To Eleanor Milne spirituality is something different from religion. The natural spirit that is behind the production of artwork is not restricted to denomination, but instead has broader links to the magical relationship between art objects and creators and viewers. While Eleanor Milne's early work retained links to her Roman Catholic upbringing, she insisted that "the claim that there is such a thing as Religious art is ridiculous. There is no final division between the 'world' and the 'other world'" (Note in one of Milne's personal sketchbooks, 1959/60). For Milne, spiritual art has links to the imagination, which she perceives as being part of the soul. Pictures are everywhere in life, and this endless supply of images can offer viewers a brief glimpse into the spirit of our everyday world.
While working on her sculpture "Monumental Group" (Our Lady of Fatima and Three Children) for the Jesuit Brothers of Beaconsfield, Quebec, Milne was contacted by one of her friends who told her of Ivan Mestrovic. Her friend urged Milne to consider going to study with him, because she would find him a spiritual kin. With Mestrovic, Milne learned of the Eastern Catholic traditions, and expanded upon her own concepts of spirituality. During Milne's time as Dominion Sculptor she often had to suppress her spiritual side in her efforts to create public art. Milne explains that public art requires that artists provide more than just their spirits, that people need something to see, a language of pictures and symbols. Even with this practical reality, Milne was able to infuse her public pieces with deeper symbolic and spiritual meaning.
All
of Milne's art has been concerned with the belief in natural spirituality,
and she communicates this energy through the light involved in her work.
It has been Milne's challenge since retirement to re-enter her dream world,
where personal imagination can be pursued. Her recent paintings exploring
the Apocalypse are investigations into spiritual questions and ideas that
Milne is still trying to clarify for herself. Just as it has always been
for Eleanor Milne, for many young artists the understanding of their spiritual
sides is essential to the creation of their art.
Milne talks about why she thought it important to include the ancient Egyptian eye symbol seen in the detail above of her painting of the episode of the woman crowned with stars and her child (Rev. 12).
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