Cheryl Fratto asks …
“I must inquire – how do these come to you? What inspires these magnificent pieces you create?”
Thank you for this beautiful question, Cheryl!
It happens in one of two ways … each its own unique pathway, a special relationship between process and inspiration …
Pathway One: Inspiration Sparks Process
I first focus on a state that I want to express or to call in more of (joy, love, courage, peace) … I put on healing music or do a meditation that invokes that state for me and then a picture comes to me in my mind’s eye and I create it.
I sort of dance with my tools and techniques, following inner guidance where I am meant to go and listening for the inner yes … as in, “Yes, this is it.”
This is what I’ve done for years.
One thing that’s always felt special about this process is that when I’d later share the image with others and ask them bask in it, they’d describe what they saw or felt … and it was as if they could *sense* the energy that created it …
They *felt* it.
I love hearing about what people see or feel in response to artwork. There’s a special magic in creativity.
I’ve been on a sometimes challenging journey of healing but I always feel lifted when I create these. And other people seem to feel lifted too, which is wonderful!
I encourage people to make friends with whichever image calls to them, to tap into the energy and to have their own experience of it.
Below is Deep Trust, a mandala which was created in this way …
Pathway Two: Process Sparks Inspiration
Most recently I’ve been playing with a technique I learned from Flora Bowley … Brave Intuitive Painting … where I paint numerous layers upon layers, intuitively and without thinking, just feeling into it and going wherever my spirit calls me to go. I still listen to music and follow the energy, as always.
Eventually I will see something in the seemingly random textures and patterns I’ve created, then guide it to the surface, bringing it out and enhancing it.
Something is intuitively brought into being.
Below is Wisteria Dream, an original painting which was created in this way …
Style-wise, at this moment I can see the difference between these two ways of bringing a piece of art into the world.
The first set of images have smooth blends of color, radiating waves of light and energy.
The images which came through in the second way tend to have lots of playful paint strokes, depth and variation, and unexpected patterns and detail.
In the first, the inspiration comes to me first and generates the painting.
In the second, the act of painting generates the inspiration.
And then there’s this … Dancing Pathways
Some of my pieces represent a merging of both pathways, a swirling dance of process and inspiration.
The mandala below was created for someone special. I had the energy of love in mind as I painted (Inspiration Sparks Process).
But I did not plan out this design, pattern or layout … Instead, as I created, I began to see the blooming mandala emerging and gently pulled it through (Process Sparks Inspiration).
So I began with an inspiration and then the act of painting itself generated its own inspiration.
Below is Love: Bloom, a mandala which was created in this way …
Long answer, right? 😊 Just writing about it clarified for me that I have two distinctively different methods and styles. Sorta interesting to discover!
Cheryl Fratto: “Thank you for helping me to see what inspires you. I am moved deeply by your work and by your gifts – to be able to create something that creates something – powerful stuff.”
Creating lifts me. Because of my symptoms, I only paint about 15 to 30 minutes per day so when something evolves over time and is gradually brought into existence before my eyes it feels a bit like this big, joyful miracle. It’s sorta like a magic elixir to me or something.
It’s so helpful to receive loving thoughts, comments and encouragement … so you are participating in bringing these paintings through!
Cheryl Fratto: “Wow – the more you reveal – the more meaningful these pieces become… so touched by your words.”
So happy for the conversation, Cheryl. It helps me to remember the fullness of the experience and how we are all involved …
Much love to you, my friend!
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