Reflections at my Altar
step
 foot
 stoneh
 cave
 myth
 holy

“The important
thing is to work in a state of mind that approaches prayer
”
Henri Matisse

Artists Statement

Expressing the Numinous Elements of Life

My creativity feels like a divine gift to me, and I honor the gift by making my art about Spirit. I am inspired by the places of ancient ritual and celebration, such as the megalithic, solar aligned temples of Malta, the standing stone circles of Stonehenge, and images of the Divine Feminine in all her guises. I want to express the numinous quality of life, where the elements of nature and the stones and the places of power come alive and speak to us on a deeper level.

In particular, the images of Malta have fascinated me for nearly 10 years. This tiny island in the Mediterranean has the oldest megalithic temples on the planet, predating the Pyramids and Stonehenge. Some are carved out of solid limestone underground, on three levels with over thirty rooms. Others are huge stones aligned in such a way that they shine a beam of sunlight down the center aisle on the equinox. The temples hold a promise of a creative, cooperative community that valued the rhythms of nature, honored artists, the ancestors, and celebrated spirit in their daily lives. While on a pilgrimage there in 2004, a dream came to me about how the temples were built and what happened when the culture disappeared. The dream became a story that has guided my work.

Caren CatterallIn Neolithic times the cave artists were also the shamans, who traveled deep into the earth, not to make decorative art, but to have transformative experiences that involved communication with the spirit world. The act of creation is a sacred act of transformation. When I am making something I am manifesting my world. I contemplate the nature of things seen and unseen-- often floating in a state I call "art trance".

The mystery and uncertainty of things attracts me-- the images of doorways, with an unknown just beyond view; to layer things so that images are obscured and speak to the subconscious; to etch things in with the intent of scraping out; the push and pull of ink on a plate that evokes an image from the barest trace of ink. I am always intrigued by where the journey of the plate takes me. I hope my work will connect with you on deeper intuitive levels so that you can experience the Spirit within the making.

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