According to Carl Jung, archetypes are universal, inherited ideas, patterns of thought, or images that are present in the collective unconscious of all human beings.  Back in the early 2000’s, I was very passionately studying all things esoterical and alternative that could be found in the “Self Help” section of the book store - Jung, Louise Hay, Ekhart Tolle, Marianne Williamson, to name a few.  I was restless and unhappy in my marriage and I needed to create something, I needed art in my life.  With my Father’s recent transition, I had a very special mechanical pencil of his that I cherished, I wanted to use it somehow, beyond writing in my journal.  I began drawing these curly headed images in a sketchbook.  Drawing the swirls and curly lines was somewhat of a meditation and seemed to be coming through my hand, but not consciously from my body.  The end result was fun and amusing and very cubist, but there was more to it than that.  I realized every stroke of my pencil was intentional and perfect, each drawing was completed without once using the eraser or making a mistake.  I was enthralled with the images I was creating, but they were more than just curly cue swirly pencil strokes… something mystical was happening here.  I just kept drawing and allowing this magic to come through until I noticed a pattern.  They each had their own personality, and by “they” I mean “me”.  I was intuitively drawing my archetypes.  These guys have meant so much to me over the decades because they were my therapy through the roughest of times and my pride through the more sedated.  These Archetype Heads and the Barbie work are purely art therapy at work.
The white and black pieces are modeling paste that has been burned through with a wood burning tool on black painted wood and a final coat of epoxy that allows the textures of the burned spots through making them feel like ceramic tile. They are 8”x8”. The larger colored pieces are the same process except the ground is creosote/tar painted with acrylics, burned then coated with epoxy. They are various sizes 12”x12”-18”x24”.