Karma HuBB Interviews.

Healing with Creativity and Community with Andrea Sauer

Andrea Sauer was formally trained by local artist David Zuccarini and then at Maryland Institute, College of Art for both graduate and undergraduate studies in painting and then pedagogy. She has moved into multiple media over the years. Currently, her teaching and her art, center around using intentional creativity to foster play and joy and also process the hard challenges that inevitably happen to each of us. An Apache Elder and acclaimed artist, Judy Tallwing (American Visionary Arts Museum), participated in an art residency at Fallston High School where Andrea taught for almost a decade. Tallwing taught Andrea and her students how to use special paints that contain metals and oxides along with acid washes that create beautiful patinas. She also spoke of the reciprocity Native Americans have with the land and even taught students how to incorporate stone and minerals into the paint. Each imbued with different healing powers. This became pivotal in Andrea’s journey to create as a spiritual practice. Shortly thereafter, Andrea started studying
shamanism which caused a shift in every aspect of her life. Shamanism has guided her latest works and how she approaches teaching. She focuses on how gratitude and awe (the kind that almost only ever comes from nature) and consciously making things sacred, creates an opening for healing and connection. Plants have also been great teachers and healers for Andrea. They are often incorporated physically into the painting process she teaches and her personal work. Andrea loves incorporating shamanic practices into her classes to teach students how to protect themselves energetically and how to release heavy energy and often incorporates shamanic journeys into her medicine painting classes. She pulls in any and all tools that encourage connection and healing. Anything ranging from Tara Brach’s R.A.I.N. practice to exploring Deep Brain Reorienting and bringing awareness to strategies like E.M.D.R. and tapping.

You can contact Andrea Sauer at:
sauerandrea122@gmail.com
www.andreasauer.net