I have never taken any special art classes more than the traditional basic art courses one takes at school when one is young. As a result, I was never all that good at art adn it wasn't something I was focused on.
As I grew older I started to develop an eagerness to express myself when inspired through painting, drawing abstract pictures and playing with colors. I started doing this in the purest form of the word art. This is because I had not idea about any of the rules or techniques. This means that I usually simply grab a pencil, a crayon or a brush and I just go with my feelings without restricting the flow of what comes up with any acquired preconception on how to go about producing my art.
Not knowing much about rules for art can be somewhat limiting in the sense that it can become harder to materialize what one feels and sees. However, at the same time, it can be extremely freeing for art done in this way can be the maximum expression of art done without fear of criticism or of needing to abide to what art is supposed to be.
2. Organic Art
As the years went by and I have acquired more inner freedom to let my creativity flow as it comes. As a result, I have developed something which I decided to call: Organic Art.
This art evolved naturally as a result of a combination of my passion for walking, for being immersed in nature along with the birth of many ideas which came during my walks. As I explored new terrains during my walks in nature, I started to feel called by a particular stick, piece of wood, rock, leaf or seed. At the beginning I would ignore this somewhat non-ordinary call. But as the call became more insistent, it got to the point that I could not resist it anymore. So one day, I decided to start to pick up those things which I was attracted to. In this way, I would end up arriving home with a whole bunch of dry leaves, seeds, sticks and all sort of things I would find in nature.
As I allowed my creativity to flow, I found myself doing what I decided to name organic art. This is art which I do using a combination of all the things I pick up throughout my walk. So by arranging them in a particular way or by doing a collage with the various things, I can form an image which comes to my mind or an abstract form sticking all the pieces to a cardboard.
Since doing this art, I find that I am much more in tune with all the pieces and ends I see on the ground or floating in the air durign my walks. I pay much more attention not to miss anything which my want to come for a ride to my home and end up on my wall. In this way, my walks, nature, the environment and my art all blend together in a magical process which I have named: "organic art."
I never force myself to sit down and do art. I find that the need to express myself through art flows naturally when I am inspired. If I am not inspired I just wait in silence until the call arrives. Sometimes, months go by without me needing to produce anything or to materialize any of the ideas crossing my mind. Yet when the call for expression comes, I never resist it or repress it. On the contrary, I embrace it with my open heart and fearlessly try to allow my hands to materialize a message from the soul. This can be a very gratifying and fulfilling experience. Somewhat like feeling a divine power taking over one's hand and drawing whatever needs to be expressed with complete honesty and purity. Art is a high form of expression of the divine and of our inner freedom to simply allow ourselves to just be.
So, next time you are in the woods, see if a stick or a leaf calls you. Then take it home and see what comes up from your interaction with these members of nature.
You may be surprised to find that when you allow your feelings to flow, art becomes the natural course of expression for navigating with creativity the rivers, lakes, and rapids of our everyday lives.
Love and peace,
Veronica Munoz
