Play & Book Excerpts
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Art Completes You:
Transformation through Art & the Science of Completion
(Biryukov Academy)
© 2020 Shraddha Nithyananda
Everyone can create art.
Everyone can be complete.
There are many ways for a human being to grow emotionally. We develop when we explore the world as a child, during our school years, in college and at work. We sometimes grow through our relationships.
The method I found so fascinating is evolution through art. It breaks the limiting shell of our conscience.and the world becomes more interesting and exciting.
We did not come to the planet with hatred, fear, greed, or separation mindsets Rather, we arrived whole but were trained to be a certain way by society. For example, we learned about deadlines when we hear “hurry, hurry, we can’t be late,” and see a panicking and full-of-worry parent. It may sound childish, but anxiety can very well have come even from your potty-training adventures. Later in life, we wonder why we’re anxious every time we hear the phrase “due date” or “deadline.”
Art is both a vehicle and a destination. The process is as important as the final result. Art is the possibility to experience the “all-knowing self” where the answers are as huge as the questions. Art elicits instant feedback about what your inner space looks like, and how you feel. And it provides a chance to work through many powerless ideas. This latter makes art a perfect training tool for our growth.
I grew up in a Russian family of two amazing professional artists. I watched my stepfather at the easel every day, beginning at 9 am. No one stood behind his back telling him that he had to do it. He was a freelancer. He was integrated into his art, so no additional pressure from the outside was required. While you’re exploring your inner space through art, the technique will open itself to you in a blissful way. It happens much faster than in any traditional way of learning art. For example, if you set out to do a thousand sketching practices, you will improve. Your context, or the way you view life or your powerless ideas, might stay the same, but your sketching will be dazzling. Learning art through the expansion of your inner being, on the other hand, gives you both - expert technique and greater awareness of life.
Today, we believe that art as creative expression is available to only the select few. We believe that only certain brilliant people can use art as a tool to express their emotions and thoughts in an interesting and sophisticated way. We think that only some of us can create an impact in the world through art. We do not even see that art is a part of every human being, or rather that every human being is a part of a big Divine canvas. Of course, some people are more open to using art as a tool of self-realization. The difference in our approach comes from upbringing and socialization. I, for example, grew up surrounded by artists who all had very strong opinions and would be talking about the most profound ideas at parties or any get-together. My childhood memories are those of admiration and fascination with artists searching for answers. One such night is often before my eyes:
The fire pit is outside in the backyard, and the air is filled with the smell of burnt birch wood. The lights outside are off. The house stares at me with its warm, yellow, eyes of windows, and the fire is dancing before the people sitting around it, uniting us and making everyone visible. Cigarette smoke mingles with the smoke from the fire, and they both disappear in the darkness. The stars are so bright that I think it must have been the end of August or early fall. Artists and scientists are loudly and passionately searching for answers to whether the viewer of art needs to educate him or herself in art topics, like techniques or history, or whether the artist ought to take up the responsibility to elevate the viewer with his or her art. The almost mystical experience of being with wizards fills the cells of my body, and I vibrate with wonder and excitement. I remember asking my stepfather later how I too could learn to paint like them. He smiled: “Start by learning to see.”
I’m taken aback because the answer doesn’t quench the thirst I was feeling. I look at him, questioning what I heard. I feel he didn’t give me the real answer. “Look,” he says, “do you see the bush next to the door? What color do you see?”
I look at the bush. The light from the “eyes” of the house touches it a little, but there’s nothing special about the bush. “Green!”
He smiled and asked me to look again.
“Oh my, it’s black!”
“Art is your ability to see,” he said.
Art offers a lot of ideas for contemplation and expansion. The idea that not everyone is talented is widely spread. The most typical sentence that I hear is, “I’m not an artist. I can’t even draw a straight line.” The truth is that every human being has the same capacity to create and understand art. We are born with many gifts locked in a box that never gets to be fully open. The ability to create art is one of them. You choose your clothes; you coordinate colors or makeup. In a way, we are walking “sculptures”; we are pieces of art. How about setting up the table for guests? Isn’t it creating a still life? Art is not separate from life. It is life.
Everyone can be complete.
There are many ways for a human being to grow emotionally. We develop when we explore the world as a child, during our school years, in college and at work. We sometimes grow through our relationships.
The method I found so fascinating is evolution through art. It breaks the limiting shell of our conscience.and the world becomes more interesting and exciting.
