Kinga Ogiegło

Music can inspire the colors and the title of an artwork but can also influence organic shapes and textures that emerge while painting as well as be crucial to many stages of creation that proceed going to the studio. I always listen to music when creating paintings. From the very beginning my go -to soundtrack was any song by Kendji Girac- but in particular a song called Andalouse. There is something in this singer's voice vibration that goes straight to my heart and every time I paint I get this feeling of being transported into another dimension, like a fog, sort of indefinable commotion in the air. For me, Kylie Minogue also worked well- her album Body Language and  songs from other albums such as Fever or In Your Eyes.

In 2017, I created a series of small works on canvas listening to her songs and naturally I was reaching to colors such as pink, black, yellow, and strangely, organic shapes that emerged were faces and people figures which never happened before.  Below are example artworks from the left- Lucky Day, details- Holidays, Madness- all 50x50cm acrylic on canvas. However, music can also hinder creating artwork. One time, I was commissioned to create an A1 painting on canvas, and the client's favorite singer was Kanye West- so I thought, great, I will listen to my favourite Kanye's song- Stronger while creating this artwork and the effect will be stunning and the whole process fun and easy. Little did I know how wrong I was- yes, the colors were directly influenced by Kanye's album cover but when I played the music I started getting into an unexpected creating block and was doubting if I could even finish this artwork at all. So before plunging into more self-doubt and in prevention from the inevitable disaster, I decided to play a good old Kendji’s song and successfully finished this commission.

As far as stages of creation proceeding going to the studio I think they are as important as the creating itself. For many abstract artists creating is quite a short process, however the energy expenditure is very high. And how good and effective the process of creating will be depends directly on the quality of your energy throughout your everyday life therefore looking after your soul. From my personal perspective, it the things that you do before the actual grabbing the brush and paint that make my art- things such as putting yourself into a good emotional state, any spiritual work that you do, basic self-care on every day basis and surrounding yourself with positive people and beautiful, inspiring spaces. And listening to music is one of those things- it is undoubtedly good for your soul. Personally, usually listen to one song over and over again in order to squeeze as much emotion out of it and process it all in my brain and discard it when I don’t need it anymore. Sometimes I will sing it, learn the lyrics and maybe record a cover of it. My current obsession/healing tool is the Ballad of Mona Lisa by Panic! At The Disco, a story about a desperate man trying please a woman. For me, the reflective sounds of this song bring out emotions of sadness, oscillating between memories of my past codependent behaviors, melancholy, and anger on what has been toxic in my life. I believe that every time that your process your negative emotions and make yourself feel them you heal your body and mind. Remembering the trauma, sensing it in your body will then give you more strenght, knowledge about the Self, more creativity, and the feeling of ‘katharsis’. Here is an example of my work from 2015 (on the left)- a time when I just left an abusive work environment, feeling angry and useless, and a recent painting from 2019, a time when I am happy person, having healed my codependent addiction. Compared to the first painting, the color palette as well as the style are very different, the positive emotions visibly translate on canvas.

Listen to Art Demystified podcast here

Ever since I was a little child I had a strong desire for expression — I was quite good at playing the piano and singing, however due to pressure from family and teachers I never had the courage to go into the direction of expressing my ‘Self’ seriously — very few people around me view ‘singer’ as a profession. Lately, as I started working with my emotions — as I’ve integrated a lot of anger, depression and fear I had, I discover my lost Self that longed for a creative expression. Human design helped me with understanding how I should work, what my purpose is and which characteristics I should focus on and why I am not good at certain tasks. First my numerology which is important to: life path numer    30   -   numer 3 is a child - which means joy, expression, happiness     0 - is a God element, it magnifies the main number characteristics. And my personality number   8  - number 8 is characteristic to career -driven people, entrepreneurs, it is a number of abundance.

Type  Generator

Strategy  To Respond

Not-Self Theme   Frustration

Signature   Satisfaction

Definition   Single

Authority    Sacral

Profile           Hermit - Opportunist (2/4)

Incarnation Cross   Right Angle Cross of Service (17/18 | 58/52)

Generator 

As a Generator I am built to work. (Projectors are here to lead and guide others, Reflectors are like a mirror and the reflection of other people constantly changes their perception, Manifestors are here to have impact on the world and initiate). I act through response and attract things to me.  When a Generator waits, others come over and ask them. I am in need of having a Projector around me who would ask the right questions so that I can respond and work towards it. When I was starting to get interest in fashion, photography etc, my Projector friend told me  ‘You should buy acrylic paint and paper’   - I wasn’t self- aware enough to think of it. She knows the right questions and as a Projects she longs to be recognized for this gift of  guiding others too.

