We’re looking forward to introducing you to Rowan Mastandrea. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Rowan, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
Walking a path of creative self-sovereignty is paramount to me. I live with purpose. While I don’t know a lot of details about where my path is going, I know how to stay on it. The foundation is my diet. Keeping my basic chemistry stable is crucial. It maximizes my ability to stay clear, grounded, and in tune with my intuition. I also regulate my cultural intake to protect my nervous system from overstimulation. This allows me to live in a deeper reality that is aligned with my creative vision. Artistically, integrity is as important to me as technique and productivity. Am I creating from a place of integration or fragmentation? That energy permeates the work. Living in alignment with my own timing, vision and creative directives helps my outer reality match my integrity.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a multi-disciplinary artist working intimately with the subconscious. I consistently work at my creative edge, well beyond my comfort zone to see what can be done. By staying emotionally present, non-linear, and instinctive, the results are often raw, ambiguous, layered and mysterious. My work is labor-intensive, unpredictable and demanding. Through fearless experimentation and bold risks, I incorporate revelations and surprises that emerge during the process. My work uniquely juxtaposes the feral and refined, substance and playfulness, vitality and sustained labor. The results are other-worldly and vigorously alive.
I recently concluded the solo show Fiber Diaries at Aurelia Gallery in Santa Fe. This showcased everything from tapestries and garments to large-scale animal sculptures. Currently I am continuing fiber pieces while returning to drawing and painting.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Bonds between people break down when patterns of relating devolve into the habitual perceiving of one another. Expecting certain responses and behaviors encourages reactivity instead of authenticity. Assuming we know each other means losing curiosity and a genuine interest in how someone thinks and feels. But do we ever truly know how someone thinks and feels when we are always changing? It only takes one person to step out of the script. Sometimes one caring question such as “How does that make you feel?” can shift the interaction in profound ways and provide the opportunity for a deeper connection. We create each other in the sense that our perceptions strongly impact what is allowed expression or existence in any dynamic. De-conditioning our responses and understanding there is always more to know, helps our bonds heal.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
A defining wound for me came from an abusive relationship where upon leaving, my artwork was destroyed and returned to me unsalvageable. Many years passed before I realized the impact of the ongoing abuse. It caused a near-paralyzing fear of exposing my art to the world. When someone you are close to, who should be the person supporting, uplifting and protecting you, intentionally violates the expression of your soul it’s easy to internalize their desire to extinguish your spirit. While I felt relief that the cruelty, dismissal and manipulation I lived with on a daily basis was finally exposed, I knew I had a long road of recovery ahead of me. Surviving abuse is one thing, healing and rebuilding yourself is quite another.
Art Therapy has been pivotal in my recovery. My own efforts reached a dead end at one point. I could see my self-defeating patterns clearly and in real time, but I wasn’t able to break out of the deepest ones on my own. I have also healed by revolutionizing my relationship with myself. I learned how to give myself the same grace, love and encouragement that I give to others. I made a point to build trust with myself and step up as my own protector when needed. Over time, witnessing myself chose my own safety and well-being over someone else’s desires or manipulations built my self-worth. I can still become anxious when showing parts of myself to the world, but now I emphasize that no matter what happens, I will always give myself unconditional love.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Culture can lead the way for humanity. It is the province for deep, collective change. Art is not simply entertainment. It is not neutral. It has the ability to heal or disempower. There is so much more to our lives and inner realities than what is being represented and fixated upon. We are sentient beings experiencing an ever-expanding dynamic field of emotions, thoughts and experiences. The collective psyche needs to be supported into coherence by its culture through life-affirming and soulful creations.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I deeply understand that the culture we consume imprints on our subconscious and thus impacts our internal state. It’s not different than how foods we consume either support or antagonize our bodies. The psyche is profoundly absorbent. It is a significant factor in shaping our reality, both individually and collectively. It records what it is exposed to and internalizes it over time. This influences our emotions, cognitive patterns, and fundamental sense of safety and coherence. Carefully curating cultural input is an important part of regulating our energy, thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It can transform our nervous system, our chemistry, and thereby our functioning and well-being on all levels.
Artists are powerful shapers of the collective unconscious and as such, are in a position to be a guardian as well. If creators take responsibility for the impact their art has on our internal landscape, they can be a force for personal and cultural transformation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Rowanfinearts.com
- Instagram: @rowanmastandrea
- Other: Aurelia Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Adelante Gallery, Carefree, AZ
Image Credits
Frank Okun for the portrait next to the large coyote tapestry
All other photos were taken by me
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
