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HEALING with
a HEART

other regions Upper Midwest

Giving Thing, by Garret MooreCopyright © Garret Moore
From the artist: Giving Thing was originally a black-and-white sketch I painted in 1986. A German publisher, Aquamarin Verlag, was at the time publishing a translation of the English version for a book titled "Dialogues with and Sages: The Search for Unity, by Ren'ee Webber in 1987 . The publisher saw a slide for the black and white illustration and asked for a color version for the German translation they where publishing.

I had originally produced the sketch based on a dream I would usually have just before waking, where many of my paintings where conceived at that time. Dreaming was where I seemed to work out conceptual ideas, and in this case, it was to find a way to show what I saw as true giving. We (our species) usually associate giving with material objects, but I wanted, in my dreaming design state, to show the more authentic source for what giving truly is. Light was at that time an appropriate symbolism for non-material, yet life-giving, qualities. Being also an astronomical illustrator, I had always found the imagery of space to speak of authentic beauty. I was adept at creating such imagery with reasonable realism and also knowledgeable about the actual physics of deep sky phenomena, so it was a natural choice for the timelessness and the archetypical human universe. A stellar or point of light to be passed from one to another -- and this could be any two entities -- was put into a more fundamental context of our biological species, with female and male hands. Without any prompting, most viewers love and acknowledge the image for its meaning immediately, whether conscious or unconsciously. This is very rewarding for me, for I believe that I midwife the works rather than create them from nothing.

To survive in this culture as an artist, I applied my talent to more "marketable" styles and methodologies and did fewer and fewer visionary works, as time to produce these images demanded a more relaxed and meditative approach. I am now working to elevate our species understanding of the world and ourselves as a Creative Director for ManyOne Networks. We are creating an on-line encyclopedia of the universe and a revolutionary way of seeing it and allowing the many non-profits worldwide -- who are I believe are our species' conscience -- a way to share their knowledge and understanding of critical planetary and human issues and survive to continue such work. For myself, this is a path with heart and brings to bear my mature artist's spirit to do my work of the world. My hope is that we can make a place for many others to contribute their understanding and make it available to everyone, young and old and grow our knowledge to a survivable and rewarding future.

For more information on prints, contact Garret Moore at (510) 796-7773, e-mail garret1@comcast.net