The Artist's Journey | OzFineArt.Au | Podcast

Welcome to Episode 9 in The Artist’s Journey series. Today we feature the works of Dwayne Kennedy. For full visuals be sure to watch the YouTube or Substack video production where the paintings appear during the voice over. Thanks for your interest in our work. Paintings are available on the website - any questions be in touch.YouTube Description:Discover the powerful artwork of Dwayne Wannamarra Wyndier Andrew Kennedy, a visual artist from Guyra based in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Dwayne honors his Waradjuri, Kamilaroi, Irish, and French family heritages through stunning paintings that blend traditional Aboriginal Australian art with impressionist, abstract, and contemporary styles.🎨 About the Artist:Dwayne creates acrylic paintings on stretched canvas, wooden boards, and panels, drawing inspiration from his family’s identity, culture, and the struggles and joys of everyday people.His work is deeply rooted in empowerment, resilience, and the sacred practice of Aboriginal songlines and dreaming. After surviving severe childhood burns, Dwayne found art as a sanctuary and healing practice—a way to reflect on life, meaning, and survival.His background in graphic arts and fashion design brings a unique contemporary perspective to his traditional and figurative works.⏱️ Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction to Oz FineArt & Dwayne Kennedy 0:27 - Artistic Style & Mediums 1:05 - Cultural Inspiration & Life Philosophy 1:32 - Overcoming Trauma Through Art 2:13 - Art as Sacred Practice & Healing 2:42 - Aboriginal Songlines & Cultural Teachings 3:16 - Visit Our Website Learn More: Visit https://ozfineart.au to explore Dwayne’s complete collection and experience the profound wisdom and strength his paintings offer.#AboriginalArt #IndigenousArtist #AustralianArt #ContemporaryArt #Waradjuri #Kamilaroi #AboriginalCulture #IndigenousArtwork #AcrylicPainting #ArtHealing #CulturalHeritage #NSWArtist #ArtsAndCulture #SacredArt #Dreamtime #Songlines #AboriginalPainting #FirstNationsArt #IndigenousHeritage #ArtTherapyKeywords:Aboriginal art, Indigenous Australian artist, Dwayne Kennedy artist, Waradjuri art, Kamilaroi culture, contemporary Aboriginal painting, traditional Indigenous art, Australian landscape paintings, Aboriginal songlines, sacred art practice, Indigenous cultural heritage, NSW artists, Armidale artists, acrylic Aboriginal paintings, First Nations artwork, Aboriginal impressionist art, Indigenous abstract art, cultural healing through art, Aboriginal contemporary designTranscript:Dwayne Wannamarra Kennedy: Australian Artist | Contemporary Indigenous Art Cultural Heritage[00:00:00] Welcome to Oz FineArt. Today we feature the works of Dwayne Wannamarra Wyndier Andrew Kennedy. Dwayne is a visual artist from Guyra based in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. He honors his Waradjuri, Kamilaroi, Irish and French family Heritages. His works spans a range of styles including traditional Aboriginal Australian,impressionist, abstract and abstract realism with elements of contemporary graphic arts and design. Dwayne creates paintings in acrylics on stretched canvas, wooden boards, and panels. As a visual artist, his paintings and ceramics are inspired by his family’s identity and culture. His work is driven by the struggles and joys of everyday people, those whose perseverance and whose [00:01:00] finding empowerment creates a way forward for others.Over the years he’s created commissioned Australian landscapes and figurative works. His studies in graphic arts and fashion design have given his work quite a strong form and a unique contemporary perspective. Art for Dwayne is a personal and essentially a practice of the self like breathing. It has been a sanctuary since childhood.Surviving early childhood severe burns to most of Dwayne’s upper body gave him a fresh perspective on identity and human relationships. Immobilized for so long, he had to rely on his family. Which helped him find a deep inner source of resilience and strength. This experience of recovery through trauma fostered a [00:02:00] profound commitment to positive attitudes and empowerment and values that have guided his relationships and his lifelong work in disability and mental health support.Dwayne’s Art practice is incredibly healing and offers a way to reflect on life, meaning, survival and empowerment. He believes that the contemporary reawakening of sacred dreaming and Aboriginal songlines, indigenous songlines, is at the heart of truly an artful practice of living that can profoundly help people in their daily lives.Art as sacredness, art as sacred practice seeks to immediately understand and convey a deep and mysterious message that cultural teachings are still alive and well, and awakening in today’s world. And these [00:03:00] reveal more to people over the years. Dwayne’s work, and living with his paintings, provides a profound and wonderful source of insight, wisdom, and strength. To see and experience more of his works, visit our website.Thanks for reading Art Wisdom | The Artist's Journey Show & Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ozfineart.substack.com

Join Dr. Jo Bowers as they explore the profound connection between art, incarnation, and embodiment during the holiday season. This episode of The Artist’s Journey delves into how art serves as a manifestation of divine energy, personal growth, and community. Discover the power of creativity, the symbolism of the brushstroke, and the role of art in nurturing relationships and cultural identity.✨ Presented by Art Wisdom | The Artist’s Journey Show & Podcast🌐 Visit: https://OzFineArt.Au🎨 Subscribe for more inspiring conversations on art, creativity, and the human spirit.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction: The Holiday Season & Art00:52 - Family, Ancestry, and Manifestation01:51 - About The Artist’s Journey & Oz FineArt03:11 - The Meaning of Incarnation04:25 - Divine Energy and Personal Growth05:59 - The Force Within: Art & DNA07:17 - The Artistic Journey as Metaphor08:40 - Rebirth, Hope, and Renewal10:20 - Life’s Struggles and Artistic Transformation11:24 - Creativity, Vulnerability, and Community12:42 - Altruism and the Way of the Artist13:34 - Sharing Energy Through Art14:59 - Art as Custodianship and Sovereignty16:15 - The Embodiment of Presence in Art17:08 - Incarnational Energy and Creativity18:02 - Flowers as Metaphor for Personhood18:53 - Manifesting Something from Nothing20:00 - Celebrating Identity, Culture, and Relationships21:21 - The Music of Creation and Life’s Symphony22:49 - Growth, Agency, and Vulnerability24:37 - Self-Expression and Artistic Vision25:31 - Sharing Art and Community Engagement27:47 - Podcast Spirit and Audio Quality28:44 - The Embodiment of Art30:29 - Art, AI, and Digital Creativity32:00 - Digital Art as New Expression33:52 - Art as Communication Across Time35:15 - Presence, Energy, and the Divine36:28 - Embracing the Present Moment37:59 - Blessings and Closing Reflections40:52 - Final Thoughts and FarewellKeywords:art, incarnation, embodiment, Christmas, Jo Bowers, Oz FineArt, artist journey, creativity, divine energy, personal growth, community, cultural identity, brushstroke, digital art, AI art, holiday season, inspiration, self-expression, transformation, spirituality, family, ancestry, rebirth, hope, renewal, podcast, fine art, creative processConnect with us:Website: https://OzFineArt.AuSubstack: Art Wisdom | The Artist’s Journey Show & PodcastApple Podcasts: The Artist’s JourneyArt #Christmas #Embodiment #Creativity #Podcast #JoBowers #OzFineArtTranscript[00:00:00] The holiday season is such a time of joy, celebration. It’s also a time of family gathering and of cultural festivities. The holiday season is a time to reflect. It’s often a time of deep personal solitude, and within this spirit of the season, we think about the role that fine art plays in our life. We look to artists for inspiration and we find within their work a deep resonance that gives us this sense of reconnecting with our origins and our origin story with our ancestral[00:00:51] medicine, the power of our family line coming forward into our lives again and giving us [00:01:00] energy to move forward and to manifest what we need in our life and in this time. This is the Artist Journey. I’m your host, Jo Bowers, PhD. Our show appears natively on Oz FineArt YouTube, Oz FineArt Collective on Substack and Apple Podcasts.[00:01:22] Our sponsor is OzFineArt.Au and artist scholar, practitioner inspired project. That combines artfulness transformational agency and the sacred business of nurturing relationships in our interconnected world. Please join our community by visiting our home at OzFineArt.Au. Please consider acquiring one of our beautiful artworks[00:01:51] and do remember to join our community bimonthly periodical. We so look forward to seeing you. [00:02:00] Thank you so much. Many of the stories and the most profound meanings of this time of year relate to the incarnation that is the manifestation of divine energy into the world and this manifestation. It is not an external event that happens to us.[00:02:25] This is a manifestation that moves within us to change us, to help us to grow, to give us new energy and life power and wisdom. This manifestation of the incarnation energy of the divine person, the divine essence, the divine energy is moving throughout creation all the time, all around us in every moment.[00:02:58] Much like the [00:03:00] Star Wars theme, the, the Force that is with us, the Force that is with you. It is a deeply personal and manifest reality. It is the breath that we breathe. It is the very nature of our energy within our DNA that is unfolding over time and giving us new life, and regenerating ourselves and helping our bodies to grow to become more beautiful as we age, as we[00:03:37] grow in personhood as we become the manifest beings that we are meant to be. And this is the artistic journey. This is the journey of the artist as a metaphor for your growth, for your being, for your becoming. These are [00:04:00] powerful stories about your origins. When you reflect on the Christmas story of the incarnation of God into a baby, born in a stable, we’ve got to imagine for a moment that we are there.