Frustration

As far as Frustration Not -Self Theme -  it manifests well when I paint -  when I am painting I usually get frustrated that my work is imperfect but I know I should get passed frustration as my work is as good as it should be and there are no things to worry about.  Every Generator has a fear that if they do nothing, no one will ask them anything. Most Generators are frustrated working the wrong jobs, living with the wrong people, eating the wrong food and feeling a lack of purpose in life.The thing with Generators is that they have to wait -  and usually society tells that in order to achive something you have to go and get it which is the wrong strategy to Generators and that is a source of frustration too.

Right Angle Cross of Service (17/18 | 58/52)

I am here to be of Service. And I am serving myself and my audience. The driving force in the cross of Service is logical energy that is looking to make things or processes better to bring joy to life. Ultimately this is what the cross of service is all about, bringing joy to life. A good question a person born under the cross of Service can ask themselves before fulling investing in a project is, 'If I am successful at this will it bring joy to life'. The main reason for this Joy to Life theme is that 3 of the 4 gates are in the logical channel. I resent doing things that do not bring joy to life hence my love for singing, performing arts and inspiring people though paintings.People with the same cross are Ariana Grande, Keira Knighlty and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Definition  Single

Single  definition people have all their centers connected - they tend to process information faster. I can see how I can learn something very quickly whether it is building a website or online marketing.

The other side of this is that single definition people might not need to go as deep into the information as another definition would and I am a good example of this - I know a bit about everthing in a way, for instance business knowledge I know a bit about accounting, social media, editing videos, SEO, etc. And I can see how I was living my Not-Self for many years trying to get deep into some areas of knowledge (for instance linguistics - my Bachelor's degree) and it did not work for me, I wasn't very happy studying. 

Authority   Sacral

Pure Generator which is me - responds with their Sacral Authority to engage in activity, they go through a step-by-step process of development. During this development, they will hit plateaus of productivity and then have feelings of being ‘stuck’ since their motors do not connect to the Throat Center. I often feel stuck in my work as an artist. Generator's purpose in life is to have the work that they love. If they have chosen to do the things they love by allowing their Sacral voice to guide them, then they will have all the energy to continue without quitting the endeavor or process that they begin. Most Generators enter into things with their mind and end up eventually quitting because they are frustrated and don’t have the energy to continue - I have been working wrong jobs a couple of times such as teaching which I could not do for a long time, so I just quit.

Profile    Hermit - Opportunist (2/4)

People that have the 2-4 profile, the Hermit/Opportunist need a balance of being alone and being social. These people are often have a bubbly personality - they are the type that can start a conversation with anyone. But the 2nd line of the profile is called the hermit as it has a need to be alone or have seclusion -  which is me when I am painting or integrating emotions. Alone time in crucial for me. Part of the importance of the alone time is to allow integration of ideas and experiences to take place. The 2nd line needs to be out of the energy of others for this important integration to take place. The 4th line of the profile is an opportunist and the opportunity comes through the network that this person is connected to. And it shows well in my art business as I have to get out there and share my work on social media, and connect with collectors and fans. It is a necessary part of me getting clients and growing my business. Through this networking opportunies emerge. For the 4th line person it is important to constantly be aware of opportunities that may present themselves through friends, family, peers etc. 

I hope you learned something useful and  you will be able to apply this knowldge to your life if you are a Generator. I believe that knowing your strenghts and weaknesses — being self-aware is the most important trait a person can have.

References:

www.humandesignhawaii.com/hd-basic/decision-making

www.loveyourhumandesign.com

www.jovianarchive.com

Words with clear meanings lazily appearing in the darkness of your psyche- the inspiration starts in the mind. Chuffed, thrilled, ready to start and complete the work, an artist proudly gets up, grabs his tools and scribbles something nonchalantly on canvas and voila! The piece of art of the century is created- thank you very much, you take a bow, leave the stage and go back to your normal, insanity and inspiration-free way of living. If only things were that simple and effortless.

As far as the inspiration for abstract paintings, there is not a single explanation as to where it comes from. Someone asked me recently where does the inspiration for colors in paintings come from. She wanted to know whether I deconstruct landscapes or things I see into their base colors and how exactly do I choose colors. After a couple of minutes of silent deliberation, I came to the conclusion that the most genuine, right, ultraprecise and downright congruous answer will be ‘I don’t know’. 

At least for me, if inspiration for paintings happens, it happens below the veil of consciousness. I rarely have a clear intention when starting a painting, and that was especially true for my early works when I had very little desire or let alone skill to control my creative progress as well as process and what the final effect of my work is going to be.

