andrewkaminskiart

[andrewkaminskiart]

You'll notice a giraffe in this instagram post. The giraffe symbolizes the inner strength to keep your feet on the ground, while having a bird's eye view. Think about what a giraffe is - a being that can graze the leaves high above so many other creatures. The giraffe has access to greater heights, and yet, stays on the earth. This post explores the shadow (Jung, C, 1959), and the giraffe helps ground me throughout this process. In order to accept your shadow, you need to accept that there are parts of us that are ugly. Each person you meet, especially the one looking bac in the mirror, has a fabulous presentation they are capable of wearing - a sort of mask. You see these masks every day. The clean cut, well-shaven man, wearing the suit, walking down wall street. The mother wheeling her baby in a beautiful stroller she bought from ikea, as she laughs with other mothers about the struggles of child care. These presentations are manicured, highly controlled, and they are necessary to survive. If a person doesn't have a presentation, they are questionable. We have an instinctive awareness of those that can't fit into a neat and tidy box - we don't feel safe around them. I find these presentations to be a fantastic blast to sculpt and share. They are a work of art, and delightful to witness. As a species, we are far from integrating our internal reality with our external one. Underneath your surface layer is such a beautiful, splendid and dynamic sequence of layers sheathing the most powerful core. Western research seems to suggest the existence of these internal realities without verifiable proof. The shadow is the part of us that seems to escape our shell, like a burst of natural gas through the earth's surface. We conceal our shadows for only so long before they take over. The more we hide these shadows, the stronger and more powerful they become. I advise myself and you to understand and write down all the parts that you hide from the world. Let's have awareness of our hidden parts, so we can start to understand and admit what is shaking inside. Let's decide to look at our shadow before the shadow makes that decision for us. #carljung #shadow #archetypes https://www.instagram.com/p/CTx-a_xge2c/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

Hello You Mover and Shaker, Some people who follow my posts may not realize something about me, but I have a sister that has cerebral palsy. I love my sister, and she has this amazing smile that lights up a room. Katie uses a wheelchair, and she needs other people to wheel her around because she doesn't have control of her motor functions. So why am I telling you this? Well, my parents came up to visit me in the Hudson Valley, in upstate NY. I decided that we'd go to Woodstock, and as we were wheeling Katie around, I started to notice something - so few places had ramps that would make it easier for people with wheelchairs to enter their buildings, stores, and restaurants. There are places that have ramps, and I encourage you to support those businesses that prioritize making their businesses accessible to people with a wheelchair. Most people aren't in wheelchairs, and the policy makers are generally not in wheelchairs either, so it is not in their self-interest to allot funding for ramps. However, when, we as the people stand up, and make those with decision-making power realize that it is in their best self-interest- to look after each other, then change happens. Everybody should have access. This post includes the face of my sister Katie, and you can also notice the rhino drawing repeated to the side of her face. Rhinos symbolize pushing forward with strength and power. No one gets in the way of a charging rhino. Creatures will clear a path (or build a ramp) to allow the rhino to move forward. This post is part of an ongoing series of squares that connect to a large grid in my Instagram profile. If you'd like to advocate for people with disabilities, please share this post. #advocate #disabilities #art #collage #instagrid #artist #cerebralpalsy #wheelchair #awareness https://www.instagram.com/p/CTc4aUXpDca/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

