About the Art

Andrea Courvoisier was born in 1963 in Switzerland. As a little girl, one of her great loves was looking at photographs of people from all over the world, particularly at their faces and the expressions of different feelings. She also loved drawing faces and had a lot of fun making faces herself. As an adult she considered studying visual arts, but felt more drawn to artistic expression through the body. Thus she studied theater, performance, voice and dance.

While exploring unusual ways of expressing herself, she confronted the rigid behavioral rules of the Swiss culture she lived in. After her training, she was more interested in learning how to live beyond cultural and personal edges in her everyday life than in earning a living by breaking cultural taboos on the stage. For her, living her art meant primarily working on relationship issues. Since the artistic community where she trained did not focus on relationship issues, she abandoned her artistic career in favor of studying psychology. Three years ago this brought her to Portland, where she has been studying process work. Andrea recently completed a BA in psychology at an alternative college which emphasized the importance of creative art work. This emphasis on art as well as intellectual pursuits inspired her to reclaim her identity as an artist. Rediscovering her creativity revived her quest for a profession that would bring together the arts and psychology. For her thesis project Andrea taught an experimental class in expressive painting in which she applied her knowledge of process work to help people over their edges with their creativity. She plans to develop this work further and create a new profession for herself. About her art:

Andrea usually paints on 19x24 inch paper with tempera paint using brushes, her fingers or spatulas. The images develop out of momentary moods, body feelings, spontaneous movements and visions. Process work has helped her perceive painting as a multi-channelled experience, where every channel offers sparks for inspiration. The creativity of the dreambody expressing itself in different channels inspires her to be creative herself. She sees her painting as a spiritual practice celebrating and honoring the ongoing creation within and around her, whether it delights or disturbs her. Hanging in there with inner critics and fear of the unknown is part of this adventure, which most often surprises and rewards her beautifully on paper. When she feels stuck with painting, the concept of the edge is a helpful tool for her to access the unknown again. Most exciting for her is to draw from a mysterious source, the unknown, and in turn to create a new, unknown, mysterious painting. She sees painting and other creative pursuits as wonderful ways of developing the courage to pay attention to the unusual or unknown and using it to have fun, expand her identity and create.