Maggie Ventsias
MA Studio Art
Much of my current work results from several processes that begin with a physical painting. I then photograph the painting and digitize it. Next, I search for “found shapes” in the image, blowing up one corner 300%, or rotating the image, changing the perspective, somehow shifting how my eye sees the art. From there, I pull out shapes that I find interesting and then merge them into other digital versions of painted canvases. The digitally manipulated art is then printed on canvas, which I then paint back into. Some of the finished pieces live on canvas, some live in the digital world.
When I am deep in the creative process – painting without overthinking, just being in the moment – I find myself having very similar experiences as when I practice long meditation sessions. Deep silence seems to move from me, to the brush, to the canvas, and back again – all the parts of the process are connected, sometimes creating a witnessing-type experience of me watching Maggie paint while “I” remain steeped in that all-encompassing silence. I understand more deeply Maharishi’s statement that “knowledge is structured in consciousness.” The more open, present, and aware I am, the more wholeness I can perceive and enjoy in creating.
