Self Portraits: A Gallery of Ariel's Expressions of herself
Artistic Entanglement Mission
Artistic Entanglement is a celebration of chaos, curiosity, and the magic of happy accidents. It’s a space where bold paintings, quirky collages, handmade objects, and everyday goods meet the spirit of “oops, I just arted” — a reminder that experimentation, imperfection, and creative messiness are essential parts of making art and making meaning.
As both artist and art therapist, I weave together art-making, storytelling, self-care tools, and advocacy to inspire others to explore their own creative tangles. Through art therapy prompts, symbolic artwork, community reflections, and imaginative short stories, Artistic Entanglement invites people to look closer, play freely, and discover the healing potential of artistic expression.
Biography
I am a multimedia artist and art therapist born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Ariel earned a B.A. in Art with a multidisciplinary concentration and a minor in psychology from Marylhurst University in 2018, followed by a Master’s in Art Therapy from Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling in 2022. This combined foundation in the arts, psychology, and therapeutic practice deeply informs both the intention and introspective quality of my work.
A lifelong seeker, I have always been drawn to understanding the universe through both science and spirituality. Worlds of science fiction and fantasy shaped their imagination early on, nurturing a fascination with story, symbolism, and the mechanics of how things are made. This curiosity often led me to take objects apart — sometimes successfully, sometimes not — in an effort to understand their inner workings. That same impulse now drives my creative process, which probes questions of meaning, structure, chaos, and transformation.
Identifying as a surrealist and an agent of both chaos and creation, I channel my vibrant, chaotic internal landscape into bright colors, unusual textures, and unexpected material combinations. Motifs of entanglement, archetypal symbols, and expressive emotional states run throughout my work, reflecting themes of hope, despair, connection, absurdity, and the fundamental wonder of being alive.
As an art therapist, my personal art practice functions as self-care and a way of navigating the world. Creating art helps me organize and interpret my inner experience, offering a bridge between internal complexity and external expression. Through each piece, I invite viewers into a shared space of curiosity, symbolic meaning-making, and emotional resonance — an exploration of the creative forces that shape both the self and the world.