"Art “happens” by being fully present. It requires complete focus and commitment in the moment, while allowing space for expression to form. Like condensation just before sunrise, it is a bold yet fragile balance of nothing to something - then back again."
Brian Alexander
Shardaya Jones
"I consider my practice to be a spiritual language of creating...
Being spiritually present in the process is just as necessary in its meaning as the final experience in my work. Through my use of gestural color fields, my work invites the viewer into an otherwordly meditative space. These windows to the mind become portals to your spirit."
Shardaya Jones
Toni Littlejohn
"Art making is the sanctuary: the opportunity for my familiar self to touch the beyond."
Toni Littlejohn
Rose Malenfant
"When I introduce my hands to a material, there is a freedom of my body. A freedom founded in listening through touch."
Rose Malenfant
Becky Chapman
“Magic lies in between things, between the day and the night, between yellow and blue, between any two things.” – Charles de Lint
Intimate landscapes require a slow, quiet, deep looking to see the details of the Whole. When I am working on an image, I become so focused – “in the moment” – that the Universe contracts. All that exists is the subject, my camera, my creative mind. That’s where my Magic lies.
Becky Chapman
Barbara Murak
"I love the process of choosing which color varigated thread for the next piece in my Sculptural Thread series. So blessed, so obsessed!"
Barbara Murak
Bill Heubner
"My photography helps fill a void and, hence, is my sanctuary, away from the busy world."
Bill Heubner
Susan R. Bennerstrom
“My studio is literally my sanctuary, but anywhere I’m making art — motel room, front porch, airport — becomes a sanctuary. Nothing else matters when I’m in that space.”
Susan R. Bennerstrom
Tom Trindle
"Abstract art is a dream. It is a mystery. On a good day it begins to speak its own language. On a really good day it heads off in it’s own direction.
That is when I smile."
Tom Trindle
Pati Hays
"The act of creating, whether Fine Art, planning a garden, or making music allows me to forget the troubles and stresses of these times and to find myself in a world of my own making. This is my sanctuary."
Pati Hays
Claudia Hollister
"Working within the garden is my spiritual place. Living among the flowers,
bees and birds melts away the stress of life. Inspired by the beauty of
natures gifts, I transform the cycle of seasonal blooms from this exquisite
sanctuary into intimate cyanotype prints, that appear both contemporary
and vintage."
Claudia Hollister
Anthony Carey
"There is something quite magical in building and cutting away layers of paint to create something emotionally tangible."
Anthony Carey
Norman Gabitzsch
"In 2017 over 1.2 trillions photographs were taken of the existing world, and it is hard to find a place or thing that has not been photographed. Therefore, I find myself drawn to the "Edge of Reality". I enjoy abstract and macro photograph, and I have fallen in love with infrared photography. Seeing in my mind, Light that cannot be seen with the human eye."
Norman Gabitzsch
Elaine Dunham
Chip Ingram
"I find sanctuary in my art easily. I only paint when I get the urge, but fully engage when in birthing mode. If I'm doing it right... I've forgotten about life's problems and hyperfocused only on what I'm creating."
Chip Ingram
Bonnie J. Smith
"Creating art is a powerful form of self-expression for me. Engaging in my creative activities gives me space to decompress and connect with myself. Giving me feelings of familiarity and comfort allowing me to relax and recharge."
Bonnie J. Smith
Barbara Silverman Summers
"Painting takes me back home to the deepest caverns of my soul to find unique images that are running yet
standing still. Painting allows me to leave behind the mondane world and explore endless possibilities."
Barbara Silverman Summers
Earl Grenville Killeen
"When I'm wrapped/rapt in making my art, I'm insulated from toxic versions of "reality" that harm me -- versions that others project, or that may come at me from within. Through my art, as well, I'm finding refuge in connections with other artists, and viewers, whose vision of truth and beauty resonate with -- and expand -- my own."
Earl Grenville Killeen
Sharon Dundee
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way... things I had no words for.” ― Georgia O'Keeffe
"Georgia O’Keefe’s words speak to my sense of “sanctuary” in my art practice. Being able to lose myself, the cares of the day - the whole world – for even a short time allows me the breathing room to express all the things artistically that I don’t have words for."
Sharon Dundee
Alma Mueller
In chaotic times nature soothes the soul. The search for fascinating moments of mystery and beauty invites peace and slow looking. One seeks, and the perfect moment presents itself. With excitement and joy, one quickly yet carefully composes and clicks…
Alma Mueller
Enzina Marrari
"Wild Geese by Mary Oliver beautifully captures the sanctuary of art-making for me..."
You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves…
the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting - over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Mary Oliver
Excerpt shared by Enzina Marrari
Photo Credit: Will Koeppen
