Page 6 - PAUL McCLOSKEY’S ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT michele-andree-unblugged

or perhaps its adrenalin an excitement and energy particularly when beginning
a new series of work, then I find I need to slow that down a little before

starting. Once I’m into a work the opposite happens, I become so engrossed
that all noise is silenced, and all distractions disappear, and I feel total peace.

No. 8) Does painting help you connect with your Higher Self, whatever that
may be for you?

I believe I must connect with my higher self before I can paint.
To truly, honestly and consciously create, connecting to this

higher self is integral it’s a given, although often it’s the process of painting that
connects me to this. It is here in this place as mentioned before of ‘no mind’

that true art for me is made.

No. 9) How do you feel about creativity in the public school system?

Whether it be literature or visual art, often due to the system of points and 3rd
level access means we tell our students/children what to think, often we do

not listen as teachers/adults but instead expect to be heard, ‘here is a poem
and this is what it means’,’ here is a painting and this is what the artist is trying
to tell us’. Also, skills in the use of words and materials, literary and visual are a
necessary part of learning, for without them we cannot communicate our

vision, but we need to remember as teachers/adults that these skills although
important are secondary to allowing. A greater balance is needed between the
two.