HEATHERMATTHEW

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That sixth sense

“Knowing” that the ink blot needed white writing on it to finish the text on text artwork.

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift." ~ Albert Einstein

I’m a great believer in intuition. It has guided me to take strange paths that have always lead me to amazing discoveries. Sometimes it seems impulsive, spontaneous and crazy. I never know why I took that decision or made those travel plans or visited that person until much later. Years later the path is lit up and you can see the trajectory. But it started with a strange curiosity, an inner trust that what you were doing was right.

Intuition is often connected with dreams, or the way you “know” when someone is watching you. It can come as a niggling feeling that you need to call someone. When you ring them they are amazed, “ I was this moment thinking about you “ or “Your ears must be burning as I was talking about you with a friend”. I’ve had times when I’ve rung someone and they really needed a listening ear. I didn’t know that when I picked up the phone, but I trusted my intuition that there was a reason that I needed to ring them, right that moment.

When your intuition is activated, all sorts of things start to happen. Wow what luck, you found the earrings you always were dreaming of at a charity shop or someone gives you a book that is exactly what you needed to read. Last Sunday morning I met a friend by chance at the beach and when I told her I was going roller skating that day, she said she’d lend me her roller skates. Surprise surprise, they fitted!

Intuitive art making is the same process. It’s about trust, surrender and allowing your hands to be led to choose the right colour, to put down lines and shapes where they are needed, to know when to stop and say - yes, this work is finished. Intuitive creating means you allow for trials and errors, you keep persevering, trusting that the work will lead you to your best work. It’s a process of discovery.

I love this way of creating. I don’t feel the pressure to perform to some preconceived idea(l) or to be realistic. Scribbling lines and watching patterns form, letting ink flow with water and falling in love with the luscious colours. It’s what’s in my heart at that moment in time and this way of creating allows it to come out, my hands guided by my heart. It has set my rational thoughts free to be the faithful servants of my intuition.

The perfectly fitting roller skates - no pic of me skating as I was clutching the railings!