170. What your Symbols are Trying to Tell You: Three Art Practices to Try Today

Ask me a question or let me know what you think!What if the images you're naturally drawn to are telling you something about yourself?Symbols have been part of human expression for thousands of years, from prehistoric cave paintings to religious imagery to contemporary abstract art. But symbols aren't only something we find in museums, books, or ancient cultures. They are part of our own inner lives, too.In this episode of The Modern Creative Woman, Dr. Amy Backos explores how we can use symbols strategically as a creative tool for self-understanding. Drawing from Carl Jung's ideas about symbolism, she looks at three powerful forms of imagery: animals, circles and mandalas, and modern abstract art.You'll explore why you might feel especially drawn to a particular animal, how a favorite animal can become a personal symbol, and how making art of that animal can help you explore qualities you may want to cultivate in your own life.Amy also explores the circle as a universal symbol of wholeness and invites you to begin noticing circles in your everyday environment. From mandalas to architecture, religion, science, and ordinary objects, the circle appears everywhere. Paying attention to it can become a simple mindfulness practice and a way of considering your own sense of wholeness.Finally, you'll enter the world of abstract expressionism and the use of color as emotional language. Without having to draw something recognizable, you can use color, shape, movement, and texture to make an internal experience visible. Sometimes the image tells you something before you have the words to explain it.This is a different way of thinking about creativity. The goal isn't to make beautiful art. The goal is to use art to know yourself.In this episode, you'll discover:Why humans have used symbols throughout historyHow an animal can become a personal symbol and guideWhat your attraction to a particular animal might revealWhy the circle appears across cultures, religions, science, and artHow mandalas can be used as a practice of exploring wholenessHow abstract art can give form to emotions that are difficult to articulateWhy making “ugly” or imperfect art can actually be liberatingHow to use color strategically to explore your emotional stateWhy your personal and cultural associations with symbols matterHow creativity can become a tool for accessing your own inner knowing🎨 Try this after listeningChoose an animal that immediately catches your attention. Don't overthink it. Look through photographs, magazines, Pinterest, or images of animals and notice your immediate yes or no response.When you find one that feels compelling, make something with it.Draw it. Paint it. Collage it. Write about it.Don't worry about whether it's good.Instead, ask yourself:What qualities does this animal have that I am drawn to?What might this animal represent for me right now?And then see what you discover.Another creative invitationTry making an abstract painting using only color.Choose several colors intuitively and create three or four sections on your paper. Let the colors blend, overlap, collide, or remain separate. Don't try to make a picture.Then step back and look at what you've created.What does the image tell you about how you're feeling?Sometimes the art comes before the explanation. As Amy discusses in the episode, putting an internal experience onto paper can make something that felt vague or unreachable suddenly available for exploration. Books & Ideas MentionedI Saw a Purple Cow by Anne Cole, Carolyn Bushnell, and Betty WeinbergerCarl Jung's Man and His SymbolsWomen's books on symbols, mythology, and sacred objectsAbstract Expressionism and the paintings of Mark RothkoAnimal symbolismMandalas and the circle as a symbol of wholenessSupport the showExplore the Modern Creative Woman Communityhttps://moderncreativewoman.comFree Goodies and Subscribe to the Monthly Newsletterhttps://moderncreativewoman.com/subscribe-to-the-creative-woman/Connect with Dr. Amy on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/dramybackos/