[00:04:19] We are amongst the people in that place, celebrating the birth of a child. And in that moment come to terms with our own inner rebirthing. Our finding, again, a sense of hope, a sense of renewal, a sense of healing after years of becoming adults and working so hard to fit into the world. And to bring forward our mortgages and our jobs and [00:05:00] our responsibilities and our raising children and our engaging in projects and and programs and so many.[00:05:10] So many things over the years that dominate our energy and pull us into a different head space where we stress and we are filled with anxiety and often levels of depression. In the sense that we come against the struggles of life and we’re not able to respond as much as we would like perhaps, and this incapacity to respond prevents us from.[00:05:43] Manifesting the energy that we know, we sense in our fullness, in our potential, in the spirit of our being. Having a human experience can be a very frustrating moment, [00:06:00] can be a very difficult path, and so within this manifestation story, the artwork of our lives. Is transformed. The artwork of our lives is transformed, and in that[00:06:19] is a creative moment, a powerful moment, a moment of becoming, a moment of sharing who we are and the truth and vulnerability of our core humanity, of our very nature. The center and heart of who we are, sharing that with others through color, texture, and form. Through intimacy, through moments of deep connection, through a sense of community and family, through giving and serving others in a way that [00:07:00] extends ourselves.[00:07:02] That gives us a deeper capacity for altruism that is caring for another person in such a way that we would truly wish them the best, that we would want the best for them, that we would give of ourselves to them freely, not expecting return. And when we are able to engage in this practice, this is the way of the artist.[00:07:34] This is the artist that gives to others through their work, through their imagery, through their color, texture and form, and through the works that they produce. They share the energy of life. The energy of becoming, the energy of being. And this is a powerful story because this is, this is the, this is [00:08:00] the intimacy of the artist that is shared with others in the vulnerability of humanity, of their deep sense, of their personality and their self and their story, and how they have overcome obstacles.[00:08:19] Gone through difficult and hard times, and yet the embodiment of their energy in their artwork is a powerful presence. It is a gift to self and others. Such a gift that we want to remark about. We want to share it with others. It is remarkable that this work of art exists as a manifestation, as an embodiment of the spirit of the season, the spirit of family, the spirit of culture, and of place the [00:09:00] spirit of identity.[00:09:02] So I share with you one of the deepest, greatest secrets. In the art world, that art itself is a form of custodianship. And custodianship is a way for us to reclaim our sense of sovereignty, our independence, our interdependence, our relational truth, our sense of family and community, our cultural place.[00:09:37] Our cultural meaning, our identity art is a custodial act of sovereignty in the artistic process, then the work on the canvas and each brush stroke is an embodiment of presence. When you think of the brushstroke as an [00:10:00] embodiment of presence. The action of touching the canvas with that brush, with that paint and the delicacy and movement involved in that action.[00:10:15] It conveys energy, it conveys presence. It gives an immediate sense of the texture form, color. Power, meaning and story that the artist conveys. It is an external physical manifestation of the artist’s own body, of their energy, of their self. And in the sense each brush stroke becomes an embodied presence.[00:10:48] An embodied manifestation of an incarnational energy, an incarnational moment of becoming where we participate in the [00:11:00] creativity of the divine. We participate in the energy of the create creative, creative spirit within the spirit of evolution. The spirit of becoming. The spirit of mother Earth of, of creation itself is manifest through this creative process.[00:11:22] And so you look behind me at the beautiful flowers. Each stroke of the paint that created those flowers spontaneously manifested a beautiful moment, a beautiful insight, a beautiful presence. So each flower is a person. Each flower is in a sense containing the energy of personhood. That is the essence of character.[00:11:52] You know what I mean? The essence of a meaning, a story and identity, and that [00:12:00] form on the canvas moves through this mysterious process of becoming nothing to something. Manifesting something from nothing. And how beautiful is that? We all come from that same place. We all come from that same place of the nothing, so to speak, into a beautiful something that flowers that blooms.[00:12:30] That becomes present, that becomes real, that grows over time and has a story, has an origin, and has a destination and an end. And when we celebrate this, we celebrate our unique identities, our unique sense of culture, our unique and personal sense of family and relationships, of friendships and [00:13:00] depth of meaning.[00:13:01] And presence and purpose that is part of our daily life. Part of our intimate moments when we are alone with ourselves and these moments resonate, they convey a music of creation that that reverberates, that truly resonates beyond the moments themselves that connect. In a very powerful way with so many divergent energies and these converge and become part of the symphony of our lives, of the way that we interact and become.[00:13:49] Who we are with and amongst others in our lives, in our work, in our culture and families. These ways that we [00:14:00] grow in our personhood and who we are are deeply connected to our sense of self. To our agency, to our choice and sense of control, to our ability to come to terms with our contingency, our weaknesses, and our depth of humanity, our vulnerability, and in this space, just like the fragility of those flowers, we too come to terms with ourselves, with who we are.[00:14:37] With our limitations and our strengths, and these become the colors, the textures, and the forms that we express in our personalities, in our lives, in our very, the very fabric of our existence and how we think and feel about ourselves is important. [00:15:00] It is important how you feel and think about yourself, and so it’s important work to improve that sense of yourself over time and to give yourself the[00:15:14] ability and the capacity to grow to develop yourself as a person, as a being, as an artist to embody within your own sense of self, the artistic vision of becoming beauty, of a manifesting beauty, creativity, and form into the world. Uh, at the same time that technique interacts with emotion, feeling a sensate, experience, a visual sense, uh, an ability to move with the emotive feeling, the emotive [00:16:00] sense, and the intuitive direction that this painting might be taking to interact with how the paint is emerging on the canvas.[00:16:11] Through that emotive process, it’s really a profound moment at some level. This is a very, very, very personal moment of coming to terms with your own self, with your identity. And yet part of this is what we share with with others. So if you are willing please to share this video with others by liking the video and sharing comments below what art resonates with you.[00:16:47] Yeah, particularly in this season, this holiday season, what artworks are you drawn to that convey meaning to you, that speak to your heart, to your mind, [00:17:00] to some part of you that you wish to manifest and to share with others? Share the artwork with others in community, and I invite you to do that. Um, under the video, if you’re on YouTube, if you’re in our substack.[00:17:16] Uh, community. Please do, uh, share in comments and like and subscribe to our substack as well. And we are also, uh, pushing out this recording to Apple Podcasts and we celebrate you if you’re listening to us on podcast. Um, and I think that Substack actually pushes out this as a podcast as well, that’s native to the platform.[00:17:47] So we celebrate that because we love. The podcast spirit, which is part of the reason why we’re working on the quality of our audio recording, and we hope they’re, hope we’re [00:18:00] improving that as we go along. Thank you so much for being with us, and we are delighted to share this time with you, especially at this beautiful, festive moment of the year.[00:18:14] The embodiment of art then is a profound. And beautiful moment where the brush stroke is an embodiment of our presence. The brush stroke is an expression of our bodies, of our beings, of our personhood, and of our relationships with each other within time and space and in community. This is why art is a deeply human experience and why art, even in the abstract sense, art is a, is a.[00:18:48] Is a presence, a sharing of a relationship, and as such, the humanity of art can be expressed through artificial [00:19:00] intelligence and through digital art forms, but still expresses and is a manifestation of further manifestation of the power and beauty. Of human creativity and I have no problem with, with AI and with artificially produced.[00:19:20] Paintings and artworks in the sense that for me it’s a philosophical stance and it’s also just a practical sense that we cannot stand in the way of technology. Technology will continue to evolve and emerge, and in that evolution it is expressing. A further manifestation of the spirit and power of human creativity and human agency in the world.[00:19:52] So for me, digital art is a beautiful expression of a new form of becoming [00:20:00] a, a new way that our. Our expression of ourselves extends into a digital realm, a, uh, alternative space or alternative reality that humans are together manifesting, and that this expresses our creative spirit, our mental capacity to share such dynamic creative worlds with each other.