Hello fellow artists,

"Autumn Light"
copyright Patricia Roshaven

My point of view about being an artist is that, to say something meaningful in your art, you must explore your creativity. To better understand, it is useful to see how other artists have approached themselves as spiritual beings. These resources are meant to help you in this quest.  Biographies of artists are also excellent resources.

-- World Religions in Art is brimming with images and information on this subject.

-- The Wabash Center has a compilation of websites around the world that feature religion and the arts. Some syllabi and teaching resources are available only to Wabash students, but the electronic texts/digital images are available to everyone.

-- AWAKE: ART, BUDDHISM, AND THE DIMENSIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS was a consortium that met 2001 -2003 to study "the common ground between the creative mind, the perceiving mind, and the meditative mind.... and the potential for satisfying aesthetic experience engendered by an open, aware state of mind." The website has disappeared, but if you do an "art, buddhism, consciousness" keyword search, you can still find some of the essays written by consortium participants.

-- Go to Allspirit for spiritual writing, poetry, quotations and song lyrics.

-- To access thousands of online full-text books, journals and audio books on all subjects, talk to the librarian at your public or academic library. All you need is a library card, a password from your library and a little help from your librarian to set up a NetLibrary account, and the full-text is yours to use online.

-- FindArticles also offers free full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

-- To purchase books about religion and the arts, Amazon.com has new and used books, with reviews.

-- Ingenta publishes Religion and the Arts, one of several journals published on this subject. Most of the journals are available by subscription only. However, Ingenta allows you to read one issue for free online.  Ingenta is available at many University libraries.

-- To subscribe to a journal on the subject of religion and the arts, a Google search using those keywords will yield a number of choices.

Technorati Tags: religion and the arts, arts bibliography, art tutorial, visual arts, religious images

Hello fellow artists,

This is an information package to help you interpret the symbols in your art work. Please let me know if you find additional sources for this list.

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." -- Henry Ward Beecher

Symbolism in the art you create comes from personal experiences, and may arise from one's day-to-day life or one's unconscious. Your favorite car, for example, may symbolize a desire for adventure, escape, a sexual partner, prestige, or something entirely different. With the help of these information resources, you can decide what your symbols mean.

When interpreting abstract art look at the shapes, texture and color of your work. I painted the watercolor shown below in a completely unconscious way, tossing pigment onto wet paper. I love the result and, if pressed, might call it "Fruit", but decided to call it "Watercolor #1" and let other people see what they want to see in it.

Dictionaries and your friends' comments will help you understand your symbols, but good old-fashioned introspection can be even more useful. Introspection can take the form of listening to your dreams, meditation, going for a leisurely walk, or finding some other way to relax. I find that writing whatever comes into my mind is helpful. Also helpful is gazing at the art work in question from different angles and at different times of the day.

Masters of symbolism include Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade, Sir James Frazer, Marie-Louise von Franz, Thomas Bulfinch, Claude Levi-Strauss, Marija Gimbutas, James Hillman and Edith Hamilton.

-- For an overview of mythology, see Wikipedia, which includes links to mythology around the world.

-- The Symbols Search Engine can help you find the meaning of graphics and numbers.

A Google search can be set up as "door symbolism", for example, which will yield numerous interpretations for the concept of "door". If you've painted a pink door, Google will help with a separate search for "pink symbolism". Combine the interpretations for "pink" and "door".

Now that you know how to interpret symbols, you can play with them, thereby changing the meaning of your work. If a half-opened door means that you are cautious about allowing people in your life, then painting a fully opened door could be a powerful experience for you. And maybe you would rather the door be a raucous yellow, or a somber grey. Only you can decide. The meaning of colors depends on your personal life experiences and varies by culture.

Symbols are everywhere in our lives. An artist who understands this has greater control over his/her art and has a better chance of connecting with his/her audience. Understanding the symbolism of your work will make it easier for to explain your work to potential buyers.

The following are some online sources for symbols, symbolism and mythology:

-- Symbols and Symbolism. An overview created by Florida International University librarian Steve Morris.

-- Wikipedia: Symbols and Symbolism.

-- Dream Symbols

-- Symbolism of Color: Using Color for Meaning

-- "Say It With Flowers" from ArtNews, about interpreting sexual symbols.

