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Studio Visit with Hannah Stouffer

Posted on July 15 2015

STUDIO VISIT WITH HANNAH STOUFFER



A sneak peek of what Hannah Stouffer has been up to, a bit about her process, and her thoughts behind her work as she prepares for her duo exhibition with Hilary White, "Ingress Egress".

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The title of the show is Ingress / Egress which is passageway vs. departure. Hilary and I both work in themes of meditation, belief and faith, from both a spiritual and physical standpoint and really liked the contrast of the two title words, coming / going, light/ dark, rising / departing like the tides.

The work I'm focusing on is based on meditations of different levels through patterns, symbols and organic elements. In a way, gateways to personal (or the viewers) meditations. I've almost been doing these circular and geometric receptive patterns, mandalas, or meditations rather. By definition they are a depiction of the universe, of elements and forces and gods that drive it.


By meditating, you focus on the symbol, or the patterns, and move mentally towards the center of it. By doing this you are made more aware of the deep levels of meaning in it and behind it. My idea is that I do this in creating them, that they are very meditative, and I hope to pass that on... the peripheral function. They are an attempt by the conscious self to recognize and integrate unconscious knowledge with the light imagery, patterns, shapes and colors that I'm using in the works.


My work is of course on the lightest side of the mandala, yantra or enlightmenment but I like that they represent the realities of life beyond the world of physical forms . . . and to the spiritual. I don't want to get too metaphysical with this all, but just more consciously aware and spiritual on a level of basic beingness . . .  


ARTIST PRACTICE 

The conscious and the subconscious are directly connected, and thats kind of the key to awareness.

I meditate regularly, exercise regularly and am pretty conscious about consistent healthy practices. I make 3 meals a day for myself most days and am very conscious of my subconscious. That IS the practice.


Acceptance is a huge part of basic beingness and of course that is always a struggle. Simply accepting what is, in yourself, in others, in existence. There are a lot of outside influences that we don't have any control over, and you could drive yourself mad struggling with always trying to change them, and people do. It's unfortunate, but a lot of the problems are way bigger than we are, so at a base level, acceptance is truly the only way to stay sane, positive and continue on your own path.
 

I practice regularly with a group at Against the Stream, a meditation center based on Buddhist methods and practices. I have a couple friends that host meditations at their housed and I like to consider a lot of my illustration practice to be highly meditative. Thats kind of why I do it.

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Please email sara@paradigm-gallery.com if you would like to receive a digital collector preview catalog for the exhibition.
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Jul 07, 15   •  By Sara
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