The well-known rule is that strokes of genius appear when you are relaxed and in most unpredictable places of all but if a person thinks he has any control of it, he is wrongly mistaken. Inspiration is divine in nature, appears unexpectedly and out of nowhere. The golden autumn light can provide the inspiration for a painting. Or the turquoise sequins of an haute couture gown. I guess some artists can hear, for instance, a radiant sunset screaming at them, encouraging to make further use of it, consolidate and immortalize it on canvas. But occasionally your inspiration-gathering act gets thrown out of whack and something societally considered uninspiring or even negative gets you to get up and express your frustration, anger or other emotion on canvas.  

The scary and enticing aspect of any creative work is its unpredictability- at the start of the journey you probably made some plans – just like a grounded and sensible human being we are taught to be. Yeah, well, you can throw them out of the window right away. Safe to say, if you’ve gathered any expectations along the way you can drop them also, no need carrying so much burden. And by the finish line you become excruciatingly aware of your own insignificance in comparison with the powerful forces of the inspiration and where it wishes to take you. So you didn’t actually think you can put a harness on The Inspiration- a sudden good idea coming straight from Heavens, you insignificant, creative wannabe?

There is a risk to inspiration. So imagine, the requested revelation hit you hard and you took the inspired action in order to create something you’ve never done. However, halfway into the project you realize that things do not look exactly as you imagined and it is going to take more willpower, motivation, emotional strength than anticipated to keep on going and fulfill the mental picture you had at the start of the game. And you are now left with feelings of despair. Cross at the inspiration for not giving you any warnings as to what the  fulfillment of it is going to entail. To conclude, hopefully every so often, the courage to listen to the inspiration pays off with interest. So bless us, creatives, trustfully riding on a wave of our latest inspiration, naively thinking that we are in the driver’s seat of our creative endeavors.

The mystery of art is the mystery of life. And the deeper the mystery gets, things can get scary.

The word  ‘Art’ may as well be synonymous with the word ‘Mystery’. Even for me, being an abstract artist, the process of creating art is still perplexing and fascinating, particularly when it takes place in a music studio or on a film set.

What makes art so unusual and mysterious? I am certain that one piece of the puzzle is art’s healing abilities. I believe that not always do we have to consciously go back to childhood, and memory by memory heal trauma. I remember trying out PEAT spiritual process link as a way to help me bring more joy into my life and the whole point of it was to integrate joy and sadness like they both are the same emotions. The most important thing was to feel, see and understand that binarity is an illusion. If  carrying out this process correctly, you saw the white light which meant your subconscious got it. I believe that similar process happens when looking at a piece of art or listening to music -there is a point when our perception changes, things light up, something saves us and frees us up, we become unintimidated like we understood something vital to our existence and from this point on things will not be the same.

As I mentioned in the first episode of my podcast whenever I would go to a contemporary art museum as a young adult I viewed most of the artworks as baffling or confusing to say the least. I explained that partially it could have been caused by my ignorance in my early 20s. However, when I’m reminiscing about those times now, the reason for my uninterest to experience art could have been the fear of accessing the depths of my emotions which after years of suppressing is both an unpleasant and a grueling thing to do. I remember watching Richard Gannon (a life coach) link talking about healing from childhood trauma and his gentle, almost infantile style of explaining that nothing bad is going to happen if you just cry a little- so what, you will have tears on you cheeks and will wipe them out. Done, healing happened. Although for so many grown-ups this is still the scariest thing to do. And so can be experiencing art.

One classic example of a mysterious artwork and something that registered in my mind as scary or spooky is a painting by an Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci titled Salvator Mundi, although specialists dispute to this day if this really is da Vinci’s original. Dated to 15th century, this piece shows Jesus in Renaissance dress, making the sign of the cross with his right hand, while holding a transparent rock crystal orb in his left hand, signaling his role as Salvator Mundi-Savior of the World and the master of the cosmos, and representing the crystalline sphere of the heavens. The description alone has an eerie vibe to it. For me, it looks like Jesus is in some kind of a trans state or blind. Looking at this artwork almost immediately many questions spring to mind such as why does Jesus look like this or why does this portrait have such a sinister feeling to it?

The whole idea of why certain artists incarnated in certain times is mysterious. As well as their given impact and unique roles in community change and development. Or why certain people- for instance in case of working on a movie or in a music group - were brought together by fate and made to create something that current and future generations will identify with, need and remember. 

Even the definition of art is vague and mysterious at the same time. Art, being a form of communication, means whatever the artist intends it to mean, and this meaning is shaped by the materials, techniques, and forms it makes use of. But the definition of art goes further, it is also the ideas and feelings it creates in its viewers -and this part is the most covert for me- as if the artist has any influence on what viewers can or will think therefore it makes art totally unpredictable and its perception varied from person to person.

All in all, the emotional power of art will stay enigmatic but it is art’s mysteries that makes life worth living.