Has anyone else struggled with organizing their thoughts? You go the store, and you say, "What did I come here for? Which foods did I need to get? How many meals am I buying for? Do I have the money in my bank account to do this? When's my next appointment?” It's a lot to keep in order. I've found the following things have helped me navigate the many dimensions of life so I can make time for the things I love, and I make time to do the things I love- make art and connect with the world. 1. Make a checklist! Often, seeing a list of what needs to get done puts me at ease, and I can focus 100% on the task at hand, knowing that my tasks are laid out before me. 2. Have a calendar! Check this calendar consistently! I'll check this calendar in the afternoon, to know when I have to get up tomorrow morning! 3. Have a reason WHY you are doing your daily activities. I have a piece of paper where I meditate that lists my 3 major visions for where I'm going in life. So every time I meditate, I read what I'm doing, and where I'm going! I also pray each morning, and the prayer strengthens my internal compass of where I want to go! 4. Actively spend time with people who have shared visions or share the lifestyle you desire to have. We become the people we surround ourselves with. 5. Prime your environment! I have 3 different tables in my work area! 1 is for schoolwork, study, reading, research. The other is for drawing - it has my colored pencils, a pencil sharpener, and my photo reference. Finally, 1 table is for my painting - I have my paints, brushes, and some water. Because my environment has designated stations, things stay focused! Ok, what do you do to organize your thoughts (and your world)? Comment below. Also visit my profile to see my massive instagram grid, where I… organize my thoughts. This drawing in this post was collaged with other colored pencil drawings I’ve made and I added the text on photoshop. #artist #artistoninstagram #painting #drawing #collage #socialwork #organize #timemanagement #socialwork #gradschool #sunyalbany https://www.instagram.com/p/CTPt8xEAN3K/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

Hello Critical Thinker! This instagram post is for you if enjoy questioning why things are the way they are. I’m sharing a square that is part of a large grid (look at my profile to see larger picture), along with exploring and advocating for paid time off, in order to raise arguments if you agree. I argue that we as people be allowed moments of pause throughout our day, and this should be/continue to be our legal right to take breaks. In order to afford breaks, all people must be paid the sufficient amount of compensation for whatever their work may be. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Paid sick leave was available to 75 percent of private industry workers in March 2020. Among industries, access to paid sick leave ranged from 52 percent of workers in leisure and hospitality to 93 percent of workers in financial activities and information. That’s great! We should applaud businesses that already advocate for paid time off. A break can be considered a "pause", and can lead to activities such as creating art, connecting to one's food through cooking, family time, or researching how to start one's own business! We need to advocate for paid time off because without advocating this position, the need may be overlooked. Please take time off and advocate for your mental health. Plus, a well-rested employee can return to work with more strength to contribute. It was during my time off that I was able to create this art image, that continues to help me hone in my craft each day, and exercise my 1st amendment right. The face is a portrait I drew, because like James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, describes, you need to do a habit each and every single day if you want to continue to improve it. We can only improve certain habits if we have time off to work on them, and eventually, there is a possibility that we can improve enough to integrate our paid work into our craft, or have our craft reach a level of value that it alone can provide ourselves and our community a purposeful value. If you agree/disagree, please comment! #paidtimeoff #collage #artistofinstagram #advocacy #mentalhealth #socialwork #art #portrait #atomichabits https://www.instagram.com/p/CTLMYL4A17H/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

The accompanying image was fun to create, and it was an emotional break from learning and studying. To bring clarity, the definition of spirit is- the nonphysical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character; the soul. My artwork is a method to communicate to those who find themselves both loving isolation, and also long to discover treasures in their time of solitude. When you find time by yourself, you are in a unique experience- you are literally by yourself, and you know that eventually, you want to share whatever treasures you discover, at some point, with others. Why though? Why share treasures you discover in your solitude? Aren’t you just making things up, as stated by this picture? Why share your “nightmarish world” blended with both the world around you, and these supposed layers of emotional spirit? According to the APA, Carl Jung talks of the shadow, how every human has one, and how it is the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings. So, in order to integrate this shadow part of us, we need to see it, and talk about it. Jungian psychoanalyst, Richard Rohr, (2019), writes that if we ignore our shadow it has a way of entering into our way of being through the unconscious and actively influencing how we behave in many ways. It is through building self-awareness, self-monitoring, and reflective skills that we learn to recognize our shadow. Once recognized, we can start the process of integrating our understanding of it into our daily lives, into our roles. In this way, we become whole. Thus, it is is critical to not hide from our nightmares, our emotions, our spirits, but to actively integrate them. #jung #psychoanalysis #artistsoninstagram #integration #collage #artoftheday https://www.instagram.com/p/CTJCPJBjhkx/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