[00:20:32] And with others in the sense that this digital world that we’re creating and co-creating is part of our physical reality. And we’ve always known this from the earliest cave paintings of our ancestors, millennia, millennia ago these cave paintings also manifested a form of [00:21:00] externalization and a creative manifestation of the energy, power, and form that that ancestor expressed on the cave wall[00:21:11] that that beautiful image on the cave wall was a form of virtual reality that was being shared within a community, a culture, a time, a place. And that is a powerful realization when you think of it that way. Art is a moment of communication and when you think about art as communicating with each other, the cave painting, my paintings on the back wall here, the beautiful twinkling lights of the Christmas tree and the sound of my voice coming through this amazing.[00:21:55] Recording within this cyber space that we share [00:22:00] is also an absolute manifestation of an energy, of a presence, of a giftedness, of an embodiment. A manifestation of the divine presence in our lives in this very moment that we share with each other. When you grasp that, let the light bulb go on in your mind.[00:22:28] Let the connections happen between the dots of your thoughts. Let the clouds. That come and go in your mind, connect within you, a sense of agency, a sense of surrender. A sense of truly accepting this is the moment that we have, this is what we share in this moment, and this is real. Thank you for that creation.[00:22:59] Thank you for [00:23:00] that Mother Earth. Thank you for that great spirit. Thank you for this power that we share. Ta. I wish you every blessing, blessing upon you and your children now and for seven generations to come. Blessings on your life. Blessings on your home. Blessings on your spirit. Blessings on your body, blessings in your relationship.[00:23:32] Blessings in your healing. Oh, I offer you the prayers of the ancestors, the prayers of our, of our families, old and new, and yet becoming of the elders past and present, and of our children’s children’s children into the future. May all of these prayers and [00:24:00] blessings surround you, hold you. Give you peace and restore your energy, giving you hope and healing.[00:24:12] And the ability to continue in your life with the essence of your own story, the essence of your purpose in this world, that you may find that path and be it one with yourself and find within that the power, the presence and the giftedness to become a manifest being of light, compassion, and love. Thank you so much. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ozfineart.substack.com

Join Jo Bowers, PhD, on The Artist Journey as we explore the deep connections of kinship, art, and community. Discover how Indigenous traditions, art therapy, and the Corroboree Circle inspire resilience, healing, and authentic relationships in our modern world.Timestamps00:00 – Introduction: The Meaning of Kinship01:19 – Health, Relationships, and Resilience03:16 – The Artist Journey & Host Introduction03:22 – Where to Find Us & Sponsor04:12 – Art as Life: Indigenous Perspectives06:55 – The Yellow Rose: Friendship and Art08:00 – Art as Sacred Medicine & Community Healing28:08 – Closing Thoughts: Custodianship, Empowerment, and CommunityKeywordsart, kinship, community, Indigenous culture, Corroboree, healing, art therapy, resilience, relationships, Jo Bowers, Oz Fine Art, art as medicine, family, connection, empowerment, artist journey, sacred art, storytelling, mental health, creativity, custodianshipConnect with us:Website: https://ozfineart.auSubstack: Oz Fine Art CollectiveApple Podcasts: The Artist JourneyLike, subscribe, and comment below: What does art mean to you? Which artwork resonated most?Transcript[00:00:00] In our modern world, we talk about networks and contacts and followers, but what about kinship? What about the enduring connections that humanity has nurtured for millennia under the stars, around the circle, around the hearth of the family? Kinship is really the heart and soul of human connections. What have we done with kinship in the modern world?[00:00:34] We’ve replaced it with follower counts. How joyful. Well, there is another way. And we can make the choices that we need to make to encourage real and genuine connections. This show is about the Corroboreeee Circle, the places where we meet and share authentic human [00:01:00] bonds of friendship. This is about the nature of art itself as a form of custodianship that is of our mutual responsibility to take care of ourselves and each other.[00:01:15] This is the story of the circle. Our health science tells us is intimately connected to the quality of our relationships, to the depth of our connections. These are the enduring qualities that sustain us, that give us meaning and purpose and a sense of place. These connections not only define our identity, but they provide for us a sense of resilience, our ability to cope with the stresses of life and the challenges of the modern world are.[00:01:48] Intricately linked to how strong our relationships are in our day-to-day life. These are the forms of friendship and kinship that strengthen [00:02:00] our mental health and our capacity to cope. These are the ways that we survive the vagaries of life in society, losing jobs. Having to move homes, the loss of a loved one without intimate connections, without solid friendships, without family that we can rely on.[00:02:22] These major challenges in life become almost unbearable in indigenous cultures. There is an ancient and wise teaching, a living truth, that art and lifestyle are never separated. They, they are one and the same. They are in kinship with each other. In our experience of family, community, and sacred country, there’s a coming together of all of the parts of our lives.[00:02:54] There’s a sense of community, there’s a sense of sharing and of a [00:03:00] bond that is stronger than even the ties of blood. The Corroboree in Indigenous Cultures is a gathering place of song and dance of story. This is the Artist Journey. I’m your host, Jo Bowers PhD. Our show appears natively on Oz Fine Art YouTube Oz Fine Art Collective on Substack and Apple Podcasts.[00:03:27] Our sponsor is. OzFineArt.Au. An artist scholar, practitioner inspired project that combines artfulness transformational agency and the sacred business of nurturing relationships in our interconnected world. Please join our community by visiting our home at ozfineart.au.[00:03:53] Please consider acquiring one of our beautiful artworks. And do remember to join our [00:04:00] community bimonthly, periodical. We so look forward to seeing you. Thank you so much.[00:04:09] In indigenous cultures, art was never meant to be some painting hanging on a wall. Art was part of life and remains to be this day. This is a dynamic and moving process. This is an expression of family, culture, and community, a connection with the sacred country. Art is a place of gathering. Art is the song and dance that’s shared around the fire.[00:04:42] Art is the song that expresses our hearts, our desires, our dreams, and our stories of origin. Art is the lifeblood of the family. Art in this sense is a personal expression that’s shared amongst a [00:05:00] community, not a commodity so much to be sold on the open market or to be devalued by having a price tag attached to it.[00:05:08] But art is, in this sense, a sacred object, a sacred artifact of a living culture. And this is true. Today, just as much as centuries past and even in our modern world, we can appreciate art in this deeper connection that it provides for us, this deeper sense of purpose, identity, and place. These truths are certainly not lost on us today when you join an art class or.[00:05:44] Join a local ceramic association, or when you engage in a painting course or you visit a gallery, or you explore a new artist that you didn’t know before, you [00:06:00] are instinctively involving yourself in this ancient tradition of. Reconnecting to the heart, to the soul of family and community, to the humanity that you share.[00:06:13] When you explore and learn about art, you are literally appreciating the soul of humanity. And, and as such, there is so much. To learn and so much to appreciate and enjoy in this artistic journey. Moving from a sense of isolation and even loneliness through reconnecting with art, especially with others, is really at the heart of what we’re on about.[00:06:44] And in this sense, I share one of. Dwayne Wannamarra’s paintings of the yellow rose. This painting is especially poignant for me because it came out of a conversation I had with Dwayne [00:07:00] that I challenged him to paint a, picture of a rose that was really realistic. And that I was struggling at that time to do this myself.[00:07:11] I wanted to see how would he paint a rose, and I knew that his painting skills in the realism side of painting were a bit stronger than mine. And so I asked him to do this. And the, a result of the painting was poignant for me of the solitary, beautiful yellow rose representing friendship.[00:07:33] Especially, and that he painted this rose coming out of the conversations that we had was very powerful for me. This was born out of a playful conversation, but at the same time, it expressed the depth of love and caring and of consideration in our friendship over many years. And so this social connection, this deep.[00:07:57] Spiritual bond that we share [00:08:00] through art is a form of sacred medicine. It is literally a way of healing the soul, healing the mind from our innate sense of a loneliness and isolation that we get stuck into like a rut and getting ourselves out of this. Sometimes takes a fair bit of work, a fair bit of effort, and really I’ve found that making that process easier, uh, is, is central to what really art and sharing art with others is all about.[00:08:37] It provides a third element in therapy. There’s this principle of the third element, which always. Is an enabler is a way of facilitating change and development and growth. The third element in therapy is that part that is inserted into the process that makes things easier [00:09:00] and or more enjoyable. That makes learning more approachable, more interesting, and more innovative, more creative.