Carrie Ann Baade: " Learning hurts at first. Dancing is essential to happiness"
BPP: Who are
you? And who you really are?
Carrie Ann Baade: My name is Carrie Ann
Baade, I am a professor of art and a professional painter.
Who am I really? I am
a person who believes.
A few years ago, I
was afraid that I would become old and crusty teaching, I changed my curriculum
to include: meditation, service, and
higher education. Through these I
have found a way to bring the spiritual energy that ignites my enthusiasm for
humanity and our planet Earth.
Last year, I did a
performance art piece where I gave out PhD’s from the Universe. These could not
be just any degree offered by any university. I find that people lack
confidence and that often, they see a lack of a degree as a failure. However,
there are many experts who do not give themselves credit for their own skills, because
they are not recognized by an institution. For this reason, I gave out degrees
is Sass, Detection of Bullshit, World
Weaving, Sphinxness, Fabulousness, Climbing Stares, and one
to myself in Making Things Up. I am
aware how closely twisted genius and madness are and that sometimes we have to
risk being ridiculous to create real magic.
BPP: If you could say
something important to others who were listening, what would you tell them?
Carrie Ann Baade: Learning hurts at
first. Dancing is essential to happiness.
It takes great self-confidence
to do what you love. Right now, roll your shoulder blades on your back and show
me your heart, like you received an A+ on your 2nd grade, spelling
test. As adults, we need to shine our heart forward and tell ourselves we are doing a good job. To be
connected, we need to think with our hearts. The Egyptians may have been right
when they pulled the brains of the deceased out
through their noses. Our brain
should be working to problem solve on behalf of the heart…not the other way
around.
Lastly, the universe
is a lot more like a drive-thru Taco Bell than you may have considered. You
must know what you want, and speak clearly for it to get your order right. The
universe also doesn’t understand negatives, so please state things in the
affirmative and positive!
BPP: What is your true dream, the one that keeps
you up at night and if one day it were to come true you would feel peace and
calmness in your heart?
Carrie Ann Baade: I want to make images
that elucidate the mysteries of consciousness and the function of belief. I am a narrative painter and sorytelling is
the bases for identity and survival of myth, culture, government, science,
well-being, etc. …belief is essential to meaning. It is my hope my paintings can make a
difference in the world -without the borders of nations or boundaries of
cultures or being subject to fashion.
BPP: How is life
currently for the people in your country and what would you wish for them and
for the planet at large?
We live on a planet
where people see their body’s capability to reproduce as a right, however; our relationship
to the planet is in a critical state. It is time for each of us to steward the
earth and pick up the slack. There are so many of we humans who require
nurturing and guidance; this is no time to be elitist and only think of
ourselves. It’s time to start growing and showing up with solutions. There are
too many problems in the world for anyone to be too good or too important to
participate in our care for each other and where we live.
BPP: If you had a
chance to be a child again would you choose the same life?
Carrie Ann Baade: It would be easier
for me to ask to be a dog or a tarantula or a Persian carpet. Everything is
perfect; and I like that time appears to move forward.
BPP: What was the exact moment that you realized
what you wanted to do with your life?
How did you feel at this very moment?
Carrie Ann Baade:I was looking at a
picture book when I was 2. There were images of occupations, I chose “painter.”
I am stubborn. I just never changed my mind or did much of anything else. I
love PAINT.
BPP: Would you like
to tell us something we didn’t ask until now?
Carrie Ann Baade: Disrobe your mind. Is
it beautiful in there? Or is it scary and ugly? Would you let a friend enter?
Or would you be embarrassed at the dirt and the nasty. I swear our ability to
soil our minds is as ridiculous as the fact we defecate in our water and then
clean it in order to drink it. I am gonna say it: cultivating bad thoughts is
like taking a dump in your mind! Who wants to wallow in that stinky, cathartic
mess?
Every thought counts
and they are not invisible. Our mind is our very own garden, what we plant
there grows. Right now, it’s time to mulch that mess! Let’s imagine what might
happen if you could clean up your memories and thoughts. Reflect on your
happiest memories and watch them bloom. I recall the first time someone asked
me to do this and how hard it was…it takes practice. Now, remember some funny
stories and share this joy like fertilizer.
It takes very little
time for those weed-like thoughts to become words, and words become actions.
Those actions become your practices for living life. Allow yourself time to reflect
on your experiences in the daylight, prune back the dead stuff until you find
the moral…it’s the part that is still alive. It is up to us alone whether we
had a good or bad life. It is our personal responsibility to tend to our
internal world. I believe this is the first step to seeing more beauty in the
world around us. Your imagination is much, more powerful than you may
give it credit for. Dig down and look closely and you will see the roots of
your imagination feeding your internal and external creation. And lastly, I
love you! Thank you for this opportunity to share what has made my life more
and more beautiful.
If you want to learn more Carrie Ann Baade, please visit:
Photos copyright © Carrie Ann Baade. All rights reserved.
All contents copyright © Ismini Karali 2011 - 2013. All rights reserved.
Her work is magnificent!
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