A doorway into mixed media joy!
Artist, teacher, visual storyteller and creative soul
INTUITIVE MIXED MEDIA ARTIST-
SPIRITUAL HEART ~ WILD SOUL CREATIVE.
So glad that you found your way through the labyrinth to my joyful mixed media art home.
Welcome to my wild creative home…
Art is how I make sense of my world. Art is connection, meaning-making and healing…
The first moment I knew I needed to create art was in grade 2 art class sewing a doll and clearly knew that I would teach art as it made me so happy. It was not a choice but a decision and a knowing made at that moment.
I felt joy and connection in this space that was rare for me at school as I struggled with dyslexia so reading and writing was a challenge. Art seemed to open up my world with all these new possibilities. This was a space I could thrive and grow in and I wanted more of it in my life.
I knew in my heart that this art life was what I wanted and that I would achieve this even when the world outside reinforced that this was not possible. I trusted that inner guidance and knew that I could achieve this as I followed my heart. I found every alternative art path I could to reach my goal of being an art teacher and so I did.
Art was and always will be my greatest teacher and it was how I found meaning in my world. It was my pathway to my own literacy and to a space of guided spiritual connection. I create art and teach art as it brings me joy to inspire personal stories of connection.
Mindful Process
As a ministers daughter, I grew up believing in spirituality and art for me created a spiritual connection that was about trusting this guided life. For me, art is a connection to spirit as I make meaning of my outer world through art. I fell in love with art through a variety of ways to create and felt connected to something special. Art is meditation, prayer and a way to make meaning, find balance and healing through connecting to heart spaces.
Art was the space where I could connect to my inner world and shape something new that was joyful healing and connection to a guided world. When I felt off-balance I would reconnect to art and find peace and calm in the learning and meditative flow of being in that creative space. The surprise came at the realisation that the more I understood art and how the elements of line shape tone colour and form-fitted together the more I understood English and how words and text created meaning. Art was my path to literacy and so my dream of being an art teacher became a reality. I always created my own art alongside my teaching practice (30 years) and have now stepped into life as a full-time artist. Now I’ve found my own unique style and now I feel free and I can learn through art as a spiritual connection that is a calming and healing process!
Knowing that I had a choice to follow my heart or trust what I was told by society and an education system that didn’t make sense to me, led to a path of trusting my inner guidance and those intuitive connections along the way. As an art teacher, I was able to support and nurture students creativity as a way to connect to emotional well being that was about balance and learning. Art has a way of connecting with our emotional stories in a way that brings a heart perspective to our learning and balances our world.
I didn’t want to be what was expected as I chose my heart over my head. Art is my greatest teacher as I found my own path to understanding my world through art.
Inspiration
I am a mixed media artist from Melbourne Australia inspired by the beauty of nature, animals and the feminine journey through stories of connection to spirit. Creating and teaching intuitive art is joyful creating of inspirational feminine mixed media art through personal stories, text and image. As a heart-centred dreamer, my mission is to inspire you to connect with your inner artist soul, through the power of personal story connections and inspirational art pieces and online and in-person intuitive art workshops, SoulCollage facilitator, guidance card readings and art mentoring. Sharing art stories as a way to nourish the soul and step into those heart centred guided spaces.
I take you by the hand and show you how to get past the blank canvas to your own joyful creative space as you discover what it means to return to your centre and step into that joyful space of allowing your creativity.
Learn to open to the guidance of your inner wise self as you create art that connects you to a joyful, healing space. Go beyond the edges of what you already know and discover the openings available through the Wild Soul Creativity Process.
Creating connecting and healing
The feminine has always been central to my artistic path as I explore connection through images, symbols and layers of story within my work. Images that emerge often surprise me as I open to trusting the intuitive creative process as an evolving and learning. Surprises and redirection are expected as the piece takes shape through a guided flow of connections. As I consider my creations I ask myself ‘what areas do I love’ then I aim to bring the rest of the work to this same place and keep stepping into the next opening to add more of what I love.