[00:09:10] The third element enables us to engage in a process of stepping out of our limitations and moving towards our possibilities. This third element is really the process that art provides in so many ways as a therapeutic element in our lives. Also, a medium of education and a process of moving forward in learning and development and in relationships.[00:09:42] Art is something that we share in the sense that is a way of learning together, of bringing our insights into community and family and moving these. These realizations forward in ways that art [00:10:00] expresses moments in our lives. Events and, and celebratory times and places of deep grief and loss art expresses an almost.[00:10:13] Becomes a symbol of those times and memories. And so this process accumulates over time and grows and becomes even more important as the years go on. This is really, I suppose, at the heart of what the ancient cultural traditions speak about in the seasonal gatherings of the family of, of the wider clan.[00:10:39] Every year we would have a. Big family reunion, and they were wonderful times of gathering on the beach where our grandparents and our parents would all get together, and cousins and the whole clan, the whole tribe would be there. And what a beautiful event. Such [00:11:00] powerful memories for me and these gatherings really came to symbolize.[00:11:08] A special time each year that we would look forward to, and that would sustain us through the darkness of winter. That would give us a sense of hope that sharing and remembering those times together would. Create laughter and joy when we would share the stories of what we did together on the beach and how we prepared beautiful meals and how we sat together under the stars around the fire and told stories, and heard songs played by members of the family on their instruments and, and, and their beautiful voices.[00:11:46] These moments these times would combat the isolation that would remind us of our humanity on one hand, but of our deep connections, of our identity, our sense of [00:12:00] place, our place within community, within country. This is part of the Powwow. This is part of the custodianship that emerges through the Corroboree.[00:12:11] This is our sense of mutual respect. And of taking care of each other through good times and through hard times. And art becomes an expression of this in the sense that this is an artifact of the power of our relationships, of the sacredness of our bonds. This is why community in this modern and social world that we are in now, we really thank you so much for having time with us.[00:12:43] We value your time and your, your consideration of these themes that we share in this show. This is the artist journey. And I am your host, Jo Bowers, PhD. Our community is so central to our [00:13:00] lives, and so we reach out in this modern way and we reach across the screen to you in your life, in your home. And thank you so much for being with us.[00:13:12] It is enjoyable for us to be with you, and we hope that you enjoy this process too. Please subscribe to our channel if you haven’t already, and like, and, comment below please, if you’re watching on YouTube. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, we invite you to visit our website, Oz Fine Art au. A beautiful new website that.[00:13:36] Explores the narratives and stories of our art, including the paintings behind me on the gallery wall here. And these paintings express many stories and and beautiful events in our lives that we share with others openly and. Would hope that you enjoy that and that you would visit our website and [00:14:00] get in touch with us and enjoy, this process.[00:14:03] We also have a bimonthly periodical on Substack. You can also subscribe to that by visiting our website, OzFineArt.au. Thank you so much. There is definitely another layer to this. Deep movement of kinship that we share, and that is that when you choose to bring a piece of art into your life, you are entering into a relationship of respect and caring and support for the artist and the artist’s family and their community.[00:14:41] You’re not simply making a purchase. You’re actually engaging in a form of custodianship. That is forming a sense of relationship and of a co-responsibility and co creativity with the artist. Collecting [00:15:00] art is not simply about acquiring art. Collecting art is becoming a custodian. It is becoming a, a patron of the arts.[00:15:11] And patrons of the arts are people who care deeply, who invest their personal resources into artists and to the artistic community. And these are people with deep and passionate of values. Becoming a collector and a custodian is a serious decision. It is a way of life. It’s a value system that incorporates these ancient, ancient, ways of life and of, an insight into what is most valuable, even in a sense, what is our spirituality.[00:15:50] It is making our sense of meaning in that we’re, we are. Making central the purpose and place of art as part of [00:16:00] our lives to such a degree that we, we invest in it, we put our energy into it, we put our money at it, we give whatever we can to it, and it becomes a central part of our identity and our purpose, our sense of sharing within the human community.[00:16:19] And this really, I think this is a form of sovereignty. Because custodianship above all is a form of an independence, but a, an acknowledgement of our interdependence, our reliance on each other in community and of the, the realization that when we pay forward. We are doing the deepest work. When we give, we receive, when we open up, we learn the most and we, we give forward.[00:16:58] And it makes such a big [00:17:00] difference for the people that we in relationship with, for those artists, their families, for our friends and families who see and enjoy and participate in this artistic. Journey. This is moving out of a passive role as well, I think, and it is about a, a tremendous sense of empowerment and of self-actualization that is of, of moving forward with our own sense of agency, our ability to make choices and become active in the role of an art custodian.[00:17:40] You’re not just owning a painting, you’re. Nurturing its story you’re carrying forward. It’s it’s narrative and its history. You’re being part of a communal history and how that is shared amongst others. And there’s this tension always [00:18:00] between the, the deeply personal layers of a story, the way that an artwork expresses an artist’s own personal life.[00:18:09] Their family, their depth of culture and their spirituality, and yet this is always counterpoint in some sense, to sharing that in the social milieu, in the social environment, these values, these personal aspects of art can form attention a kind of uncomfortable space because it’s difficult sharing our personal lives in this.[00:18:38] Social environment, and this is part of the innate tensions and creativity of the artistic process. And rather than looking at this as losing as a form of loss, as a form of. Of, sacralizing what is sacred [00:19:00] amongst individuals and in community. There is a sense that we can reframe this and understand this in a deeper sense that the empowerment that comes from sharing our deep personal and human stories can enhance our, our personal and familial.[00:19:23] Stories that this can enhance over time. Our sense of empowerment within our family and community. This is a healing process that happens as art becomes expressed, shared, and then reflected upon where the, the sale of that art becomes. An expression of empowerment becomes an expression of feeding back energy to an individual artist, to their family, to their community, and this becomes a, a [00:20:00] affirming and a, a powerful way to support those individuals in their artistic journey.[00:20:08] And of course communities around the world have found new ways to actualize this sense of sovereignty in their artwork and the way that they present the artwork to the wider world. And this is really important because our defining how we value our art ourselves in relationship to the wider quote unquote market is, is an important step.[00:20:36] And it’s important not just for us as individual artists, but as artists within community, within a collective, within a, within a sense of com communal evaluation of that art. And what I mean is there are, there are centers, there are, there are nonprofit associations that have been formed. There are.[00:21:00][00:21:01] Literally groups of artists that get together and share the burdens of, of selling their art in the marketplace and sharing the aspects of this, which there’s so many, there’s so many different layers to all of these issues and, and processes and steps involved in, you know, between. Actually making a piece of art and having it sold, in the, in the marketplaces is just an amazingly complex process in, in some sense, especially in our modern world.[00:21:38] And so the more help we have to do these. Steps to have ideas of how to, how to proceed with this is so helpful and so important. And so this also expresses our sense that we need to come to terms with the value of our [00:22:00] artifacts, the value of our artwork, and, and this. Is a difficult process itself of learning and growth and discovery, and this also is part of the empowerment of the elders and the leaders within our communities that.[00:22:20] In some senses, you know, this art journey and over the years, particularly through the colonization story, has disempowered the elders in so many ways, and we’re turning this around over time. I think that communities are addressing these concerns in new and innovative ways. And it’s so important that the authentication of the artworks and their certificates of authentication are central to this,[00:22:52] this notion that art is grounded within a relationship to the artist [00:23:00] and that artist’s sense of place and community and identity and the history of that artist within that tradition is so important. One of the deeply personal lessons that I’ve learned over the years is that the Corroboreeee and the Powwow and the seasonal gathering of the clan are meant to be teachings that help me in my[00:23:26] times of deep isolation and of the sorrow and grief and loss that I have felt by being far away from family. And what comforts me in those times is this realization of connection. It is the custodial identity within me, within my spirit that has strengthened not because of anything that I have done or that I do per se, but because of the connections and the [00:24:00] acknowledgement that I have seen and witnessed by my family within my community.