-- Symbols in Christian Art and Architecture

-- Joseph Campbell and Maria Gimbutas Library

-- Buddhist Art & Architecture

-- Symbolism of Popular Culture

-- In Search of Myths and Heroes

-- Myths, Dreams, Symbols

-- Fairy Tales

-- An Exploration of Modern Monsters

-- Semiotics for Beginners Semiotics is the theory and study of signs and symbols.

-- Links to symbols from around the world

-- Did you know this? Most public and academic libraries in the United States give online access to full-text books and audiobooks at home. All you need is a library card, a password from your library and a little help from your librarian to set up an account, and these full-text books (the entire book, from cover to cover, can be read online) are yours to use at home. As of today, NetLibrary has 18 books on symbolism and 99 books on mythology (and thousands of other subjects). Searches are possible in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Japanese. No purchase necessary.

-- If you have access to NetLibrary, then you probably have access to other full-text online databases, including newspapers, magazines and encyclopedias, which will have more information on this subject.

-- FindArticles also offers free full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

-- If you would like to purchase books about symbolism, Amazon.com has new and used books, with reviews.

Technorati Tags: symbolism, art interpretation, semiotics

Watercolor #1
Patricia Roshaven
Photo Album

Hello fellow artists,

I have to come clean -- I am an artist, but I also have a Masters in Library Science (UC Berkeley, 1970), worked and taught in the UC Berkeley libraries in the early 70's and, most recently, retired as head of an academic library (Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter campus) in December 2004. I retired so that I could become a full-time artist, and I am still an information enthusiast.

My statistics counter shows that you want more information on the topics under discussion. Because of this I will be including an information "package" (aka bibliography) on some of these topics so that it will be easier for you to find more complete information.

Today's information package is on black-and-white photography. I'm taking a class in b&w darkroom photography this term, so have a special interest in this topic. Please contact me at roshaven@gmail.com if you know of resources to add to this list.

-- It's simple to throw a roll of b&w film into your camera and have it developed at your local pharmacy, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. These places still carry b&w film. They will also enlarge photos for you. B&W photos have a mood of their own that cannot be duplicated in color. Give it a try. Be an artist.

Photo by Dorothea Lange, from American Memory Project

-- Masters of black and white photography include: ---- Ansel Adams ---- Mathew Brady ---- Julia Margaret Cameron ---- May Craig ---- Imogen Cunningham ---- Walker Evans ---- Robert Frank ---- David Octavius Hill ---- Lewis Hine ---- Frances Johnson ---- Gertrude Kasebier ---- Dorothea Lange ---- Lee Miller ---- Gordon Parks ---- Man Ray ---- Edward Steichen ----Alfred Stieglitz ---- Paul Strand ----Edward Weston ---- Clarence White ---- Myra Wiggins ---- Garry Winogrand

Resources and Tips

-- If you are shooting digitally, most digital cameras have the option for shooting in b&w, or you can remove the color in your color editor.

-- For learning darkroom techniques, check out your local colleges. Many are still offering these classes.

-- A good starting point to gain general information is an encyclopedia, such as Wikipedia.

-- Did you know this? Most public and academic libraries in the United States give online access to full-text books and audiobooks at home. All you need is a library card, a password from your library and a little help from your librarian to set up an account, and these full-text books (the entire book, from cover to cover, can be read online) are yours to use at home. As of today, NetLibrary has 55 books on photography (and thousands of other subjects). Searches are possible in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Japanese. No purchase necessary.

-- If you have access to NetLibrary, then you probably have access to other full-text online databases, including newspapers, magazines and encyclopedias, which will have more information on this subject.

-- FindArticles.com also offers free full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

-- If you would like to purchase books about black-and-white photography, Amazon.com has new and used books, with reviews.

-- Black-and-White Photography Tips are at New York Institute of Photography.

-- Looking for another overview? See Black and White Photography.

-- It takes some patience, but the American Memory Project has thousands of fascinating, copies of original old photographs that you can view online, including photos from the Civil War.

-- For current photographers, see PhotoEye and Center for Creative Photography, which has the largest holdings of works by 20th century North American photographers, with online exhibitions.

Technorati Tags: black and white photography, photography bibliography, photography overview