Art, the Bridge Between Ancient and Modern Sensibilities
The art of placing or arranging spaces auspiciously. A system for arranging your surroundings in harmony and balance with the natural world. Divination from configurations of natural earth objects. Connecting the modern world with the ancient inspiration of nature. Each of these describe concepts commonly recognized – Feng Shui and Geomancy. Soon to join this group will be the designs of artist Javor Skerlj Vogelnik.
Vogelnik creates master works of art using materials and inspiration provided through our natural world. From lamps to furniture and even fully curated spaces, his designs are the embodiment of bridging two worlds, the ancient with the modern.
Vogelnik was not always artistically inclined. He chose to study sports because it would allow him to spend time in nature and be actively engaged with his body. He later found out that living his life as a sportsman was unfulfilling and left him feeling disconnected and isolated. “I’m from a family of artists. My grandmother is a writer and illustrator. Others are architects, puppeteers, singers, and dancers,” Volgenik says, “so I later started studying Geomancy
as an art like Feng Shui.”
He moved to London to pursue creating a music album. Music was something he enjoyed and he hoped it would bring him more fulfillment. Making that decision turned out to be a serendipitous and important one. During this time he took part in a shamanic ritual that transformed his view of life.
“There was a longing for support, a quality was missing, a spiritual component.” Vogelnik says. Back in Slovenia and with the help of his mentor, Marco Potachnik – earth healer and stoneworker, he began to learn more about nature and how humans can connect with it on a spiritual level. Because according to Vogelnik, “the way we live now [in modern society] prevents us from doing so.”
During this time, by chance or more serendipity, Vogelnik inherited a lakehouse. This was an ideal place to foster and support his journey to connect spiritually with nature. Armed with the knowledge he had learned from this mentor and the artistic influence from his family he spent a decade learning to reconstruct himself to function in the everyday modern world while honoring the deep divine connection he had been cultivating. Vogelnik began to create work of his own with the goal of connecting with the ancient knowledge and spirituality found in the natural world.
“It was an intense process of learning to affix with the place and land.”Vogelnik says. He started by working with wood found in the surroundings of his lakehouse and creativity started to flow though him as he engaged with his practices and began to relate to what he calls “the subtle worlds of the earth.”
“Most of the woodwork received inspiration from what I experienced in nature – the movement from a river, the incline of a mountain, whimsical notions of fairy beings and dragons,” Vogelnik states. One look at the objects and spaces Vogelnik expertly executes, and the influences he has derived from his spiritual quest shine through brightly carried by a serene energy of calm.
Despite coming from an artistic family background. Vogelnik’s techniques are largely self-taught. Though he doesn’t stick to a strict process, instead he allows the materials to shape and guide what they will ultimately become. He works with intention to allow sensations and dream to imbue his work.
“It’s a relationship, a constant conversation in another language of how I relate to what I’m making AND how humans can find a way to create a bridge to a new dimension of being connected with each other and the land in a deeper way.”
In alliance with his evolved life approach and spirituality, the quantity of work he creates is not a priority. He prefers to allow the worlds path for his artwork to happen naturally. “Each time I sell a piece of art, I buy more tools and try new things,” Volgenik says. In this way his creations continue to changes as he fuses with the natural world in new and different ways. In this way the symbiotic connection grows and evolves – he creates work with materials from nature, someone purchases that piece and hopefully gains new insight into Vogelnik’s unseen world of nature, and he uses the profits to continue his artistic and spiritual journey through life.
To follow Javor Skerlj Vogelnik on his path and to see his fantastic and whimsical creations follow him on InstaGram @panlights or visit his website www.panlights.com.