Art is Experience: An Exchange of Energy and Ideas Between Artist and Viewer EP 91
For Laura McRae Hitchcock, art is a shared experience. The artist begins with a blank canvas (whatever that material or medium might be) and pulls in his or her creativity to create something from nothing. \u201cIt\u2019s all energy,\u201d she explains. \u201cI use my whole body when I paint, and my paintings are infused with my energy.\u201d
And if you had a sneak peek into her studio as she\u2019s preparing canvases, you\u2019d see she\u2019s also infusing them with prayers for the viewers \u2013 and eventual owners \u2013 of her paintings. On the blank canvases, she writes prayers for safety, blessing, joy, love, and more\u2026 and then she preps for paint. You may not know it\u2019s there, but you\u2019ll feel it when you see it!
For her, making art is a deeply spiritual act and it\u2019s her way of getting out of herself. She grew up feeling shy and sensitive; recognizing it was getting in the way of her being more fully in the world \u2013 to experience it and to impact it \u2013 and art has been her way of breaking through those barriers.
Through this conversation, Laura and Laura also dive into the idea and experience of \u201cthin spaces\u201d \u2013 the places where it feels as if heaven and earth are both right there and you have this heightened awareness of there being so much more than what you see. Laura shares the inspiration of her Nest Series of paintings as being her recognition she could no longer directly control how safe her children are in the world, as they\u2019ve grown and moved out.
If you\u2019ve ever had a heartfelt or truly visceral reaction to a piece of art, you\u2019ll appreciate this conversation and a view into the heart and thoughts of the artist.
Laura\u2019s Bio
Laura McRae Hitchcock is an award winning, internationally collected visual artist living and working in the low country of South Carolina. She is also a partner and founder of Wild Hair Adventures, a travel company specializing in art workshops and retreats and \u201ctraveling like girls.\u201d
Her paintings move between realism and the abstract, in much the same way she moves between the physical experience of being human and remembering who she is as spirit. She believes that artwork creates a portal in which the artist holds space for the viewer to experience the energy of the intention of the art. Through those shared experiences, art heals the heart and soul...whether one does the creating or the looking and appreciating.
Laura lives on a barrier island near Charleston, SC, with her husband of 35 years, and a sweet cocker spaniel named Gunner. She enjoys painting (of course!), spending time with her grown children and 1st grandchild, travel, exploring new places and ideas, collecting lovely sticks, rocks and shells, and gathering with other people for collaboration and celebration.
Connect with Laura:
Wild Hair Adventures (\u201ctravel like girls\u201d!)