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Didi: Hi Amanda, please tell me about your childhood. What led you to art?
Amanda Sage: Hi! I was blessed with a liberally privileged childhood, and forward thinking parents. They weren’t necessarily hippies, though my mother did follow closely natural living habits and swam against the mainstream of nutrition and education. With the freedom and support to pursue my inspirations, making art was a part of my reality for as long as I can remember. My school years were spent in a Waldorf School, where my artistic development was balanced strongly with academic exploration. I found that creating a work of art was gratifying to me, and began to realize that others were resonating with what I was making. As i grew older and my techniques were refined and expanded, art has sustained my lifestyle as well as open doors to abundance on all levels. Beginning with crafts and moving into representational studies and expanding into intentional and channeled work, it has been a path of discovery while learning to carry the responsibility in speaking through the voice of art.
D.: Which teachers have inspired you, spiritually and artistically, on your journey? Who has played a big role for you in helping you bring forth your vision? .. And what is your view as the role of the guru or teacher in finding a spiritual path?
A.S.: I have been inspired by many people throughout my life. Just today I was reflecting on my childhood and the influence of Siddartha, through a favorite illustrated children’s book. I must say that my guru’s are many and very diverse. I’ve never subscribed to any one teacher or belief system, let alone a political party. I’ve always enjoyed many different perspectives, realizing that most were saying the same thing, just in different ways. I was brought up as a part of the Unity church, which is a spiritual philosophical movement. There I participated in Vision Quests & large intentional gatherings that focused on the expansion of consciousness through meditation, appreciation and mindfulness.
I have had many teachers that have contributed to my expansion in discovering and bringing forth my vision. Working with the master artist Ernst Fuchs was deeply influential and I was challenged on many levels of my technical abilities. Learning how to let go of linear thought while listening to the voice within the painting was a process Fuchs advocated, and I have found tremendous value in his example. Discovering Alex Grey’s work took what I had absorbed with Fuchs to the next level. His paintings were some of the first I had seen that triggered a remembering and gave me permission to unveil an energetic portal that allowed for seeing through into infinite realms beyond time and space that are just as real and present as anything else. Experienced by every one of us every night in the dream world, these other worlds are an integral part of reality and the human experience.
The role of the teacher is to offer an expanded view and expand horizons, while being supportive and clear that each path is unique and valuable. It is in discovering that avenue through which we experience union and ignited passion with our source that we flourish on our path. I believe this is true spiritual union and that each of us is designed to experience this.
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D.: Can you describe the actual physical appearance of some of your works-the size, what sorts of paints, canvas and tools you like to use?
A.S.: My work comes in many sizes. I love the scope between the intricacy and controlled detail of copper etchings and the freedom of a thick & saturated brush. I flow with what my environment is presenting me and work on canvas, discarded objects and now human skin through the deep craft of tattooing.
I love Old Holland oil paint, and was taught to paint in the tradition of the Misch Technique by Michael Fuchs. It is an early renaissance method of building up the underpainting with white egg tempera, and glazing in thin layers of oil. I prefer soft synthetic brushes and a nice liner. Good light and environment are also key elements to a fluid painting session.
D.: The famous artist Alex Grey in his book “The Mission of Art” describes the visionary artist as spiritual seeker and his art as a spiritual tool. Do you see your art in this light, as part of a spiritual teaching?
A.S.: Yes, I guess I do… My work in the last 6 years has become ever more literal in the allowance of the work to be of inspirational content with an intent of healing and expanding the perception of spirit.
D.: What are your views on spiritual traditions in the new millennium, how they are evolving as we evolve?
A.S.: I am inspired by movements that openly acknowledge the diversity and interconnectedness of every living thing on this planet. I see the boundaries and divisions between science and spirituality dissipating as more and more people around the world realize that we are a global family with the necessity to focus on collaboration rather than competition.
D.: Do you think that there are dimensions beyond the physical that are deeply mysterious and equally infinite to the outer worlds? ..if you agree, how can you reach the invisible source, the mindset, the spiritual background of that dimension?
A.S.: Yes I do. I think we go there by finding a practice in which we let go. It doesn’t really matter much what that is, as long as it is not destructive to oneself, the planet or others. Sometimes when I paint I am guided by a higher force and I open myself to the unknown, challenging routine and habits, I surrender.
D.: Do you have any regular spiritual practice, such as yoga, meditation? How do you feel it has changed you, helped you, over the years?
A.S.: Yoga has helped me immensely over the years. Physically as well as mentally and emotionally… I feel so much clearer when I practice yoga regularly. As well, the process of painting is its own kind of meditation for me, and I have always found it to be an integral part of my spiritual experience.
D.: A theme that flows through your art is contact with praying entities; with auras and energetic connections within and without. How much of that do you experience in day to day life? What forms does it take?
A.S.: I saw auras and energy fields around people & things when I was a child. I lost that connection to sight around the age of 9. I feel like painting has helped me ‘see’ it again, and I have had instances in my adult life of seeing energy fields, ufo’s and angels. I feel that much of my recent work is being pushed through me more when I allow my feeling to direct rather then my mind. I am clear about inviting powerful and well intending support from the non-physical and my own subconscious. I would rather paint my prayers then magnify my frustrations.
I often use myself as a model because many of the subjects I touch on are based on deeply personal experiences and feelings.
D.: It is possible to receive visions when someone is tripping on drugs, while dreaming or in a hypnotic state before dropping off to sleep, while listening to music, or even waiting for the subway. I have noticed that you use also symbolic imagery in your artworks, as the shape of the cosmic egg, the symbol of infinite, spirals, mazes … How can you have a vision? Do you actually go into a mystical trance, see and experience the visions you show in your art? Do you disappear into the creative flow to really be into your work? Or is your work the result of a precise planned creative process?
A.S.: My work is a constant process. I have rarely ‘seen’ a piece and then painted it, although I will often start with a feeling and a theme. I choose my palette of color based on my feeling and I try not to analyze or ask the painting too many questions. The longer I can keep my head out of it, the more surprise comes through. I’ve felt an affinity to the spiral and nautilus since I was a child. My sun sign is Aries and some of my favorite creatures were snails when I was little. The egg came consciously into my work in 2006 when I was looking for a ‘container’ that I could put anything into and feel completely safe… I then did a very intuitive painting, wherein a mystical rainbow snake appeared in the sky of the painting above a sleeping self portrait. In the snakes mouth was an egg.
I do like getting into a subtle altered state while painting, which to me is often the distraction of the radio show Coast to Coast AM, or incredible music, or better yet painting live and tuning into the mass creation and appreciation happening live around me. Other altered states induced by various substances have also been incredibly eye and heart opening for me in the process of allowing. These experiences have helped me in perceiving my work and role as a conscious creator on this planet from another perspective.
D.: Please, tell me something about your work “Limbic Resonance”… Do you think that the people can see a reflection of themselves through your artworks? Can your paintings represent the mirror of the own individual enlightenment?
A.S.: YES! Thank you for bringing this up. It is the greatest compliment for me when someone has a personal experience of expansion and enlightenment through the portal of my images. Many of my recent works are intended as direct reflections of an aspect of the self, driven by a continual fascination and curiosity of discovering who we are, where we came from and why we are here… each with various messages and gifts encoded in the lyrics of colors, symbols and contrast.