We did not come to the planet with hatred, fear, greed, or separation mindsets Rather, we arrived whole but were trained to be a certain way by society. For example, we learned about deadlines when we hear “hurry, hurry, we can’t be late,” and see a panicking and full-of-worry parent. It may sound childish, but anxiety can very well have come even from your potty-training adventures. Later in life, we wonder why we’re anxious every time we hear the phrase “due date” or “deadline.”
Art is both a vehicle and a destination. The process is as important as the final result. Art is the possibility to experience the “all-knowing self” where the answers are as huge as the questions. Art elicits instant feedback about what your inner space looks like, and how you feel. And it provides a chance to work through many powerless ideas. This latter makes art a perfect training tool for our growth.
I grew up in a Russian family of two amazing professional artists. I watched my stepfather at the easel every day, beginning at 9 am. No one stood behind his back telling him that he had to do it. He was a freelancer. He was integrated into his art, so no additional pressure from the outside was required. While you’re exploring your inner space through art, the technique will open itself to you in a blissful way. It happens much faster than in any traditional way of learning art. For example, if you set out to do a thousand sketching practices, you will improve. Your context, or the way you view life or your powerless ideas, might stay the same, but your sketching will be dazzling. Learning art through the expansion of your inner being, on the other hand, gives you both - expert technique and greater awareness of life.
Today, we believe that art as creative expression is available to only the select few. We believe that only certain brilliant people can use art as a tool to express their emotions and thoughts in an interesting and sophisticated way. We think that only some of us can create an impact in the world through art. We do not even see that art is a part of every human being, or rather that every human being is a part of a big Divine canvas. Of course, some people are more open to using art as a tool of self-realization. The difference in our approach comes from upbringing and socialization. I, for example, grew up surrounded by artists who all had very strong opinions and would be talking about the most profound ideas at parties or any get-together. My childhood memories are those of admiration and fascination with artists searching for answers. One such night is often before my eyes:
The fire pit is outside in the backyard, and the air is filled with the smell of burnt birch wood. The lights outside are off. The house stares at me with its warm, yellow, eyes of windows, and the fire is dancing before the people sitting around it, uniting us and making everyone visible. Cigarette smoke mingles with the smoke from the fire, and they both disappear in the darkness. The stars are so bright that I think it must have been the end of August or early fall. Artists and scientists are loudly and passionately searching for answers to whether the viewer of art needs to educate him or herself in art topics, like techniques or history, or whether the artist ought to take up the responsibility to elevate the viewer with his or her art. The almost mystical experience of being with wizards fills the cells of my body, and I vibrate with wonder and excitement. I remember asking my stepfather later how I too could learn to paint like them. He smiled: “Start by learning to see.”
I’m taken aback because the answer doesn’t quench the thirst I was feeling. I look at him, questioning what I heard. I feel he didn’t give me the real answer. “Look,” he says, “do you see the bush next to the door? What color do you see?”
I look at the bush. The light from the “eyes” of the house touches it a little, but there’s nothing special about the bush. “Green!”
He smiled and asked me to look again.
“Oh my, it’s black!”
“Art is your ability to see,” he said.
Art offers a lot of ideas for contemplation and expansion. The idea that not everyone is talented is widely spread. The most typical sentence that I hear is, “I’m not an artist. I can’t even draw a straight line.” The truth is that every human being has the same capacity to create and understand art. We are born with many gifts locked in a box that never gets to be fully open. The ability to create art is one of them. You choose your clothes; you coordinate colors or makeup. In a way, we are walking “sculptures”; we are pieces of art. How about setting up the table for guests? Isn’t it creating a still life? Art is not separate from life. It is life.
Elena Zelenina (a.k.a. Shraddha Nithyananda) has been an ardent arts advocate, a successful world-class coach, and a brilliant teacher. Her journey has been influenced by experiences in the U.S., Russia, and India. She has worked with women empowerment projects and was able to help her daughter overcome a severe learning disability through the “Art Completes You” method that Elena developed.
She founded and ran an art academy in New Jersey and exhibited and traveled through India in search of new solutions for our emotional strength. She believes that the process of revealing an inner artist can cast away doubts that people have about their own creative potential as well as helping to create a better life. Elena’s various public speaking interests include topics such as arts education, parenting, and arts empowerment. “My art is about experiencing Oneness, the realization that everything originates from one source.” ~ Elena Zelenina |