Travels From The Inside Out - Closing reception Sept. 17, 6-8pm Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO!

“What legendary travelers have taught us is that the art of travel is the art of seeing what is sacred.” Phil Cousineau form the Art of Pilgrimage

Back view of exhibit with my paintings and Caroline’s sculptures. ©Amy Guion Clay 2022

Travel comes in a myriad of forms.

In my current show with Caroline Douglas, we define travel as the title suggests - it’s an experience and expression from the inside out.

Travels from the outside IN:
Arguably, I would say most people are motivated by OUTSIDE IN travel. Here we consume and digest the newness of the external world. We are thrilled and stimulated by our senses - the smells, visuals, sounds, languages, cultures of the diverse world around us.

For some it’s more about unwinding from the grind of their work life, enjoying the buzz of a margarita on a beautiful tropical beach, a chance to check out and reduce the noise of everyday life. These forms of travel can be both exciting and healing.

South wall of the exhibit with my paintings and animation along with Caroline’s sculpture. ©Amy Guion Clay 2022

Travels from the inside OUT:
And then there is traveling from the INSIDE OUT. This kind of travel goes beyond our senses. It’s more akin to pilgrimage, a sacred kind of journey. The motivation is to see the world with deep presence, to look beyond the surface of things to the essence of place.

It calls for a profound gratitude - not just for the beauty beheld, but for the experience of being connected to the fullness of life in all it’s diversity.

Travels From the Inside Out goes even further - it calls for a creative response to the new and formerly unknown landscape, which then evokes something new - the longing for an art form expressed.

This is what all of my artwork is about. It’s always about longing, and how to craft a visual narrative that describes the internal experience. It’s about attention and awareness, and then making marks from a deep listening place.

From this internal place, the works in this exhibition were born. All of the artworks were created in the past year as I moved from Sonoma County in California to Andalucia and Galicia, Spain, and then to the UK - Cornwall, Glasgow and finally the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Each place had it’s hand in the creation of the work you will see, and therefore none of the paintings and animation shown would exist but for my experience of being THERE. I’m ever curious about what will pass through my hands on to the surface, depending on the environment I’m in.

“To set out on a pilgrimage is to throw down a challenge to everyday life” Huston Smith

We all can have the experience of traveling from the inside out. It is an opportunity to craft a deeper intention on our journey. We can plan the experience to include simple practices of attention and listening, zooming in on the details of each place, not just the grand visuals that grab our attention. Find the subtle beauty evident everywhere. This is ecstatic Being, and is available to us at all times - whether we are in our hometown or on the other side of the world.

Closing Reception on Sept. 17, 6-8pm. Join us!

Dairy Arts Center Show Statement:

“Amy Guion Clay and Caroline Douglas both find their inspiration from moving through the world as artists, dropping beneath the surface into different cultures and unfamiliar environments that awaken their creativity. Their multi-media exhibition will take the viewer on a journey of discovery through their extensive paintings, sculptures, etchings and installations.

Amy’s paintings, etchings, journals and animations are a reflection of her travels as an artist in residence around the world, often referencing elements of nature such as trees, birds and water and merging them into her non-literal works that represent the Holy Longing. Each place inspires the sense of the journey that is both known and unknown.

Caroline’s ceramic sculptures and paintings are born of dreams and visions – her animals and often hybrid humans are shamanic beings and wise healers that move from the spirit world into sacred form. She is inspired by new animals, faces, costumes and architecture that influence her storytelling of these places through new forms.”