Art is about opening to trust and intuition as it is an inner journey where we can connect to the depth of who we really are. As an Isis Seichim and Usui Reiki practitioner and a SoulCollage facilitator, I combine these modalities and approaches to deepen healing within the art journey both within my own work and through workshops.
Wild Soul Creativity
As a visual storyteller at heart, art is the playful expression that feeds my soul. Art is about connection and focuses on female imagery which is a powerful and consistent source of inspiration. I am continually inspired by the amazing students I have taught from around the world in my EAL and Art classes.
I am an intuitive mixed media artist; a heart centred dreamer, and storyteller inspiring others to connect with their artist soul through simple and easily accessible techniques. I facilitate a creative, intuitive art process that guides women as they discover what it means to return to their centre and find that room to breathe as they step into a joyful space of allowing space to nurture their creative flame. For me, art is a spiritual practice that is about art as story, adventure and healing.
With over 30 years’ experience in teaching and studio practice, I have developed a process that I call wild soul creativity that is made up of a cycle of 5 areas of connection, play, layers, dreaming and celebration. Intuitive painting invites you to be playful and step into the creative spaces inside that are calling in this heart-centred intuitive process.
Artist in Residence and murals
Over the years have been involved with several artists in residencies beginning with music and life art based mural at Princess Hill High School in the late 8 that I completed with fellow artist Ben Kiels. I have been a secondary school teacher for many years and the artist in residencies were much more about being the facilitator as a master artist and shifting responsibility to the students than traditional teaching in high schools.
This role also has a more community-based feel that I love. It was not until the mid-2010 that I was lucky enough to explore this roll again at 2 different spaces and with 2 very different groups at Myuna Farm which In Doveton, Melbournes. All of these experiences were amazing experiences of working within a close community group.
Mural highlights and Community canvases
There have been many other mural projects within the school setting but the highlights are the one that was selected for exhibition in the national gallery of Victoria as part of a student art pieces selected from various schools across the state with a focus on peace. The other was a series of panels that my year 9 students created that were installed in an old people’s home in Pakenham. Love it when the work is shared and enjoyed by so many especially with the creative efforts of these young artists.
The experience of developing a community canvas circle art piece focusing on spirit animal wisdom connection was an adventure. Gathering at Seven Sisters Festival and facilitating sharing and creating in community is always a joyful flow.
A mosaic adventure
The first artist in residences at Dandenong Learning Center Myuna Farm was a space for disengaged youth to help them find their way back into the school system. I worked with a small group of young teenagers selected from across the Southern region. Together we created a totem pole decorated with mosaic tiles that were installed in the grounds of Myuna Farm.
The second artist in residency involved working with students selected from 5 different primary schools as we developed a mosaic pathway for installation next to the aviaries. This was a large and detailed project which required a great deal of coordination as I learnt to facilitate these younger children in a mosaic pathway with a health theme. They were both amazing learning experiences that I will never forget and highlights of my career so far. I love working in communities and the involvement and learning along the journey is wonderful.
Commissions
I create art pieces (and other creative projects by commission! I’m open to doing all types of art and mixed media projects that link to the style of work you see on this site. If you would like a more personalized piece, feel free to contact me. If you have an idea and are unsure if it fits my portfolio please feel free to ask. I have experience in a wired range of art forms from acrylic, mixed media, small ceramic and mixed media sculptures to mosaic artist in residencies. If you have any ideas for projects you’d like me to look at and work on feel free to ask as it is always nice to dialogue with people who are interested in what you do. .I do mostly fantasy and figurative mixed media paintings focusing on the eternal feminine and images of guides and angels that aim to inspire through personal art story telling.,Commission prices are and based on materials and time spent. In fact, I love to be prompted in different directions because it helps me explore story possibilities which is when magic happens.
My work is intuitive and explores the feminine which has always been central to my artistic identity as I explore connection through images, symbols and layers within my work.
© Cheryle Bannon 2023. No works contained in this site may be reproduced without permission of the artist.
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Cheryle Bannon
Intuitive Artist
cherylebannon@gmail.com