[00:24:06] And this has given me. The teachings that I need to sustain my life, to sustain my work in the world, to enable me to help others, comes from this depth of, really, self-respect that I have learned by having been given that gift from others. And so I so appreciate that because it is a profound gift and it is something that has enabled me to accomplish amazing things over the years from getting[00:24:42] higher degrees in the academy to publishing books, to being a teacher and a lecturer for many years to engaging in, therapy work as a psychotherapist and to make [00:25:00] beautiful art and see other people enjoy that. Art is a calling for me. It’s not something I can choose to do. It’s something rather that I can choose to respond to, that I can channel and allow.[00:25:17] And nurture and support. And that’s a sacrifice in many ways because when you put yourself out there, it’s difficult. It’s not that easy. And you have to come to terms with that. And there’s a lot of steps along the way, a lot of issues that need to be dealt with. And I am doing it step by step. I’m getting there, but I’m not there.[00:25:43] And I admit that I’m so human And this is part of our humanity. And I think this is really, you know, this is at the heart of it because it’s the Corroboree and the Powwow and it’s the cultural gatherings and it’s the, [00:26:00] the moments around the fire, and the stories that we share- that enable us to understand how human we are and that we are all together human.[00:26:12] And when you know that it deepens your sense of kinship deepens your feeling of connection. It gives you not only a sense of connecting with others and compassion for their struggles, for their stories, but their struggle and their stories inform your own sense. Well, if, if they can cope with that, I can cope with my little piece here and I can move forward with what I have to deal with as hard as it is for me.[00:26:41] I can do it because I have that support, because I just acknowledge that, and, and that’s the first step. I think it’s the first, the middle and the last step to acknowledge that is really at the heart of humanity and it’s at the center. The [00:27:00] centerpiece of artwork is how these beautiful pieces of art express our relationships, our humanity, our contingency, how that paint on the canvas and those gorgeous colors express the emotional vulnerability that we share.[00:27:21] As human beings, the stories that mean the most to us and how that flower could express a depth of friendship, a depth of relationship, a beautiful moment in our story of being together and. This is just so powerful and I love it. I’m so glad that you’re with us today. And if you’ve listened this far in the video, please do like, subscribe and comment below what of these artworks behind me here, for example, do you connect with, do you appreciate?[00:27:59] [00:28:00] So thank you so much for being with us and have a great day. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ozfineart.substack.com

This productions goes out on YT and Substack - click here for the post and the video link.Below is my crazy image - kinda looks like me on a nutty day and maybe with 10 years shaved off… being generous LOL.Transcript[00:00:00] When you look at art, what do you see? When I look at you looking at art, I see your heartbeat. Your gaze is as important as your heartbeat, your art appreciation, your actually seeing the color is as important as medicine. I see a person who has disconnected from their core self. I see a person that is floating, that is unanchored. In the modern world, we have separated the body from the spirit. We have separated medicine from the soul.[00:00:48] This is the Artist Journey. I’m your host, Joe Bowers PhD. Our show appears natively on OzFineArt YouTube on the OzFineArt Collective on [00:01:00] Substack and in Apple Podcasts. Our show, ‘The Artist Journey’ is sponsored by OzFineArt.Au, an artist scholar, practitioner inspired project that combines artfulness transformative agency and the sacred business of nurturing relationships in our interconnected world.[00:01:21] Art therapy. Business, leadership and marketing. Please join our community at OzFineArt.Au. Consider purchasing our beautiful artworks. And please remember to sign up for our bimonthly periodical. We look forward to seeing you. Thank you so much.[00:01:43] In the modern world, we have separated the body from the spirit. We have separated medicine from the soul.[00:01:54] One has become a rather formal and scientific [00:02:00] type of approach over the last couple of hundred years, and the other is at the fringes, and yet.[00:02:10] The scientific research, particularly in longevity and health, in wellbeing and mental capacity, all of these areas throughout psychology and the sociology of the body are revealing a different story emerging at the frontier of science. And that is: the deepest connections draw us into our truth. Give us a sense of the sacred. And these are vital to not only our wellbeing, but our living a long and happy life.[00:02:47] What if the path to living a longer and healthier life was not about what we consume, but rather it’s about what we [00:03:00] create. What if what we create is an aspect of simply what we choose to participate in, what we choose to witness? This is a powerful, powerful truth. It’s at the core of longevity and science.[00:03:20] Today. We’re not talking about art so much as a commodity, but we’re looking at art as a lifestyle, as a way of being.[00:03:33] So I share with you one of the deepest, greatest secrets in the art world. That art itself is a form of custodianship. And custodianship is a way for us to reclaim our sense of sovereignty, our independence, our interdependence. [00:04:00] Our relational truth, our sense of family and community, our cultural place, our cultural meaning, our identity art is a custodial act of sovereignty.[00:04:18] And as such, let’s explore together what this means at the coalface. At the intersection of our action and thought, when we gaze upon a piece of art, our heart and soul, our body is responsive. And so that gaze holds power. And that truth is at the core of art as a lifestyle of self-creation.[00:04:53] Our first lesson is that the mind is a canvas. [00:05:00] Art is actually a cognitive nurturing, and in the sense our minds are not filling cabinets. We’re not filling up data centers in our brains. What is actually happening is our minds are a living landscape of memory, and like any landscape, it needs to be tended.[00:05:24] You need to care and nurture your mind. You need to weed at times and take care, and this means taking an active role in learning and self-development. I.[00:05:40] This first lesson is so vital, so important because when you gaze at a piece of art, you’re not just looking at a piece of art. You are engaging your mind in a responsive relational act, an act of [00:06:00] sovereign presence that gives your body, your heart, your being, and your neural network. Information and a responsive experience.[00:06:15] And the experiential moment of gazing upon art literally gives your brain a workout. And this is so important to understand the active, participatory relational layers of our, of our interaction with art is a form of self-creation.[00:06:41] Look at a painting like a ‘Mi’kmaq Six Worlds’ that we completed in the past. It’s not just a pretty picture or a piece of art per se. It’s actually a narrative story, a story of creation, a story of [00:07:00] interaction, and of people’s lives at various levels. It’s not just an image, it’s a living cosmology, a cultural worldview.[00:07:10] And as such, this aspect of the painting encourages the viewer to participate in that narrative, to use the imaginal sense, and to engage in this cosmological exploration of the world of the six worlds. And what do they mean and where are they and how do we get there? And what do we find and who do we meet?[00:07:39] And what happens along the way, and all of these aspects, fire neuro networks in our brains, our neurology responds and we get a good cognitive workout. Looking at this artwork and coming to terms with our [00:08:00] experience as we go through this journey of becoming.[00:08:07] Please like and subscribe to this channel and share it with somebody that you care about. And if you’ve enjoyed this, we just appreciate you leaving some comments below. And. Giving us some feedback and sharing your insights and your experience of art. Art as an experience is meant to be shared with others.[00:08:31] Be bold and courageous and put yourself out there and share some comments below. We also run a Substack newsletter, which comes out at least bimonthly. And you can find us at OzFineArt.Au, and you can subscribe there to our newsletter, OzFineArt.Au is a beautiful and brand new website and I encourage you to visit [00:09:00] and spend some time gazing upon the artwork.[00:09:03] Pulling them up, looking at them, reading their stories and learning about art as a form of custodial sovereignty. How beautiful, how gorgeous. Thank you so much. And so really, custodianship is not about winning a prize. It’s more about a steady and ongoing nurturing of self, a depth of connection that we experience and that we grow within in a meaningful way.