Artwork By Ali
Intuitive Art Spirit Designs
An
interview with Alice Best, intuitive artist
…as interviewed by Diana Gardner, Ph.D.
Through
her "Intuitive Art Spirit Designs" drawn only during readings
and Messages From Beyond Spirit Message Circles,
Q:
How did you come to create the "Intuitive Art Spirit Designs”?
A:
It just happened one day out of the blue! I’d never been artistic, in
any sense of the word. I couldn’t even doodle well…mostly just lines and
scribbles on a legal pad while in court or on the phone. When I began sitting in
on private readings and next to Dennis during Spirit Message Circles, we
discovered that our twin soul energy was working together. Names began to come
to me, so I kept a pen and small writing pad handy. During the readings, I’d
write down a name, but was hesitant to say anything. My own doubt would creep
in, and I’d wait until after the reading was over and the tape recorder was
off. The first time this happened, Dennis was speaking with a woman’s brother
who’d been killed in a motorcycle accident. After the reading, I asked her,
“Who’s Angela?” She turned white, and said Angela was her brother’s
girlfriend! It surprised me, too! Since
then, many more names began coming through, and Dennis encouraged me to speak up
during the reading, rather than waiting. I began writing the names down to see
if he’d come up with the name first, so I could just confirm it by showing
what I’d already written. Then eventually I was confident enough to interrupt
the reading to ask about a particular name that was being given to me.
Along with the names, I’d doodle and scribble on the pad…most of
which looked like chicken scratches, as my mother used to say.
Then,
during a
The
date of my first drawing is significant, because my Dad was still alive that
night I drew my first “Ali”. However, unbeknownst to me, he had just that
day begun his transition to the other side. He crossed over exactly one week
later, on July 14, 2001. His drawings and “doodles” were so special to all
of us that his grandchildren created a website dedicated to him.
www.doovie.com
Q: How do you use the artwork during readings?
A:
I draw only during private readings or a “Messages From Beyond”
event…whenever Dennis is doing a reading for someone. It’s a form of
automatic writing, which is something I’ve been doing since 1982. The artwork
sort of developed as a gift from my father upon his passing. I always start with
a clean page and just let the Spirits guide me to begin drawing. It begins with
a simple stroke of the pen, which is usually a rapidly drawn non-stop flowing
line. Then, when the initial line drawing is done, I go over the same lines with
bolder strokes, sometimes adding color, sometimes adding more design work. All
of it is done without conscious concentration on the piece itself.
Q:
How do you choose the colors?
A:
I don’t. Spirit chooses
them for me. I have a lot of pens
with me, and I never know which color I’ll be using. I just use whatever pen I
happen to pick up, or whatever color feels right for the person being read.
Invariably, the person will tell me that the color I’ve chosen is the favorite
color of the person Dennis is speaking with! There’s no way I’d know that!
Q:
Can you describe some drawings that were of specific significance to
people?
A:
Oh, there are so many now, and I’m always amazed by the reactions of
the people! I’m delighted, of course, but always amazed…specifically because
I have no control of the final picture.
One
of the earlier pictures I drew was of a green frog. I used 2 or 3 shades of
green, and when the picture was completed, it looked exactly like a frog! Now, I
couldn’t have drawn a frog if I tried. I’m not even good with stick figures
when I try to draw! This was during a private reading, and after the reading was
over, I asked the woman what a frog meant to her. She smiled and simply said,
“My husband calls me “Frog”.
Another
special drawing was for Michelle, a woman who’d come to one of our circles for
the first time. Michelle’s mother, Lorraine, first spoke to me before she even
got her message through Dennis. That was a special night for not only Michelle,
but for me! I heard her name loud and clear, and I told the group that a lovely
woman named
There
have been many more significant drawings, and we’re going to be posting as
many as possible on the website, with the specific story.
Q:
How does Dennis work with you and the artwork?
