First, I go through my photos, anything from flowers to photos of my wall sculptures, even photos of my reiki jewelry. I don't have anything specific in mind, no goals other than to connect with the light-filled energy of the Source and allow that to guide my choices and my hands. I do set my intention that reiki healing energy will be infused into the image. I'll respond to a photo that has appealing colors, interesting patterns and gives me a little tingle. I have to be "still" on the inside to recognize that tingle. Jamie (the bf) chattering away in the background does NOT help me be still, although I've gotten really good at tuning him out! A useful skill, in my loud dog-filled, Jamie-filled environment.
An iris photo, cropped
Once I've chosen a photo, I open it up in Gimp, a free photo editing program. Without thinking about what I'm doing, I use only my eyes and my hands and start to manipulate it. I'll warp it, invert it, crop it, spin it, shrink it, grow it, apply all kinds of cool filters like fractals, play with the colors.... I can't even remember the names of the filters I use, which tells you how turned off my left brain is from the process. It's an ingrained thing, kind of like how it is when you type really fast without having to read and think about the words. I don't really think any thoughts during the process, just kind of empty-headed (no cracks!).
Don't quite remember how I got here!
At some point, my eyes make a switch from responding to overall composition and color, to "seeing" angels or figures in the patterns. I assume it's a third eye, intuitive kind of seeing, which might explain why so many of my images are purple, the color of the sixth chakra. They want me to see them, they want me to coax them out, I can feel a different kind of energy start to flow. This energy feels like a very fine, fast vibration or tingle that has an excitement to it, an anticipation. It feels to me like it's centered at the top of my head and even above it. I'll zero in on those areas where I "see", for example, an angel, and start to play with that area. Again I'll go with warping, smudging, airbrushing, swirling, pulling the image into whatever shape it wants to be.
Not quite sure how I got here either...
oooo, pretty! but not finished yet....
So who are these angels? Do they have names? Could I connect with any one specific angel, say Archangel Michael, and channel that specific energy? Hmm, good questions. I'm not altogether sure that I'm ready to control the process to the extent of connecting with specific light beings and angels, the timing isn't right . Maybe at some point in time I'll try it, but for now I like just letting it flow the way it wants to with minimal interference on my part.
As far as naming the angels, I believe there are an infinite number of angels and light beings working on our behalf. They don't require names, or any ego driven recognition. They're just happy to help, and I'm happy I can pass that energy along.
I know a couple of religious people who are uncomfortable with what I do. I've tried to explain that the energy I'm connecting with is from the Source, or God, and is all about love and healing, but I guess a fear of the unknown is too ingrained One older lady told me that since I'm not a Christian, then what I'm doing was coming from the devil. What???? No!!
I was raised a Christian, but since I've been an adult, I don't align myself with any one religion. All the religions are ok by me, and they all share a common belief, the belief in a Higher Power. I've just decided to bypass the man-made religious dogma associated with religion and go straight to the Source, the unifying factor that connects us all to each other without separatism.
With Love and Light,
Laurie
Totally agree Laurie, because God is God, no matter what name you put on it. It wasn't until ego-driven humans tried to control things that it got all complicated and messy! ;)Great post, it was fun to see your art take shape and hear some of your thoughts behind it all. Now I know why they're selling so well, they're infused with glorious love and light. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome Laurie- I still can't for the life of my figure out Gimp! xD Haha, I've been trying to figure out how to "layer" things... have any ideas? :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so weird how you can take a normal picture and make it into this awesome art! ♥ You've got quite the talent ♥
The angel one is my favorite... It's GORGEOUS!
xo
Jordan
Hey Melinda, good to hear from you! You know, I've always believed that there are as many paths to God as there are people. It's so very personalized and individualized. It feels to me like the institute of religion has a tendency to contain and control people's beliefs to fit inside their own man-made interpretations and rules. That seems to work for many people, and good for them for getting comfort from their beliefs. For me, I like to flow and grow, and my brain works well enough to have my own interpretations about things.
ReplyDeleteHey ya Jordan!! Gimp has a pretty steep learning curve. I don't know much technical stuff about gimp, all I know is that there is an un-do button, so I can reverse the things that don't work!! As far as layers, I don't really work with layers, that takes too much brain power, haha!! I just like doing the simple things that don't require me to think too much. Story of my life lol!! The best thing you can do, is just start pushing buttons and see what happens, undo the process if you don't like it, then push some more buttons and see what happens. That's how I learned all that I know (which isn't that much!!) I have a vague understanding about layers, but yeah, it's hard to understand and even harder to apply. I might send you an email with what I do know about layers one of these days when i get time.
Great post Laurie! Quite interesting; Art guided by the source energy is the best! I love what you do and love this green Angel born out of an iris!
ReplyDeleteNever play with gimp!
Thank you for sharing!
I'm with Jordan - I was a little overwhelmed by Gimp when I downloaded it, too! I think if I gave it a bit of time I could figure it out, but as of yet I haven't done it. ;) So kudos to you! Your art is gorgeous, and it's really impressive how you can change a photo into something so creative and unique. That almost-finished product above is stunning, I love it! Thanks for sharing your creative process, it was neat to get a peek behind the curtain! :D
ReplyDeleteSuch a fabulous post Laurie! :) I love getting to understand your process - it's so unique to you and how you blend energy into each piece is so cool! I love your art and jewelry - I'm going to check out gimp - sounds interesting - but maybe overwhelming for a non-techie like me. Hug and love to you always my friend, Beth
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