[00:09:40] It’s not a, not a magic pill or a medicine that we swallow, but rather it is a way of life, a lifestyle shift that engages our neurology. Our emotions, our minds, our beings, our relational sense [00:10:00] in all of these levels. In a holistic sense, art is a form of becoming. And this aspect is proven within the scientific literature to[00:10:16] engage in positive chemical releases in the brain that promote wellbeing, emotional stability, cognitive functions, and to reduce the vagaries of growing older and increasing our longevity. It’s a powerful practice that helps us to move more fully, to engage not only in physical activity, but in mental activity. Meaningful and mental activity that connects us to objects of value, to stories, to the heart of custodianship, which is [00:11:00] truly a sense of our taking heed.[00:11:05] Of living in a responsive way of having responsibility for what we care for, for who we are. When we engage in art, we become custodians of our own cognitive truth, of our own identities. We become custodians of our own story. Our narrative begins to emerge. We begin to understand who we are. Our identities grow and our custodial role[00:11:38] becomes a way of sharing forward nurturing others and helping future generations to learn these skills of becoming.[00:11:52] This is the same for us in the sense of our being creators with the [00:12:00] Creator. We are problem solving. We are engaging in a creative way of analyzing and understanding. We are learning new skills, we’re gaining new knowledge. We’re translating the knowledge that exists within our memory, the landscapes of our minds, and literally changing the colors.[00:12:26] Changing the textures, changing and upskilling the aspects of the objects and stories that make up the corridors of our minds. The chambers of our soul. And in such that creative process is universal. This is part of all of us, and it is central to ‘The Artist’s Journey.’. And my gosh, isn’t this an amazing process?[00:12:56] This is becoming, this is [00:13:00] creating, this is a sacred act of sovereignty. This is custodianship in practice.[00:13:10] Thank you again for being with us today, and I just wanted to also mention we really appreciate your being with us. You’re spending your valuable time and I affirm that it’s so wonderful. Thank you. The paintings behind me has been delightful to share with you also in the background, and these paintings are available at our website, OzFineArt.Au. You can visit our website and explore the paintings and learn about them and read their narratives, their stories, which are developed for your wellbeing, for your appreciation for your capacity to engage with art as a form of lifestyle and self-creation. We [00:14:00] encourage those among you who want to acquire our art to become collectors of our art.[00:14:06] Please dive in and get in touch with us and we can discuss your acquisition and how we can help you to purchase our artwork. Thank you so much. Have a great day. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ozfineart.substack.com

The Most Human Journey: On Finding Your Authentic VoiceWhat does it truly mean to find your voice?It is, perhaps, the most central and important dynamic of our lives—and often, the most frightening. The process of discovering our own voice is not just a journey for the artist, but for every human being. It’s the quiet, persistent work of understanding: What is it that I’m on about? What is the value that I have to bring to others? How do I want to speak from my own authentic place, in relationship to all that I have received?This month’s episode of The Artist’s Journey is an exploration of this profound question. It is a meditation on the dynamic moments that awaken us to who we are and give us the capacity, the skill, and the courage to put forward our own voice into the world. It is about finding our own sense of empowerment, and the story of how we learn to become ourselves.Key TakeawaysFor those who prefer to read before they listen, here are five central ideas from our conversation:* Finding Your Voice is a Universal Human Journey: While we use the artist as a metaphor, the search for an authentic voice—for a sense of self and purpose—is a struggle and a triumph that belongs to everyone.* Our Voice is Forged in Relationship: We first discover who we are by pushing against the world and having the world push back. Our identity and moral compass are formed in the dynamic, relational space between ourselves and others.* Mastery is When Technique Disappears: True artfulness, whether in music, painting, or therapy, is achieved when the learned skills become so ingrained they are part of our “unconscious repertoire,” allowing pure emotion and intuition to flow through.* Art and Love are Mirrors of the Soul: The vulnerability required to create art is deeply similar to the vulnerability of falling in love. Both are acts of putting our deepest selves forward, hoping to be seen, understood, and accepted.* The Modern World is a Distorted Mirror: In an age of social media, the challenge of holding onto an authentic self is more profound than ever. We are all navigating a new frontier of human evolution, learning how to stay true in a world of constant change.Show Notes* (00:00) The central question: What does “finding your voice” really mean, not just for the artist, but for all of us?* (02:15) The first steps of individuation in childhood, and how the “push and pull” of relationships forms our moral compass and our ability to be responsible.* (04:30) The musician’s metaphor: How learning an instrument, and learning from mistakes, accelerates the journey from conscious effort to intuitive mastery.* (07:10) The painter’s process: A moment of surrender and bold self-expression, where the externalization of an inner feeling becomes a story that speaks back to us.* (09:00) The profound parallel in human relationships: The vulnerability of “putting our best foot forward” while hoping our deepest self will be accepted.* (12:45) The therapist’s journey: Learning the “micro-skills” of empathy until they become an invisible art form, allowing for true presence with another.* (15:20) Clarifying our focus: Using the artist’s journey as a metaphor for the deeper, more important human project of finding an authentic voice in a time of historical struggle.* (18:10) How style emerges over time through focused work, and how the “narrative of becoming” shapes our very personality.* (22:00) The simple, yet deceiving, steps to finding your own voice: listening, observing, and engaging in the feedback loop of action and awareness.* (23:45) The metaphor of the mirror: Contrasting the soulful reflection of ancient mirrors with the often harsh and distorted mirror of social media.* (27:30) The universal struggle: How we are all, as a human family, now engaged in the artist’s timeless challenge of maintaining identity in a complex public sphere.* (29:50) A call to connect and continue the journey together.Resources & Links Mentioned* Our Home: Visit our website at OzFineArt.au to view our full collection of artworks.* The Model: The Artist Process & Prosperity Business Model we discussed is a core part of our philosophy.* This Publication: If you’re reading this in your browser, subscribe to the Oz FineArt Collective to get our publications directly in your inbox.My Personal Reflections: The Power of a True MirrorIn the episode, I speak about the distorted mirror of our modern, online world. It can be a confronting and alienating place, reflecting back an image of ourselves that feels untrue. It made me reflect on the profound need we all have for a true mirror.A true mirror is not one that simply shows our surface; it’s one that reflects our essence. It can be a person, a place, or, I believe, a piece of art.When you live with a work of art that resonates with your soul, it becomes a quiet, steady presence in your life. It doesn’t shout or demand attention. It simply is. On a chaotic day, a serene landscape can reflect back the peace you are yearning for. During a time of uncertainty, a bold abstract can mirror the courage you are trying to find within yourself.This is the sacred role of art in our homes and in our lives. It is a way to curate our own reflection. In a world of distorted mirrors, a thoughtful art collection becomes a sanctuary of true mirrors, each one gently reminding us of who we are, what we value, and the story we are here to live. It is a quiet conversation with the deepest part of ourselves.Join the ConversationThe journey to our authentic voice is paved with moments of breakthrough, where the struggle of learning a new skill suddenly gives way to a feeling of effortless flow.Think of a time you learned something new—a recipe, a song, a new role at work, or even how to drive. Can you recall that magic moment when the technique disappeared and your own unique style began to flow through you?Share your story in the comments below.Which area of life currently feels like the most powerful “mirror” for you?Full Episode Transcript(For the benefit of accessibility and for those who prefer to read, we’ve included the full transcript of the episode below. Please note that this is a direct, verbatim transcript from the recording and has not been edited for polish.)Join the ConversationThe journey to our authentic voice is paved with moments of breakthrough, where the struggle of learning a new skill suddenly gives way to a feeling of effortless flow.Think of a time you learned something new—a recipe, a song, a new role at work, or even how to drive. Can you recall that magic moment when the technique disappeared and your own unique style began to flow through you?Share your story in the comments below.(A Substack Poll will be embedded here)Which area of life currently feels like the most powerful “mirror” for you?