Linda Spencer (Art and Letters)
www.spencerarts.com
Linda Spencer, Ph.D, is an artist, author and personal empowerment coach. Her oil and acrylic paintings reflect the process of her search for meaning. Her Encaustic paintings are self interpretive--even meditative.
Artist Statement
In the course of my education I realized that art is more than a fun hobby. It is actually a tension reliever, a great centering device, a wonderful healing modality and it allows me to create work that can speak to me years after it is created. I love all aspects of art. In addition to painting I also create jewelry with semi-precious stones and wood and seeds. I have been making a collection of amusing and inspirational "One of a kind" Artist Cards for years.
Artist Statement
In the course of my education I realized that art is more than a fun hobby. It is actually a tension reliever, a great centering device, a wonderful healing modality and it allows me to create work that can speak to me years after it is created. I love all aspects of art. In addition to painting I also create jewelry with semi-precious stones and wood and seeds. I have been making a collection of amusing and inspirational "One of a kind" Artist Cards for years.
As to painting: The medium dictates the style for me. My slow drying oils are quite realistic. Since oil paint stays wet a lot longer than other paints, there is plenty of time to blend and glaze. My fast drying acrylics tend to be more abstracted and spontaneous. The most versatile paint is Encaustic, which is pure pigment mixed with beeswax and varnish and heated to about 200 degrees. If I use it thin and fast I can make it look like a water color. Or it can be layered. Items can be embedded in it as well for collage. It can give a country French look, or buffed, it resembles an enamel finish. I can use a hot travel iron to do quick impressions of water and scenery, or abstractions. Golden paints has come out with a liquid that will keep acrylic paint from drying so fast and I am anxious to try those. I"ll keep this site posted as to how it goes.
There is something unique in the creative experience. People report that there is a point in art where it becomes a transcendental or even divine experience. In the creation of an artifact you draw from the events of life experience at the most intense level. If you draw from that resource, and you do it in a way that the creative is awake and active, something happens that enlarges the reality beyond it. When that happens you see the reality beyond the creativity and this allows the ego to take on a different perspective. The ego does not disappear, it just becomes less active. The artist begins to feel that there is something bigger. Ultimately when the artist accesses this feeling it is what seems to heal. I find that the creative act itself is something that goes from ego to God. It transcends the ego.
The ego appears to be more active if you are wounded. It makes one more defensive. The ego gives the impulse to protect the physical organism when we are hurt physically or emotionally. This gets translated by the ego into a hyper-watchful state. You have to live defensively. The ego says "you have to watch out." We fluctuate between a fear of life and a fear of death. If my life is not being supported, it is being threatened.
In a life that has suffered much abuse, the ego has taken on a bigger part; more attention is used and less is left for the person to get connected to their spiritual essence. This is the case until such time as the person realizes that it cannot be done, one cannot protect themselves satisfactorily. With this realization something very different happens; either severe panic or a look toward the spiritual essence. In creating an artifact a person can go through the art experience into the imagery that comes out of it. Creativity and intuition literally connects them to the creative force of the universe. Once the wounded artist embraces the imagery that was once so threatening, it ceases to have the initial impact. The experience of connectivity to the universe is something that happens when you're putting your creativity, your wounding, and your imagery together in a most intense way.
Dr. Spencer is listed the Who's Who of Professional & Business Women, Who's Who International, and 2000 Notable American Women, and American Art Collector. Her book is called, "Heal Abuse & Trauma Through Art: Increasing self-worth, healing of initial wounds, and creating a sense of connectivity" .
There is something unique in the creative experience. People report that there is a point in art where it becomes a transcendental or even divine experience. In the creation of an artifact you draw from the events of life experience at the most intense level. If you draw from that resource, and you do it in a way that the creative is awake and active, something happens that enlarges the reality beyond it. When that happens you see the reality beyond the creativity and this allows the ego to take on a different perspective. The ego does not disappear, it just becomes less active. The artist begins to feel that there is something bigger. Ultimately when the artist accesses this feeling it is what seems to heal. I find that the creative act itself is something that goes from ego to God. It transcends the ego.
The ego appears to be more active if you are wounded. It makes one more defensive. The ego gives the impulse to protect the physical organism when we are hurt physically or emotionally. This gets translated by the ego into a hyper-watchful state. You have to live defensively. The ego says "you have to watch out." We fluctuate between a fear of life and a fear of death. If my life is not being supported, it is being threatened.
In a life that has suffered much abuse, the ego has taken on a bigger part; more attention is used and less is left for the person to get connected to their spiritual essence. This is the case until such time as the person realizes that it cannot be done, one cannot protect themselves satisfactorily. With this realization something very different happens; either severe panic or a look toward the spiritual essence. In creating an artifact a person can go through the art experience into the imagery that comes out of it. Creativity and intuition literally connects them to the creative force of the universe. Once the wounded artist embraces the imagery that was once so threatening, it ceases to have the initial impact. The experience of connectivity to the universe is something that happens when you're putting your creativity, your wounding, and your imagery together in a most intense way.
Dr. Spencer is listed the Who's Who of Professional & Business Women, Who's Who International, and 2000 Notable American Women, and American Art Collector. Her book is called, "Heal Abuse & Trauma Through Art: Increasing self-worth, healing of initial wounds, and creating a sense of connectivity" .