DIANE HERON

Automatism (aw-tom-uh-tiz-uhm) -Greek prefix aut/auto, meaning “self".

Automatism in art refers to a creative technique that accesses the unconscious mind by suppressing conscious control and allowing the hand to move spontaneously. The process can be used in drawing, painting or writing without conscious thought. This spontaneous approach is associated with Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism.

In the 1920’s Surrealist artists applied the theory of automatic actions into their artistic practices of drawing, painting and writing, which they adopted from Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical techniques. Freud referred to these unconscious flows of thought as "free associations."

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) a psychiatrist from Switzerland was significant in the analytical movement. Freud laid the scientific foundation for Jung to investigate further how the unconscious reveals itself through symbols. To recognize and understand his dreams, Jung painted and sculpted his own visions.

All of Diane Heron’s drawings and paintings are done through the process of Automatism, without premeditation and/or a plan. Where in, she is in the flow of freedom of expression by The Self.