* My closest relationships* My work or career* My creative pursuits or hobbies* My connection with nature* My spiritual or reflective practices Welcome back to the Artist’s Journey on Oz FineArt. This show today is about finding your voice. What does finding your voice really mean? It is such a central and important dynamic and scary process to go through to find my own voice, not just as an artist, but we’re talking about as a human being, as a person.What is it that I’m on about? What is it that I want to convey? What is it that I want to respond to? How is it that I want my voice to come forward? In what ways do I want to express myself in relationship to all that I’ve received from my parents, my culture, my school, my upbringing from social media and all that, I’mdownloading into my brain every day? How is it that I want to speak from my own authentic place? I think the metaphor of the artist’s journey is helpful, but God, this is about all human beings. This is about finding my own sense of empowerment. My sense of myself - who am I? And what is the value that I have to bring to others?What is it that I want to convey? Huge questions, but it comes down to a few central steps. A few dynamic moments that just awaken us to who we are and give us our voice, give us the capacity and the skill, and the ability to put forward our own voice into the world. Join us on this journey of discovery. The first steps to individuation, to finding ourselves to our own personal identity come forward in our early childhood when we are interacting with our parents and coming to terms with myself in comparison to my mother and my father, my sisters, my brothers. This sense of identity that’s emerging in these early years is fragile on one hand, but it’s also really strong and robust because we can push out our identities against the world.We often push out against the world. To find who we are. And so we often push too far. We’re pushing boundaries all the time. We’re trying to see where the boundary is even, or if there is a boundary. And when we have good parenting, those parents are pushing back at us. They’re pushing back boundaries.They’re giving us a sense of, of right and wrong of. I can do this, but I shouldn’t do this. I should do, do the right thing and learn not to do the wrong thing. And we have this emerging sense then of, uh, a moral. Compass that guides us as we grow older, and this gives us a sense of valuation and becoming a valuable human being.Becoming a valuable person means that we form values. But we also respond through values. So that’s really the core definition of becoming responsible, is being able to respond appropriately in each situation and every situation is different. And knowing how to respond in one versus another is the, the depth of the breadth of the, the extent of, of responsibility.The ability to respond in different situations. Coming to terms with our identity, then as we grow older, is a dynamic process that involves the push and pull of relationships, the ups and downs of learning, the making of mistakes, and being able to pick ourselves up again and learn from those, those errors and those mistakes. To realizethat learning itself is like a musician. Learning the guitar and each chord that you make on the guitar can be, at first a very painful process. I know, I know. I studied guitar for a number of years and I advanced in, uh, folk. And in classical guitar work, and I loved it so much. I spent hours after hours, day after day, night and morning and evening and afternoons, all passionately focused on improving my music. And mistakes for mebecame a routine practice. The more mistakes I made, the more learning I made, and the more I could learn from mistakes and be aware of them and make the correction more quickly. The faster the learning process became, so it kind of accelerated itself. The, the, the wheel, the hamster’s wheel of learning got faster and faster.When I learned to correct the, um, the mistakes that I was making and how I was holding my hands, for example, on the neck of the guitar, and being able to switch between the chords with the fingers more quickly was both a memory process, in the muscles, but it was also a cognitive process and awareness.And the more I became aware of the musculature process, of the communication between the muscles and my mind - and how my unconscious self, my gut, my intuition and my feeling part of me was interacting with this process of learning, of the technical aspects of that - it was a combination of emotion, sense, feeling, and intuition that emerged within what you would call art, the artfulness of music and the sameprinciples, same basic principles apply to how do I find my voice as an artist, as a painter when I’m working with Paint on the Canvas? It is a similar process for me as it was years ago, learning classical guitar in that I need to learn some of the techniques of how to hold a brush, for example, how to apply a bit of paint on the canvas, and then how to blend that paint.But at the same time, that technique interacts with emotion, feeling, a sensate experience a visual sense, an ability to, to move with the, the emotive feeling, the emotive sense, and the intuitive direction that this painting might be taking - to interact with how the paint is emerging on the canvas through that emotive process is really a profound moment.It’s a moment of surrender, but it’s also a moment of bold self-expression that kind of focuses not the mind so much, but the being, the heart, the, the, the a, the energy of self towards a communication towards an expression of meaning. And that meaning that expression becomes a story. It becomes an embodiment.It becomes something other than myself. As I reflect on that, that creativity process, that externalization of something inward is expressed in, speaks back to me, a story of my own becoming. And isn’t this the way in our human relationships as well? In our relationships. Isn’t it true that uh, when we’re, when we’re falling in love with somebody for the first time, we put forward what we feel might be our best self, obviously, and we’re hoping to God that that person really loves what we have to offer. We’re afraid very often to show our shadow side to them because we feel vulnerable and we’re cautious about sharing the parts of us thatare contentious and difficult to live with. We want to pull in that person to have them be part of our lives because we love them so deeply and we want to be a part of that forever. And the same is true with that other person. They’re dealing with the same sign of kind of dynamic of of, of putting the best foot forward.And yet being cautious about showing themselves too much. And isn’t it ironic that, we, in a way, we hope to be accepted in our deepest selves. And the parts of us that are most vulnerable is where we hope the most, that our loved one would accept us. And isn’t it painful when that doesn’t happen? It’s a similar process as, as an artist or as a musician, that when we interact with the music itself, that music is what we fall in love with, and we express our energy towards that beautiful music.And learning the intricacies of that music and hearing and feeling that music expressed back to us through our artistic expression. We come to terms with a part of ourselves that is also deeply emotive and vulnerable. And, And deeply insightful in that we are combining parts of ourselves that are both our best foot forward and our deepestparts of vulnerability. And the expression of our deepest emotion through that musical expression. And a similar way as a painter will bring forward their best self to express on the canvas, the epitome of their capacity, their best skills, put forward on the canvas. At the same time, expressing the shadows and the nuances and colors that express their deep feeling.Sometimes despair, sometimes a profound loneliness. Sometimes a existential, really profound grief and loss that emerges through the colors of a painting. I think of some works by the impressionists - where they express this depth of personal feeling through the beauty on the canvas that makes the viewer almost intuit immediately, through an immediacy of presence, what that painter may have been feeling in the moment that they express this on the canvas and this raw emotion in color emerged through this beautiful, um, inspiration of what we came to know as expressionism: the ability to express pure emotion and pure color on the canvas that conveys this immediacy of depth and meaning and a sense of purpose through sharing our most vulnerable places as human beings. You know, this reminds me so much also of the journey of becoming a therapist and my teaching of counselors for so many years. How to learn the skills of empathy, how to learn the skill of intuitive presence, to be with somebody, to listen to their story. To put our own ego identity aside enough that we can be present to another person and to deeply listen to deeply, you know, be with them, to journey with them.And this process of learning the skills of therapy, we call them micro skills in communication, is a difficult process for a therapist coming into the profession because you are, again, learning the techniques, learning the techniques of the artfulness of therapy. Just like a musician or a painter learns the techniques of the artfulness of that approach.And it takes time to learn those skills in such a way that they become part of our unconscious repertoire: our innate ability to flow with those skills in such a way that they no longer are the focus anymore. The focus of the technique on the canvas, for example, isn’t the focus of the work. It’s not what a person might try to convey on unless that is what they’re trying to convey, but usuallyit’s the theme. It’s the overarching um, message. It is the feeling, it is the scene and how that scene is conveyed on the canvas. It’s the artfulness of putting all of those tools of the trade together in a package that almost makes the technique disappear. And what emerges is the immediacy of that artwork for the viewer, for the person who is participating and appreciating in that artfulness.Much like as a client, I find it very difficult as a therapist being a client in therapy because I’m always looking at what the therapist is doing, how they’re engaging the skills, and they’re usually not doing very well. And it’s really kind of ironic and funny to observe them trying to be a therapist when you’re very much aware of the techniques and of the areas that are involved. In such a similar way, artists with other artists are keenly aware of the skills and technique and processes and steps involved in the artistic process, which is why there’s so many videos on YouTube that are process oriented. Where artists are sharing techniques with each other or helping emerging or beginning artists to learn those steps, those early steps in that process of learning and growth.It’s a great process, and it’s really important