Anda Saylor
Bubbles of Consciousness
Medium: Paintings on Canvas, Drawings on Wood, and Fiber Sculptures.
This show is a collection of quirky, light-hearted portraits in exploration of Consciousness and bliss composed of paintings, drawings on wood, and fiber sculptures.
"Inside us lies divine happiness, the same happiness we are looking for in the world. If we think about the joy we derive from different activities, we will realize that we experience happiness not in the activities, but within ourselves. For example, when you look at a beautiful picture, where do you feel pleasure, in the picture or in yourself? When you eat a delicious meal, do you experience satisfaction in the food or in yourself? When you meet a friend and feel joy, is that joy in your friend or in yourself? The truth is that the joy you find in all these things is simply a reflection of the joy of your own inner Self."
-Baba Muktananda
These pieces are a result of spiritual self-exploration and a commitment to producing art while working and having a full life. They are about what is present yet unseen, expressed through drawing, painting and fiber sculpture. They are a recognition of the energy of the heart, as well as how we contain and direct that energy. My intention is for viewers to have a moment of pause and look gently on themselves. These works are attempts to express both the expansive and the particular nature of being human.
The portraits seek to capture their subjects in an authentic moment and reveal the play of Consciousness. The Consciousness bubbles present in the drawings and paintings are a playful exploration of divine Consciousness and bliss. The jars are symbolic of how we contain and direct our energies, an area in which I am learning much in my personal and creative life. I am interested in awkwardness, not to make myself or others uncomfortable, but to allow a space to hold the inevitable awkwardnesses of our own existence gently in our awareness with love.
The fiber sculptures called "lonely naps" are about relationships, to each other and to the viewer. Inside of each sculpture is a quote which I contemplated while making them, as well as small objects-- pieces of copper and rubber snakes (symbolic of Kundalini energy). They are meant to reference the experience of being human, as well as to embody their own lives as odd veined creatures, existing individually and in a pod, vulnerable and curious, gross and beautiful. This body of work is referencing the all-pervasive nature of Consciousness, and the point of access as the subtle heart. My intention is to be present in my life and artistic work as a spiritual practice.
Anda Saylor was born and raised in Anchorage Alaska, mere blocks from Snow City Cafe where she now works as a server. She received a B.A. from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN in 2006 with a double major in Studio Art and Anthropology with an African Studies Concentration. After graduating with Honors in Art, she returned home to Anchorage where she works, makes art in her studio behind Firefly Gallery, helps her father paint theater sets, and enjoys life with her wonderful family and friends. Since graduating she has had pieces in "Earth Fire and Fiber" at the Anchorage Museum of History Art and at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art. She facilitates an artist's creative endurance group. She hopes to continue with her own art-making as well as to facilitate community development and social change through the arts.