A:
Dennis will look at my drawings from time to time, and he will see
initials, symbols, and designs that I don’t even see. His own guide or the
spirit he is speaking with will tell him when to look at the drawing. It’s an
amazing process. I’m still in awe of how this technique has developed, and I
know my Dad is right there assisting me!
Q:
Have you begun to see the symbols, too?
A:
Dennis is constantly encouraging me to “read” the artwork and to
interpret the drawings once they’re done. Reluctantly, I began to do so, and
I’m surprised at how much I can now see. I’ve asked my own guides to help me
with the process and they have. We only need to ask!
Q:
Do the people see the symbols as well?
A:
Yes, and I love when that happens! It’s so wonderful to see them get
excited about the messages that are coming through their loved ones. One such
drawing was during a private reading for a woman in
Q:
So, animals come through, too?
A:
Oh yes, all the time. Dennis often brings through animals who’ve
crossed over, and some who’ve come back and are in the owner’s life as a new
pet. Animals often keep coming back to the same families because the love and
loyalty are so strong. Pets are often portrayed in my artwork, by design or
initials. We see a lot of birds in my drawings, too.
One special drawing was of a parrot, and the woman almost fell off her
chair! She’d raised cockatiels and exotic birds, and they were more special to
her than people.
Q:
You mentioned “automatic writing”. What is that?
A:
For me, it’s simply the ability to have a conversation with spirits and
loved ones on the other side. I was left-brained for so many years, and my legal
background gave me years of experience with writing everything down. So, it was
natural for me to “speak” with my own guides and deceased loved ones by
writing to them. When I realized they were “writing back” was when I
discovered that automatic writing was my personal psychic tool. Just as Dennis
has the gift of hearing, seeing, and feeling what the spirits are showing him,
I’m able to receive the information through writings and artwork. In our book,
Together Again, I talk about specific “conversations” I’ve had with
my best friends, Sherril and Sandra, who crossed over in 1989 and 1992,
respectively. Those writings helped heal my own grief, and opened my awareness
of and experience with the psychic phenomena.
Q:
How did you happen to name your work "Intuitive Art Spirit
Designs”?
A:
I didn’t…Spirit did. I used to call the drawings simply
“doodles”, because that’s what I thought they were. One day, after a
private reading at our home for Lora, a fellow psychic, I was about to give the
finished picture to her. She immediately said, “No. Don’t do that! You must
not give the pictures away. You need to sell them…they’re going to be very
important to you one day.” I laughed and said, “Who would buy them?” She
was insistent and still is. That was in October of 2001.
Then,
in July of 2002, Pat, another fellow psychic, told me that she saw my designs on
bolts of fabric, and she saw them being made into many different things, such as
tote bags, shirts, hats, and scarves. She’s the one who gave me the name “Spirit
Designs”. This time I didn’t laugh...I was just in awe.
Now, I can actually visualize some of the designs being made into pieces
that people would want to have for themselves. But I never draw them with that
in mind. The process is pure and each drawing for the person being read.
Q:
Does everyone have a drawing?
A:
I’m always drawing whenever Dennis is doing a reading, whether it’s a
private reading or with individuals in a
Q:
What is the price of the drawing?
A:
This was difficult to set. Lora told me what she felt the drawings should
be sold for, but I thought her suggestion was way too high. That’s my old
issues of self-worth coming into play, I suppose. I’ve always believed that
things should be priced not only for value, but so that the average person can
afford it, too.
With
that in mind, I’ve decided that copies (on high quality photo paper 8½” x
11”) will be a limited edition personally signed by me as an original in
numbered sets of no more than 11. Each signed print will sell for $20.00 each.
(S&H is additional, as is sales tax for WA State residents.) All prints will
be unmatted and mailed first class
A: If someone wants the original artwork, I’ll discuss the price separately with each person. We will retain the copyright and ownership rights as to each picture, and will scan each drawing prior to releasing the original.
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