Listen to Art Demystified podcast on my website

 When I think of love songs in the charts, most of the songs I recall consider the subject of unhappy love- painful, longing for connection, the lack of if or when you are in the relationship, the miscommunications and mishaps in relationships. We need love and we need other people- we want to bond. But what if there is too much of Weeness and too little of Me and You? And how does this relate to creating art?

And here comes the topic of codependency. Codependents put so much emphasis on helping another person because they have an insatiable desire to feel needed- the joy and a quick dose of good feeling when you’ve helped someone is addictive. 

Codependency stems from living with the abusive family member and this behavior is learned by watching and imitating other family members who display this type of behavior. Feeling an endless obligation to take care of the addict for fear of what would happen if they don’t.

With no one there to serve, codependents begin to feel empty as if a part of them has been taken away. They often mistake the other person’s dependence on them as a committed, loving relationship.

I feel responsible for your depression and anger.

I love you therefore I’m going to help you solve your problems.

I will be with you all the time because without me you feel too empty even though I have other things do and dreams and goals to realize.

I will skip the gym to meet you and answer you’re every phone call because your needs go first.

I will give you advice although you didn’t ask me for it.

Picasso

These types of behavior are doing more harm in the long run. Because why would someone change and learn to be self-sufficient when you’re solving all his problems? Codependents feel responsible for the actions of the other person. Honoring the first impulse to rescue or give leads to making offers you later regret. Helping someone is ok when you are able to set clear and firm personal boundaries that preserve your unique character and habits. Empathy for someone is good and giving helpful, supportive advice when asked is what a good friend should do. 

So the gist of this article in relation to art creation can be that you are not going to make a lot of art if you are codependent. Because your needs, fulfilling your goals is always secondary. Creating art is such an intimate and unique expression of someone that addicts will sabotage. They cannot understand that someone can have their own interest, secrets and they view this as a danger to the dynamic of the  ‘relationship’ .

The control is on both sides- the addicts wants to control the codependent and vice versa.

And making art is a total release of control.

And in the case when a codependent is making art-often angry, dark, sad, depressive in nature, and actually taking time for themselves, they are going to sabotage other aspects of their career such as actually looking after your art business, creating a full inventory of your portfolio, managing your content or PR. Instead, they will do small deeds for other people, look after their emotional health, gossiping about other people’s problems therefore fulfilling that insatiable desire to feel needed and stay codependent. 

I wish more people would express themselves- in music, on canvas, writing. My friend’s aunt wanted to reactivate her oil painting skills at 71, but she believed to be too old and not deserving enough to feel that joy and happiness when creating art. 

I believe it is never too late. 

Ask yourself, are your relationships fair? Or do they cost you too much? So much I cannot afford a canvas, a brush and paint?

Listen to Art Demystified podcast on my website

Listen to Art Demystified podcast on my website

Out of all the art forms such as music, painting, sculpture, design, photography or filmmaking the most incomprehensible for me would have always been painting and sculpture.

For me, music was always easiest to relate to. That included my teenage obsessions with Green Day and their fast-paced melodies, with many of their two minute songs condensing the highest amount of pure teen angst – these songs were the only outward expression of my anger since I later discovered I suppressed most of it .

Or later Rufus Wainwright’s music whose soulful ballades with an aching melody would perfectly reflect my emotional state during senior high school. 

As far as films, finding my own interpretations would have been a piece of cake as well -I would always have my favorite movie scene or an actor- watching Batman & Robin or James Bond series would have given me strong emotional reactions from which most memorable was fear- also something I could relate to as a child, as this was the prevalent emotion in my toxic house.

It was always difficult with paintings.

I cannot remember a time from my childhood or teenage years when I was struck by a painting or remember any painting in particular that captured my attention. Yes, as children we’ve been taught about Mona Lisa but I never related to it and understand why it was the best known, the most visited work of art in the world.

As an adult, whenever I would go to a contemporary art museum or gallery I viewed most of the artworks as baffling and never related to any of it. Partly, it could have been caused by my ignorance and detachment in my early 20s - I take my responsibility fully in that respect.

What didn’t help to encourage interest though, was a negative sense of mystery and snobbery around it.

Having discovered my abstract expressionist painting skills unexpectedly in 2014, I felt like I was conveying  a lot of emotion into canvas, however I was uncertain if the audience might identify it or relate to any it.

For a viewer abstract art can be more difficult. And so can be all of the contemporary art. 

Just like when I used to go to modern art galleries and was confused and sometimes even frustrated at the fact that none of the artworks are relatable or interesting.

Because for many people, when they visit an art gallery, traditional landscapes or portraits are easy to recognise- in abstract art viewers are often unsure about what they are seeing or what response is expected. 

I would like to make my effort to demystify and decode my abstract paintings. Many times I paint from my subconscious and only after I’ve made an artwork I try to fit a right interpretation of it.

Here are examples of my interpretations in form of a video, written words, someone else’s quote or music.