ABOUT ARIZONA

From a young age I felt more in-tune with the dream world than this one. I spent a lot of time feeling more connected to animals than humans and I often saw colours and shapes around people. The shape I saw most powerfully was the Purple Diamond. When it appeared, I had a strange feeling, but without language for this sensitivity I shut off from these gifts for many years.

As a sensitive and sensory person, throughout my life I have relied on the visual as a mode self-expression, healing and understanding. Through my own healing journey and later using artistic practice with groups, I learnt that creativity and the visual has the power to heal, not just the creator but also those around them. As I continued to heal with art, I understood with greater clarity that creativity and healing are the same thing.

I found that pictorial images have a way to hit us deep into our being, past the thinking mind and into our more mysterious spaces. The energy of creation is the energy of life and this, to me, is the energy of healing.

This led me to the art of tarot.

I began drawing the cards and slowly getting a feel for them. This way of somatically understanding-by-drawing helped me to process the archetypes – finding my own interpretation within the tarot and giving me a language for the rich inner world I had so long tried to articulate. In 2020 I began hand-painting the Purple Diamond Deck which opened the door for a deep reclamation of my intuitive self.

I am deeply influenced by nature, I like to laugh, hang out with cats and be outside. I practice a form of nature-based spirituality, honouring the cycles and ceremonies we find embedded in the ancient landscapes of natural spaces.

I am thankful to be able to explore this work, I am aware that in other times, or even currently in other places this would not be possible. It is a true honour to be able to witness healing and growth in such a personal way.

Thank you for reading, I look forward to hearing from you.