I think some people may not realize that art and making graphics is not the only thing I do. For the past ten years, art has been what I come home to. Creating paintings or graphic design is something that I love to do, and I’ve met a handful of emotionally intelligent people (like you) who find it adds something to their life as well. Thank you, by the way. A major work I do in the world, besides making art, is actually working with people. In 2011, I worked with inner-city teens to create two murals in one of Peekskill’s food pantries. When I moved to NYC, I worked as a teaching artist in middle schools in Harlem, Brownsville, Brooklyn, and Horizon Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx. I traveled to Thailand with a one way ticket from the money I made from working with a restorative justice and art program. The art I do has been supported by the work that I have immersed myself in for the past ten years in the field of social work. When I returned from Thailand, I found another position in social work. This position required me to relate and support people leaving, often traumatized, from the mental health system that was trying to help them. I called upon my personal experience as having lived through the mental health system- which I found traumatic and abhorrent, with the pushing of pharmaceuticals and the stigma of calling for support from a predatory system. I became a recovery specialist in which I assisted individuals who were recovering from mental health crisis. This experience introduced me to working with people in recovery from substance abuse, and so I started working with people in a hospital in recovery from addiction. The reason I’m saying all this is to integrate within myself, the truth- that we are not just one thing. I am not just an artist. I was also born to be an artist and a social worker, and help dismantle the powers at be that put me through hell, and to make sure that no one goes through what I went through. When I see others suffering, their suffering is mine. Art is one method to alleviate suffering, but it must be informed by a greater lens. That is why I’m getting my license in clinical social work starting this fall. https://www.instagram.com/p/CS181GPAzso/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

I’m in a very experimental chapter with my artwork right now. My insta profile is a giant grid that connects years of posts throughout my life. I have a hard time selling prints of my work because I don’t want to leave a carbon footprint that years from now, people will find a print or a shirt with my art on, and they’ll say, “This Andrew Kaminski Art fellow had such an ego, and how selfish to put his artwork on so many objects that future generations would have to sift through, and find places for…” If you can relate, let me know with a comment. These hashtags were from a google search “best hashtags on instagram for artists.” #art #artist #love #photography #drawing #instagood #artwork #photooftheday #like #instagram #fashion #beautiful #follow #picoftheday #photo #bhfyp #style #nature #painting #artistsoninstagram #illustration #happy #digitalart #design #me #cute #sketch #myself #smile #bhfyp https://www.instagram.com/p/CSuUbUaA81k/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

I find people fascinating. I love my solitude, and I love my privacy… but I love being around people and connecting with as many as I can. The best way to do that is looking at someone in the eyes and being seen and seeing them. You look at someone long enough, it becomes a psychedelic experience. You realize that this species is so powerful, and all we need is one mind to completely transform the universe…. We have more than 7 billion. This post is one in thousands of a giant grid on my instagram. Check it out. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCBq6fjl0y/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

I want to share a story with you. When I was younger, I came to the awareness that there is this force that connects all life. I started reading about this force, and others who realized this too called it “the self.” Kind of funny how there are 7 billion people on the planet, and we each refer to ourselves as “I” or “me”. So the self is an awareness that “I” am in all life. Well, I got pretty high off that awareness. The understanding that “I” am within all life was all the dopamine I needed. I started to not care about goals or anything because.. hey.. it’s all one, right? Then I met a person who said, “yes, it’s all one, AND for now you’re in a body, and you have a life, and you need to do what you’re here for. Your life isn’t in your body for no reason. You have to carry out your life.” It must have been her conviction, because I listened to @sandragarfinkel . Story is just beginning actually. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCBHEhjcGP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

Hi You Explorer of Consciousness, you. This is the mind’s eye peering into a dream realm. Out of the universe’s sheer desire to play, it was drawn, and now it’s entering your consciousness. Our bodies are vehicles that travel in a physical realm soaked with unmanifested possibilities. Drawing is a way to extract the unmanifest from stillness to allow the flowers of our mind to bloom. Life finds a way. This post is part of thousands of squares connected on my instagram portfolio. Visit my ig profile to see the full picture. #coloredpencil #art #drawing #artist #sketch #artwork #illustration #prismacolor #artistsoninstagram #sketchbook #draw #pencildrawing #coloredpencils #coloredpencildrawing #fanart #pencil #traditionalart #coloredpencilart #coloring #portrait #painting #watercolor #drawings #fabercastell #color #instaart #artoftheday #prismacolorpencils #colorpencil #bhfyp https://www.instagram.com/p/CRB_49uj9--/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewkaminskiart]

