Suzanne Bishop:
destinations

Art by Suzanne BishopAstrology influences my work, by way of the 12th house. The 12th house symbolizes the "collective unconscious", and is a quality that exists in all people. It is a symbolic representation of all that exists collectively, time and space are not limited within a linear framework. The 12th house is also a portal of sorts into creativity and expansiveness. The past, present, and future all exist at the same time in the 12th house. The ambiguous, and timeless quality of my images are very 12th house in appearance. The viewer may be taken into an imaginary space while viewing the images. The images are expansive in the sense that viewers may have unique responses to them; projection of the viewer's interior self ignite personal and collective memories.

I am a natural wanderer and a born space cadet. I walk into the woods, and I can get lost for days. While I am merging with the woods and remote parts of the earth, my mind and emotions also wander. I woke up one day, was inspired to go to a favorite prairie/grove trail near my house. I took an old suitcase full of very old vintage clothing and some wooden hangers. Once I got to my destination, I started to hang my clothing onto tree branches, and I took pictures. For moments in time I went back to a time and place that no longer exists. Hopefully, the viewer will be brought somewhere else as well, while looking at my photos. Once back home, I uploaded my photos into my computer. I added color and filters to various parts of the photos, until time and space were suspended.

I love film and the photographic arts. The strength of stories and narrative would be diminished in other art mediums. As viewer, the projection of the self into the world of the artist/photographer is great.

The questions brought to light about identity through the photographic works of Cindy Sherman and Jo Spence, the idea of art being not just a tangible entity but also an energy, Art by Suzanne Bishopthrough the German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, and the powerful fragility of Eva Hesse's work all have helped shape the way I create art. These artists have in their unique ways infiltrated my creative well, my 12th house, and have shaped the way I see visually and emotionally.

I primarily work in chalks, oil pastels, collage, fibers, and art digital photography. After earning a BFA in 1986 in Fiber Arts and Graphic Design, I worked as a designer and freelance illustrator. My work is published in political and alternative periodicals and newspapers. In my spare time I was a political activist, and a workshop leader in dream study, sacred space and meditation arts. After raising my daughter as a single parent, Kaitlyn is now 22, which I simple can't believe, I went back to school to earn a degree in art therapy. This was a way to merge my interests in art, healing, the holistic arts, dreams, activism, and primarily my desire to help people to achieve a more balanced and authentic selfhood.

As a recent Masters of Science graduate in Art Therapy my head has been in mounds of articles and books to do with art therapy. My focus of study was on trauma (posttraumatic stress disorder and related), and how the creative spirit can merge with art interventions for a healing back to a more connected and whole self. I also focused on selfhood, identity and women's psychological health. My site www.yintree.com has some simple examples of workshops for improved creatvity and empowerment of self for all.

For more information about the collective unconscious visit: www.jungchicago.org

Below are two quotes, or concepts, that perhaps inspired my recent art.

"The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks her own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purposes through her. As a human being she may have moods and a will and personal aims, but as an artist she is "woman" in a higher sense - she is "collective woman," a vehicle and molder of the unconscious psychic life of mankind."
- C. G. Jung

"Astrology is assured of recognition from psychology, without further restrictions, because astrology represents the summation of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity."
- C. G. Jung
(from 'Psychology and Literature', 1930)

Art by Suzanne Bishop

Suzanne Bishop
The Center for Integral Arts
Please Visit WWW.YINTREE.COM

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