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Friday, May 9, 2014

Talismans for Everyday Living and Protection with Susan Lenart Kazmer and ICE Resin


tal·is·man-[tal-is-muhn] an object which is believed to contain certain magical or sacramental properties which would provide good luck for the possessor or possibly offer protection from evil or harm. 

I've long been intrigued with the study of talismans that Susan Lenart Kazmer has done over her career.  Whether pencils or paintbrushes, or the shapes we choose as our "talisman" shapes, we consciously or subconsciously infuse energy and power into the works we create with them. And whether we're aware of it or not, as we create, we assign power or magic into our work.  I was very pleased to work on some talisman pieces with ICE Resin.



In this piece, I brought together ICE Resin and a large natural quartz crystal to work together as a talisman. The clear quartz crystal is one of the most sacred stones of ancient cultures. Its clarity and transparency give it a mirror quality through which things can be seen clearly. The natural quartz crystal symbolizes white light energy. Crystals are also said to realign energies.  I set this large crystal in ICE Resin colored with pastel...the blue pastel makes the ICE Resin look like lapis, a stone that has been revered since antiquity for it's intense blue color. Together the crystal and the intense color of the ICE resin serve as my talisman for clarity of thought and inner peace.  The thing that makes this crystal talisman really meaningful to me is that the crystal was a gift.  Recently while teaching a class in St. Louis, my friend Ann Werner, came to me with a box, and gave it to me.  When I opened it, I found a box of beautiful natural crystals.  Her father collected them over his life, and as she told me, collected them, cleared them naturally by cleaning them in sand and ocean water with the express idea that they should be used for good, for healing and for love.  This was such a meaningful gift from Ann the fact that the crystals were from her father and his intent, really imbue a lot of good energy around them for me.  
Ann said she knew that I would appreciate them...she was right. Although Ann didn't know it at the time, I am going through some transitions in my life right now where I will need clarity of thought, harmony and inner peace. It's cool how the universe works like that.
     

I worked with another talisman this week too...recently a friend told me my animal spirit guide was a raven.  I've never really thought about it, or known too much about animal spirit guides, but when I learned about how the raven can be a spirit guide, it all kind of made sense to me.  
The Raven's wisdom includes introspection, courage, self-knowledge, magic, healing, creation, rebirth, keeper of secrets, master magician, shape shifter, mysticism. All of these attributes describe some aspect of my personality...It was interesting that someone actually looked at me and told me that the raven was my spirit guide, I was unaware.    


I chose to use the raven as the background of this talisman piece.  I hand painted a raven's eye as the focal point.  The raven can symbolize introspection, self knowledge, creation and rebirth...we understand those qualities by sight, whether by actually seeing something or through intuitive sight. The other feature of this talisman are tiny figures.  As I created this talisman, I wanted to invoke the mystical or symbolic powers of the raven to watch over or protect me, my family and those close to me. As artists, we tell our stories and communicate our ideas with imagery. These images and symbols work together as a protection talisman.  Although it's unorthodox...it's powerful.       


Talisman pieces are charged or infused with energy by those who create them.  It's really expanded my thinking as I've studied and worked with ICE Resin to create talismans this week.  And, after having created these pieces, I have a deeper understanding of the energy we use to create and the power behind that energy...which gives our artistic endeavors mystical if not magical meaning.  

Thank you for stopping by today, and thanks for letting me share some of my art with you...I hope you'll be inspired.  

til next time, Ken