This post is one square of a large grid format. Visit my profile to see the full picture. If you’re having trouble guiding your focus, try getting on your knees and pray. You don’t have to be religious, but google how many thoughts the average person has each day - about 6,200. All a prayer is, is the person deciding and directing what those thoughts are. This is so powerful because we become what we think about. Can you guess what the hawk represents? Vision and will power guide the seeker. #groundingtechniques https://www.instagram.com/p/CNYioY_jXpN/?igshid=i9kml1hgauow

[andrewkaminskiart]

Check out my profile for the full picture, as this post is one square of long grid. The monkey in the center represents my curiosity with evolution. The theory that we come from less capable creatures. Where are we heading? Are humans a transitional being? A link in a chain to a greater force? Compared to our current state, our successors could be superhuman with a supermind. What does surrender mean to you? How come that word is so powerful? #Surrender https://www.instagram.com/p/CNYhUG6DqW5/?igshid=197r883ff94m1

[andrewkaminskiart]

This post is part of a large grid in my profile, so if it looks like it’s part of a bigger picture- it is. Visit my profile to go down the rabbit hole. This is a collage.. I feel like that’s appropriate because life feels like a collage. I’m putting together different fragments of my life. I pray that it all fits, and it’ll all be ok- meaning life. Truth is nobody knows where this is all heading, but when we tune into our hearts, things feel lined up. When I say “hearts,” I mean that feeling of emotional safety- the feeling of knowing, “I’m alright.” I believe we need to stop and check in with that- it doesn’t just happen. I could be having a tough day, trying to cheer up somebody who’s addicted. I work with people and I just want to hold them like these Korean War soldiers in this mural. I can’t though, or I’m not supposed to. Anyway... I pose the question, “where will consciousness take me?” I can get on my knees, fold my hands, and pray, and I can take the wheel of my life and steer. The answer becomes “whatever I pray for consistently.” #consciousness https://www.instagram.com/p/CNYgSYXDpEP/?igshid=16dy7p71vizy3

[andrewkaminskiart]

I don’t think the goal is the most important part- I think it’s a big part, but it’s not the biggest thing. As far as reaching the goal. I’d rather call them visions than goals. I can imagine what it is- whatever I have to fulfill, and then I make habits to make that picture in my head a reality.. The habits themselves though are super satisfying, and I get curious what the habits will compound to over time. It’ll be a a combination of the original vision and all the added flavor along the way. #compoundinterest https://www.instagram.com/p/CNEcXkZDL_8/?igshid=zdgxzt353395

[andrewkaminskiart]

I think life is constantly about creating an image of what we are, and then we watch it fall apart. I get to a place where I’m like, “This is what I am!” Then someone better shows up, or I find something I like doing more. Then I’m like- back to square one. #surrender https://www.instagram.com/p/CNEbkm2jWSs/?igshid=1xg2wux680rbj

[andrewkaminskiart]

I think we make up a lot of stories in our head about what’s really important and what’s not. My brain is so active- every moment, it creates another universe. I don’t think I’m special in that. #shakti https://www.instagram.com/p/CNEbJWtD3iE/?igshid=f1p8ia8b8ba5

[andrewkaminskiart]

Just faced two deaths this week. If anyone needs to know someone cares about them, I do. I care about you. I want you to live. Don’t commit suicide. We can find another way. This body is a very rare thing your soul found. Even if it’s damaged or bruised or traumatized, it still has so much potential. For those who have already made their decision and they’re resolved about leaving- then these words won’t serve you. The ones on the edge, stay here. You still have work to do. You’ll know when it’s time, but if you need someone to see you a little bit, just reach out, and I’ll do my best, or guide you to someone who can. #suicideawareness https://www.instagram.com/p/CNB2fSoDUr1/?igshid=1ewn2czvqkx81