To The Moon and Back oil on wax on cold board 12 x 12”
CAROLYN M. ABRAMS VISUAL / SPIRITUAL ARTIST Interview by Harryet Candee
Harryet Candee: When you create a work of art, do you feel you have accomplished a positive energy force for the universe to absorb? Carolyn M. Abrams: I believe positive energy is alive and well and that we all have the power to put it out there for the universe to absorb. That is one reason why I never create dark work. I start many works with a positive intention and may write it directly on the canvas. Sometimes it gets buried under layers of paint but I know it is there. That first layer for me is the basis of creating meaningful work. Do you feel you are often the vehicle that creates the work, and a higher power is the actual force that leads the way to its fruition? The Creative Spirit is a wonderful powerful force. We all possess it. Some are more passionate than others in expressing it. There are times when I finish a work and I think “Who did this?” So I don’t know if Spirit is working through me but I do often feel a connection or a pull. Art therapy has been known to bring people out of their current mind set or negative place of being, do you agree? How have you interacted 44 • AUGUST 2020 THE ARTFUL MIND
as a teacher or therapist on that level, and what results have you experienced through your teachings and work with others? I believe with all my being that Art Saves and Art Heals. I have experienced it personally and I have witnessed it. In my art facilitating experiences I have seen the physically and developmentally challenged create work that was jaw dropping. I have facilitated an art segment in women’s retreats and worked with the elderly dementia patients and veterans as well as children. My favorite experience these days is working one on one with women who wish to access their Creative Spirit or their Divine Feminine voice and witnessing them make that connection. I am also a member of the Healing Power of Art and Artist organization. HPAA is a growing global community of artists, advocates, and writers dedicated to raising awareness about how ART serves as a positive catalyst for enhancing the wellbeing of individuals, society and the environment. We believe that art has the power to heal, inspire, provoke, challenge and offer hope. Check them out at https://www.healing-power-of-art.org/the-healing-power-of-art-2020/
Do you ever got stuck? Finding yourself wanting to get things onto the canvas, and finding you just don’t have it? What creative solutions have you come up with that helps you to get out of that snag? Maybe, you have an endless well of creativity, well then, how do you know what you want to create next? Many times I am stuck and think well this looked better in my head! But I’ve learned patience and perseverance to keep at it or to let it breathe awhile. Most times the finished piece is better than I imagined. I also use art journaling on a regular basis to keep in the creative flow or to just express myself. Many times a larger work comes out of those journal pages. Art journaling also allows me to get out of my head and just experiment and play with materials without feeling like I have to produce a finished piece. How do you know when its time to complete a series / body of work? Do you get bored? Did you finish your message? Do you ever revisit a series? Why would that take place? I’m not very diligent about working in a series. I have too much going on in my head to create works that look similar. What I do like to do is get