Introducing Shivadam Adam Burke, Artist and Musician

A fellow lover of India and multi talented artist, I met Shivadam many years ago at a fellowship where he was one of the harmonium players. Years later I was invited to experience him and his band Prema Roopa perform beautiful kirtan at his home in Phoenix, AZ, playing devotional Indian songs on traditional Indian musical instruments like harmonium and sitar. His home is lovingly adorned with many Indian crafts, art pieces and devotional items brought back by Shivadam and his wife Parvati from their many travels to India. There are many small murties (images) and photographs of Indian gods and contemporary enlightened masters from India along with the Mantra Pushpam and other books on Vedic traditions and religions like Hinduism and Sufism. I felt right at home at his place.

Ananda Ganesha: God of Beginnings

During my first visit I noticed a huge drawing of Ganesha residing over the altar and seemingly peering at all who had gathered sitting in Indian fashion cross-legged on the floor singing, clapping and swaying along as we enjoyed the ongoing kirtan, Indian devotional chanting performed by Shivadam and Parvati.

Ganesha is the god worshiped in Hindu tradition when we start a new venture or business, or any kind of new beginning. He is the remover of obstacles and god of the root center, the mooladhara chakra or energy center. The symbols in his hands represent spontaneity and dedication, emotional balance, and the state of being unclutched. Ganesha’s vehicle is the mouse which represents efficiency.

Following are some questions I was able to ask Shivadam about his Indian influenced artwork.

 

1 – What inspired you to become an artist?

I began making art almost right out of the womb, mostly little clay sculptures. One day, at about age 7, while watching my older brother drawing in pencil, I simply “knew” at that moment that I would be able to draw too, including shading, perspective, detail, etc. I have been drawing ever since.

2 – What do you experience during the creative process?

I experience a great sense of focus of attention and also a sense of inner calm as I work. Sometimes, when a particularly exciting idea or image comes as inspiration, I will become highly energized. Typically, this will keep me up very late at night, and for complex ideas that require working through or that include great detail, I may even continue to work out the details as I sleep. In such cases, I may wake up the next morning and sketch those solutions right away.

3 – What is the main message of your art?

Honestly, I don’t have a particular message, and as a result, I have not yet developed a single “body of work” or style. I continue to experiment and I prefer to take on new challenges, rather than working in the same way again and again. I do, however, prefer to create works that in some way or another suggest a subtler, more luminous or spiritual realm.

 

4 – What inspires you to become a better artist?

In nearly every case, I endeavor to be able to express perfectly, or effectively, the richness of the images I seek to create, whether I am working with original impressions from my mind or with studies of other works of art. This desire impels me to work diligently and to learn how to effectively render the elements of these pieces. As an artist, I constantly endeavor to be sufficient to the needs of the images I hope to render.

5 – How do you prevent artist’s block?

I do not prevent it! I let it be the guide. I work only when inspired to do so, and consequently, I make very little money with my artwork. For example, my “Sri Ganesh” took fully seven years to complete. I think of myself as a servant of the art that needs me to create it, and I work only when called upon to do so.

6 – How do you market your artwork?

Very sporadically and ineffectually, I am somewhat sorry to say. I have very little interest in self-promotion. There may be nothing wrong with it, and I might earn more money were I to do it, but I simply have almost no interest in that, and also not enough time. The artwork itself is where I want to devote my time and energies.

 

7 – What else is there that you’d love to share with our readers?

In my black and white works, and generally, I draw or paint the shadows of an underlying, luminous reality, to which my drawings or paintings are merely a 2-dimensional door. The lines and shading actually block the light, so my job is to do as little as possible, to get out of the way of that light and let it come through as unobstructed as I can allow.

As music shapes air, sound, which emanates from an instrument, strokes on paper or canvass simply shape and direct the light that is constantly and naturally pushing forth through, or as if from “behind,” the blank plane itself.

An artist must be able to immerse himself in beauty. And this is an inward experience of beauty, unaffected and without the influence of others’ notions and dispositions. Solitude is where I can look at the world in that way which gives birth to my particular vision, the character of my discovery of beauty. – - -

Shivadam and his wife Parvati lead kirtan for special events. Shivadam is also leading Dances of Universal Peace in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, AZ).

Thank you, Shivadam, for this certainly most enlightening artist interview. Nithyanandam (Eternal Bliss to you).

ARTWORK PURCHASE: If you are interested in purchasing high resolution unframed B/W prints or postcards of Ganesh, please visit http://shivadam.net

Gandhi prints are available on special request only. Please note, the original artwork is not for sale.

NOTE: All artwork is copyrighted by the artist.

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