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Jacki Morie  –  visual artist
Click for larger image " Artists and scientists –– at least the best ones –– never lose that sense of wonder that motivates children to explore and come to know their world."
       
 
How were you motivated to choose your particular field?
  The most important sense is the sense of wonder! When we are children, we are driven to explore our world any way we can. We start out as babies, with no pre-conceived ideas about what we will see, hear, touch, smell or experience on a daily basis. We learn from these senses how the world around us is constructed, and how to interact with it in many ways. Artists and scientists--at least the best ones--never lose that sense of wonder that motivates children to explore and come to know their world.

You may have heard the old advice that we "put away the things of childhood" when we grow up. I think many people take that well-meant advice too far, and let go of part of what makes us interact with our world in the most special and awe–inspiring ways. My being an artist/scientist is just the continuation of the wonder that I felt as a child in a strange and awesome new world.

It is also is about exploring the processes that can lead me to some end, to some thrilling new discovery. Oftentimes it is an end or discovery I can neither foresee or predict, but because I loved the process of discovery itself, it is okay if something (an experiment, a painting) does not turn out the way I might have anticipated. In fact, anticipating the end result is often self–defeating. My own artistic vision and style is much more about searching out all the parts and seeing what flows from those, without trying to unduly influencing the end result. One of the best things about these explorations is that you learn as much from something that doesn't work out as you do from something that does (sometimes more!)

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What can you share about your creative process?
    Creativity is what makes us uniquely human. No other entity on Earth creates; it is the wellspring of our humanity, tied to our wonder in the world, ourselves and our surroundings. It is also tied to our spiritual nature and our spirit of sharing. When I create art, I don't do it consciously, but rather try to tap into some deeper levels of what we all share. My artwork may be specific in the sense that it is a picture of someone or something I know, but in every sense it also about universal experiences that we all can recognize and share, even if they can't be directly named. My artwork reaches out to people on a deep emotional level, and one that I hope touches others with the same inspirational energies I feel when creating.

I believe that art is generated by a vital force within a person and that force can continue to revitalize others through the sharing of the work of art for generations to come. It is through this force, this vitality, that we not only come to know ourselves, but also that which we all share in our collective humanity, since we are all connected.

 
       
 
What ideas do you have for a future human community on Mars?
  The Mars community will take our wonder to new bounds. It may well lead to the next step in the evolution of the human spirit. But just as a person should not leave behind the most exceptional parts of childhood when growing up, explorers on Mars should remember to take with them and perpetuate the most enduring and precious aspects of our life on earth. Humanity will still be connected, despite the distance, and that vitality from our explorers on Mars will flow back to those residing on earth.

Listen to Earth–created music and understand where the inspiration came from; then taking the inspirations all around you, create your own. Do the same with images, words and experiential art such as plays, virtual environments, and games. Create so that we can all share in your adventure. Explore so we can all learn what you will discover. Let the energies flow back to enrich us all.

 
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