Art Prints and Feng Shui in Your Decor

Feng Shui is perhaps an infinite body of knowledge that may take a lifetime to fully embrace. At the same time, one of its countless, stunning beauties is that it is intuitive and easy to begin. Any one of us can make simple changes in our homes that will yield far larger shifts in the quality and perhaps even the very course of our lives. Although sounding quite mystical, at its very essence Feng Shui is the ancient art of placement with the intention of strengthening the flow of positive energy. This positive energy, or chi, helps you to realize your dreams and live a more harmonious life.

One kind of Feng Shui is Symbolic Feng Shui. It’s an easy one to start with and relates well to interior design. The Feng Shui of symbols is based on the idea that your house “speaks” to you every moment you spend there. The “messages” may be infinitesimal, but they are constant and so have a cumulative effect on your mood and more importantly on your overall attitude. And how we see the world, with a positive attitude or a negative one, in many cases determines our successes and failures, our happiness or our persistent negativity.

Imagine, for instance, that the bookcase in your home office is crammed with old college textbooks. Your files are unorganized and littered with outdated resumes and unfinished projects. Even the furniture is arranged in a way that makes getting to the printer and over to the fax machine less than ideal. Is it any wonder that you feel “stuck” in your career path? There may be many reasons you haven’t begun to change your situation. Certainly, however, one of the culprits is that all visual cues 24-7 are telling you that you ARE indeed stuck in the past.

A more specific visual cue that speaks to us every day in every room of our home is our artwork. Here is a wonderful opportunity to incorporate symbols of beauty, peacefulness, love, abundance and success into our décor while infusing our living spaces with vibrant, nourishing energy. If you already have an abundance of artwork that you love, stir the energy by moving it around. Sometimes we see an image with fresh eyes in new surroundings. Make sure each is hung just at eye level. (Most of us tend to hang pictures too high.)

Now consider the symbolism in the art prints pictured at right. Once you have the idea, you’ll be able to choose prints that will uplift the energy for your particular situation.

1. By far the easiest is to choose a print that is simply attractive to you, that speaks to your inner artist. These images make you feel good. Look at Photo 1, Almond Blossom by Vincent Van Gogh. If you were drawn to this image, that in itself would be enough. The symbolism, however, goes beyond that. The tree shows life and the numerous blossoms exude a sense of abundance. A wonderful art print for our energy flow and for our décor!

2. Feng Shui loves color and each color is like a vitamin for our emotions, red for motivation, violet for intuition, yellow for focus … Displaying lots of colors is a balanced way of bringing vibrant energy into our lives. See Photo 2, Squares with Concentric Circles by Wassily Kandinsky. If your décor is contemporary, this may be a good print for bringing vibrant color to your space. In Photo 3, Mark Rothko’s, Violet, Green and Red, we see not only vibrant colors but the horizontal line. Begin to consider line when choosing artwork. Verticals exude energy whereas horizontals give off a restful vibe. Use care with diagonal motifs which create tension.

3. Your artwork can be like a dream board. It can show a place you’d like to travel one day or a faraway place you’d like to live. See Photo 4, African Skies.

4. The artwork in Photo 5 has a strong, nourishing energetic theme that can easily be found in artwork of any size, style and price point. It is that of the continuing path. Look at the print, Snowy Landscape by famous Japanese artist, Utagawa Hiroshige, and notice that there is a flowing path of water for which we the viewer cannot see the end. This flow represents for us the healthy, never ending flow of energy in all areas of our lives. We may also find paths in landscapes and cityscapes. Additionally, the bridge is a universal symbol of a connection to new beginnings.

5. As a Feng Shui consultant I know that there are many who are looking for companionship and love. Could we really add a bit of cupid energy to our living spaces through Feng Shui? You bet. Photo 6, Parisian Kiss , is full of symbolism. There is the couple, the kiss, the path … and did you notice that even the rain has stopped? If your preference is for something a little more subtle, the symbolism in Photo 7 is just as powerful. The Feng Shui mind is the subconscious mind. And the subconscious mind is literal. The graphic depiction of two or a pair in Wakefield Feather and Flame by Derek Harris sends us the message of love and companionship just as strongly as the Parisian Kiss if that is what our intention was in choosing it.

Use symbolic Feng Shui with the artwork you already own and any you plan to buy to begin transforming your home into the sanctuary you’ve always dreamed of … the one that will promote happiness, abundance, peace of mind and maybe even the sparkle of romance!

If you enjoyed this article you may also want to discover your unique colors, those hues vital in the creation of an environment that enriches your life with unimagined abundance and ever diminishing stress, read ColorFlow, Discover Your Perfect Colors, Experience Life’s EasyFlow, by Patricia Kay Lebow (aka Iris Lebow) available for just $12.95 at www.Amazon.com