Healing Ourselves and the Earth: An Interview with Cover Artist, Orly Faya

The Lovers, by Orly Faya

Part artist, part activist, part ritualist, and part therapist, Orly Faya's work reminds us that, as she puts it, "humanity was born from the Earth and it is intrinsically connected to one living biosphere." Faya first began observing humanity's distance from its interconnected and dependent nature during her extensive travels, and was called upon to heal this disconnection by painting people into the Earth during a ceremony in Peru.

When she put out a message offering to paint humans into the world, people responded and she created seventeen pieces in the span of twenty days. The images were put into an exhibition, but Faya soon realized the focus of the project "was about the experience with the people that were involved in the process."

For Faya, the creation of each piece is a conversation between herself, the people being painted, the natural environment, and the mystery of existence. Before agreeing to paint each piece she has a conversation with her client to ensure they carry a strong intention. This is not a tourist exercise, it is a spiritual practice. She guides each client into an intimate relationship with the landscape through meditation and a ceremony honoring the Earth which is crucial for the painting process.

The piece seen here, titled "The Lovers" was the result of particularly synchronistic process during which, as she puts it, "the metaphors [were] very real." She climbed a mountain with the young couple with the intention to paint them into an expansive landscape, but the sky was cloudy. Undeterred, the couple looked through the brush to find a place where a column of light entered just perfectly. The couple embraced, at times leaning too much on one another and at times not leaning enough. Through the process they learned to gain strength from themselves and the Earth that enabled them to stand still through the two hour long painting process. Lived experiences like these helps to re-establish a relationship between the body and the Earth through healing and connection.

Ceremony, healing, and activism all blend together in a journey that Faya takes with her clients. Her work has brought her to work with multiple environmental organizations such as The World Wildlife Fund and The BioSphere Foundation to spread awareness about the linked fate between the Earth and humanity. Faya describes that in the midst of global climate change, "we're using all of these resources only to our detriment. So we remember who we are through the journey of understanding that we came from the Earth and therefore should honor it."