Maridee Hays
I use the visual work as a kind of tuning fork, to study perception, to observe my consciousness in action. When I succeed, I feel as though I have surrendered to the creative process, gone deeply within, grappled with what this drawing or painting is revealing to me. At my best, I witness the process while I’m interacting with it and incorporate it into the way that I see. If I’m lucky, I’m granted a bit of awareness to help me better understand this person I am growing into. If it is a fulfilling session, I have a kind of sensation that I have returned to the garden – that place of peace and sanity within.
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This need for personal transformation is a thread that runs through my entire body of work. It was there, in the early days, when I knew little of what my journey was about and continues today. It is an attempt to synthesize my thinking and feeling with my spirit, which includes those half-formed thoughts and sensations that want to remain illusive. My intention is to reveal those elements that would or could bring chaos into my life by allowing them to interact with each other visually and intuitively, to simplify them and make them understood.
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I relish using line to amplify the pilgrimage I am on. I never tire of exploring the unique ways it comes together and love it when it surprisingly alters my perspective. This way of working has become a journey of trust that allows me to venture into the unknown, encourages me to take chances and to return with a refreshed vision.
