils, knowledge of composition and history, etc.
Below this layer, we find things equated with the subconscious, the things that drive us, attract, fascinate and beguile. At this the level the artist is drawn by the need to express and conceptualise. This is where the things learned on the first layer are put into a purposeful form – an artwork a tangible object. Below this level are many more.
At the end of this process what we find is not a product or even a series of pieces or even a body of work but a mapping of a journey.
The initial engagement is an invitation to continue the process. Hopefully, it becomes a life long process, like life lived – the products are tangible evidence of the process only, the whole is viewable only at the end.

As an art student, having made the choice to enter the labyrinth at whatever level, for whatever reason – I hope you will take up the challenge and in so doing, find a key to a much greater understanding of yourself and of the world. You see, artmaking contains within it processes, like gateways to opportunities to seek and find both purpose and meaning.

As a teacher I see my role as a facilitator – there are things to teach, some basic learning equipment that it is easier to give you than expect you to discover for yourself though many artists have done just this. But this information/knowledge is not an end in itself – these things are merely the tools to aid you in a much greater undertaking. My purpose in this is as one side of a partnership with each individual student. If you can help me to know your interests, directions, needs, ideas, then I can join with you in the process, empathise and aid in the journey through the labyrinth. This is one part of the purpose of your Visual Diary; when I see and read, I gain insights into both your conscious and subconscious, even unconscious directing forces.

Artmaking, like the process of living, is a purposeful seeking, it makes tangible the struggle to find meaning out of what is essentially a journey full of awe-inspiring insights, unexpected detours and often horrible pitfalls. But, unless we are willing to ‘go there’, to look at what is presented, what we discover, what is offered, we can only ever expect to live a half-life, on the surface. As Einstein said
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Albert Einstein

And so, art at St Hilda’s offers you a rare invitation in this life – it is offered openly, with a great deal of love and an infinitely unselfish purpose. All I ask is that you invite me to travel through the labyrinth with you and a willingness to accept my limitations and gifts as I will accept and welcome yours. This is the essence of the contract you make with yourself as much as with me – what more is there? I can honestly tell you, there will be few other invitations of this kind so openly offered.