Up: [[Expressive Art]] Created: 2025-06-18 #### Expressive Art The first is expressive art. I’ve also variously referred to it as intuitive art or spontaneous art, but it turns out that these are subsets and the term “expressive art” is the common and overall one. Expressive art bypasses the rational mind (or left brain) and focuses on feeling and expressing the impulses, emotions, and inner guidance of the right brain. Nothing is pre-planned in expressive art making. There’s no destination in mind when you begin. This allows for exploration without boundaries, although that can be problematic. [[Even Expressive Art Needs Direction]]. “What does this piece want next?” is a good question to ask throughout an expressive art session. This question speaks to another key feature of expressive art, namely that ideally there’s a bit of a mystical feel to it where the artist is not in complete control, but is more of a conduit for the choices that are made from within. This really appeals to me and will emerge, I hope, with reliable consistency once I’m settled into the daily expressive art making of this summer’s Season of Art Play. The benefits of expressive art are many, including: - personal expression - relaxation, meditation, mindfulness - self-reflection, personal insights - stress relief - exploration of inner world including spirituality The products of expressive art are often abstract, but they don’t have to be. During the Season of Art Play, I want to start developing the skills to make my second art form. #### Narrative Art Narrative art tells a story. It doesn’t have to be a whole story. It doesn’t have to be the myths, historical events, scenes from religious texts or community murals that are common examples of narrative art. It can be the story of a moment, which is what especially appeals to me. See [[Third Act Manifesto]]. I’m also interested in making sequences of images that tell an inner life story. Narrative art of moments will likely be my focus in the 2025 Fall season, through illustrated journals and [[Beams]].