to have that interprofessional dialogue. It’s not so much my focus here, though, in this series, although we’ve called this ‘The Artist’s Journey,’, we’re using this as a storyline, as a metaphor of something much more profound, much deeper, and much more sort of, uh, I would dare say important.More important and relevant to the human project that we are engaged in right now at this time, historically. Where we are all struggling so much, so deeply, to find that authentic voice, to find that voice within a spirit of respect and of responsibility for ourselves and for others within society. This is part of the journey that we’re going through as the human species.To come to a place of altruism after years of division. To come to a place of giving of the self to others in a world of abundance means that we must grow. We must transcend our hiccups, and hour, our shortcomings to find a place where we can be more powerfully ourselves and more engaged in an act of loving kindness and of mutual communication with each other in respect. In all of these areas, I think, you know, in art, in music therapy, in business, in commerce, in so many areas of life that I have experienced where you focus on the work at hand, the, the style emerges over time where you focus on, on the work as its own entity, as its own energy, as its own purpose and focus.That work begins to express themes. And those themes over time emerge to become what we call an artistic style. A style of personality. A style of working in the world. And it is such that our personality itself is a construction of, of this thematic uh, emergence. This emerging of the themes of who we are as a person is what we call personality.In my understanding of that, then there are obviously dispositions of personality. But there is also a thematic, a narrative quality, a storied quality of who we are. Uh oh. This is who I am. This is where I come from. These are the relationships that helped to form me. This is who I am emerging to be. This is who I hope to be.This is all about a story. This is all about a narrative of becoming. And when you understand that, it’s going, it’s like a wow. It’s a big wow because you go, wow. You know, this is part of the reality of my life. This is how my life interacts with other people’s lives. And as we interact and overlap in our stories, we, we change each other.We influence each other. We grow and we evolve as human beings. And this is the nature of relationships. This is why ‘The Artist’s Journey’ is such a powerful metaphor and a powerful process. Because the journey itself is about a responsiveness and a reflexivity that enables us to be responsive and to be reflexive. To respond in a way that is flexible and engaging of our critical sense, our sense of right and wrong.Our moral compass is engaged through the artistic process as, wow, I first realized my sense of my own artistic style was emerging after having painted several works and coming to terms with the sense that I was expressing an emotive. Impression on the canvas that had a psychodynamic element to it. In other words, I was expressing emotion and feeling with a therapeutic edge.It was like expressing something that wanted to emerge. To share a story of transformation. To share a moment of insight. So that I would be able to communicate that. And the viewer would grasp that when they saw this work, when they saw this image. They would go, wow, I wonder what that means. I wonder what that feels, how does that make me feel?They would get an immediate sense of the feeling. An immediate sense of a narrative or a story. For example, it could be as simple as a tree. Or I would often use the image of a wigwam from the Mi’kmaq Nation as a symbol of family and relationship and place where the fire in that wigwam expressed the warmth of family, the intimacy of a home. The context of that home within nature and the unity that that vision conveyed.Also counterpoint to my current feeling of disjointed culture. Of a culture that has lost its way. Of a modern experience in the world of alienation where this image of the wigwam and the fire, the hearth fire of the family, would express this yearning for connection. This yearning for family and for place that had been taken away from a people. But not just a people, from all of us in a way, from all of humanity.Through this historical process that we’ve been going through of human evolution, we are all, as a human family, struggling to connect in these ways. And so these metaphors have power. They have a commonality to them. A story that we can understand. A story that we can share. I think this is central to the artist journey. But it’s also a human journey.It’s a journey of everyone and every place, and every time. The steps then, you know, of finding your own voice are quite simple, but deceivingly so. And I would just like to convey this in this sense that listening to yourself is a process that happens over time only when you engage with life. As you engage with life in relationship or with an artful process or with music or you know, in business or in commerce, when you engage in a process of collecting art, for example, or in art appreciation, you are engaging in a learning process as well as an active participatory process. You’re learning as you are acting. And the action feeds back to you insights and new awareness. And so that, that feedback loop is itself where you begin to learn to listen, to observe. Listening is a form of observation, just as watching, seeing, is a form of observation. Seeing is believing in a sense.When we see ourself reflected back to us, we then begin to see, you know, another layer of the reality emerging. When you think about the, um, metaphor of the mirror, today’s mirror is very bold. It’s very crass. It’s very, it’s very flat in a sense. The mirror that we look into in in the, uh. In the washroom in the morning, the mirror on the wall is very transparent and reflects back immediately what it sees. But in older cultures, the mirror was a refractive surface of metal. And so the surface was bent and it conveyed a much more artistic sense of reflection. And that reflection in the mirror in the old cultural sensitivity was a form of a, of a poetic sensibility. It was even less so than looking at your own image in in, in a pond, in a clear pool of water.The water was very also clearly reflective and a bit confronting for an individual without any mirrors in their lives. To see the likeness of their face reflected back in the clear pool of of the water. And so there was a mysteriousness about this. There was a sense of a sacredness to the mirror and the role that the mirror mirror plays.And so in our present sense of this, now in today’s world, we have a social media that’s pointing back this very refractive, very harsh view of self. And at the same time, social media distorts and provides a almost medieval mirror-like quality of a refraction of self, where it distorts the image of the self.And what we see reflected back to us is sometimes a very alienating image of who we are. And that filtering of that social media online is is very confronting and very difficult and can be a source of alienation for people that don’t have already a sense of themselves emerging inwardly. And so it’s a fragile place to be when we’re putting ourselves out there on this social platform. And what will we see reflected back and how will we deal with that internally in ourselves is a very powerful question to ask.But I have to say that in one sense artists are some of the best at knowing what this process is, over a very, very, very long time. Over centuries past, where artists have been continually needing to put themselves out there to share their most vulnerable uh, selves with the world through their art and their artistic process and their production of art in the world. They have engaged in this process of performativity. That is the performance of the art in the social milieu. In the social forums. And the struggle with coming to terms with what does that mean? Who am I? As an artist? How can I maintain my sense of identity in a world that doesn’t necessarily understand or even appreciate what it is that I do?These are questions that we ask today in the world of social media. And now everyone in society is engaging in this process. And I would dare say that most people, the vast majority of people engaging online, are struggling with these very questions. How will I find my voice? How will I articulate my perspectives?How will I cope with putting myself out there and having this reflected back to me in ways that may be quite distorted at times? How will I cope with this social world that is emerging? And what does this mean? And who am I in this? These are profound questions. And I think at the heart of this is, you know, this metaphor of the artist and the artist’s journey, which we all share most profoundly now as a human family. We are together in this struggle. We are in a sense exploring this new frontier of human evolution. Of sharing our identity in cyberspace. Of sharing our identity through artificial intelligence. Of sharing our identity through these applications and formats and structures and environments online.And what does this mean for us as a human family? What does it mean for me and for you in your identity? In who you are in the deepest self? And how can you hold onto that in a world of constant change and constant evolution? These are profound questions. We’ll explore them more in this series together. I invite you to like, and subscribe. Particularly if you’ve listened to this point in the video, please do subscribe. So you’ll get the next, drop to your, notification and let other people know, let youTube know that you like and you subscribe to this so that other people can enjoy this as well.We are OzFineArt.Au. Visit our website, OzFineArt.Au and we are on Substack. and the publication is called Oz FineArt Collective And thank you so much for participating and for being with us today.-End of Transcript- This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ozfineart.substack.com

An audio of the launch. See prior post for text. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ozfineart.substack.com