Fusionartist,
Mystic Painter
and Teacher
Gazing
at any of Fusionartist
Rassouli’s
creative works
provides a
glimpse into
the mystic
loving eye
with which he
looks at the
world.
Rassouli has
been a
celebrated and
innovative
painter since
childhood who
later trained
as an
architect.
Born in Isfahan,
Iran, and currently
living in
Southern
California,
Rassouli has
developed an
artistic style
known as Fusionart.
He feels this
art form is an
expression of
cosmic unity,
a coming
together of
mysticism and
artistic
expression.
The development
of Fusionart
has been his
entire life’s
work,
initiated in
his childhood
influenced by
the historic
and gorgeous
home he grew
up in, a mystic
uncle and hours
watching the
whirling
dervishes
spin. Fusionart
and his
paintings blur
the line
between dream
and reality –
intentionally,
since Rassouli
sees the two
as coexisting.
Rassouli
is a prolific artist who has
exhibited in
solo and group
shows
worldwide. His
work has appeared
in and on the
covers of a
long list of
publications
and the Agape
International
Spiritual
Center has
showcased his
paintings. Inspirations
of the Heart
is his
most recent
book; it
contains a
fusion of Rassouli’s
evocative art
with Reverend
Michael
Bernard
Beckwith’s meditative
musings.
Rassouli also
creates murals
in public
space and one
of his more
recent, titled
Angel of
Unity, can be
seen by people
walking at the
ocean end of
Washington
Avenue in
Venice. The
Angel, like
many of the
women Rassouli
paints, is
radiant,
flowing, like
the breath of
the cosmos herself.
Understanding
his view on
life, love and
painting may
come best from
his own words.
He started his
interview with
Los Angeles
magazine by
talking about
his painting
Eternal Sun.
Rassouli
Rassouli: Scientists
were male so they
call it the
Big Bang. But
what does Big
Bang mean?
Somebody hit
something and
a Big Bang
happened? The
truth is that
it was a Big
Birth. It was
the divine
feminine power
that gave
birth to the
universe. We
have the
masculine
power and we
have the
feminine power
and they’re in
complete
balance. It’s just
like darkness and
light. They’re
completely
opposite of
each other and
they coexist.
Life is the
union of
opposites.
Kerri
Blackstone: Do problems
and chaos come to be because
the powers are
out of
balance?
Rassouli: Chaos
and problems are judgments. The truth
is the chaos,
problems,
potential –
all of this is
one. The union
of opposites.
Is a sunset
beautiful? Is
a sunset ugly?
A sunset is a
sunset. It’s
the way we see
it that makes
it beautiful
or ugly. If
you were to be
executed at sunset,
the sunset would
be ugly to
you. Why does
the sun shine?
It doesn’t
have any
reason. We
must accept
that the
darkness and
the light
co-exist. One
cannot destroy
each other.
KB: Sometimes
it feels like we have an
obligation to
fight against
the darkness.
What do you
say to people
who feel that
accepting
something,
maybe a bad
thing, is
the same as
giving in to
it?
R: There
are two ways of fighting. One is to
retaliate; the
other is to
prevent the
attack. To
prevent is
absolutely
necessary which
means we have
to become enough
to face that
opposition. If
I’m mad at
somebody
because they
destroyed
something that
I had, then
I’m going to
be attacking
them out of
retaliation.
That is what
is not right.
KB: By attacking
out of retaliation, we’re just
causing more
hate and anger
instead of
trying to
solve the
problem?
R: Right.
Instead I develop myself so that I’m
able to face
it. I’m
working on a
book that is
about how we
can become
empowered through
the opposition.
I talk about the
power of
limits. We
think limits
limit us but
it’s the
limits that
make an artist
begin to
express
herself.
KB: When
we’re given limits – creatively,
financially or
personally –
they force us
to become even
more creative
in order to
get around
them and reach
our goals.
Maybe those
limits that seem
like a bad thing,
actually are
helping us go
further than
we might have
gone without
them?
R: Exactly.
It is the union of the two – the
body and the
soul. The
spirit and the
body have
become one and
that’s how we
create. Imagine
if existence were
just gases –
hydrogen,
oxygen – it
wouldn’t have
any meaning.
The union of
these things
together – the
outside and
the inside –
gives it
meaning, like
a balloon. The
air and the
skin of the
balloon
together make
the balloon.
The air
without the
skin would expand
to infinity. The
skin without
the air would
be a piece of
rubber that we
usually bury
six feet
under. That
air is the
soul,
infinite, no
limits. The
skin is the
body that the
soul goes into
and gives it
form.
KB: Do you
believe the soul is eternal? Is it
something that
has always
been there and
then it comes
into our
bodies for a
time to allow
us to create
in this form
and then returns
to being
infinite?
R: Soul
is the flow. Soul is energy. It has no
identity, no
personality.
Imagine the
soul is a
river that’s
flowing.
Whatever’s
inside that river
isn’t aware of
anything; it’s
just in the
flow. But then
it comes into
a little brook
and it ends up
somewhere,
like a dead
end. That part
of the river
that is inside
the brook is
us. That part
of the river
is not happy
and it wants
to join the
flow. If it
has big high
rocks or
mountains
around it, it
gets trapped
and can’t get
back to the
river. If it
doesn’t have
any of these,
then it finds
its way back.
KB: What
are the rocks and edges in our lives?
Fears, doubts
and limits we
put on
ourselves?
R: No, those
rocks and edges are our culture,
heritage,
upbringing,
education,
what our
mothers taught
us from childhood,
what teachers
tell us, what
society tells
us, what our
religion tells
us, what
everything
tells us. The
more we’ve
learned, the
more difficult
it is for our
spirit to get
back to the
flow.
KB: That
makes it sound like learning is a bad
thing that
keeps us
separated from
our true
nature.
R: Learning
is not a bad thing or a good thing.
Education is
one thing,
training is
something
else. Learning
(or education)
is to unify
us. You and I
read the same
book, 30,000
people read the
same book, three
million people
see the same
movie or
listen to the
same lecture.
That’s one side.
On the other side,
training is to
individualize
us.
KB: By training,
do you mean doing what we need
to do to
prepare for
our profession?
R: I mean
doing what you love to do. Doing what
you love to do
has nothing to
do with your
education. You
might love to
cook or you
might love to
meditate.
Developing
yourself to do
what you love,
developing
your deepest
self – that’s
the training.
Education and
training have
to work together
for us, for the
individual.
KB: A lot
of people today feel stuck inside a
consumer
lifestyle
where we’re
convinced we
need to spend
our lives
working for the
things that will
supposedly
make us happy.
They follow
that path but
at the end of
the day,
there’s no
meaning to it.
How do we get
away from
that?
R: We have
to accept it. Accepting it means
bringing it
into our life.
We adjust
ourselves to
the night.
We’re not
saying night is
bad or night is
good. We accept
it and we deal
with it. I
could yell and
scream at
night forever,
“Why are you
here? I’m
going to
destroy you!
I’m going to
blow you up!”
I could do
that but the
truth is we
have to live
with night.
This is not a
matter of
destroying day
or night. It’s
a matter of
living with
both. Yoga is
finding a
balance between
my physical being
and my
spiritual
being.
KB: Do you
feel like you were born an artist or
is it
something that
developed as
you were going
through your
training and
education?
R: First,
let’s define artist. I don’t
consider
myself a
painter. I am
an artist. Art
is a verb. Art
is bringing the
two together.
Art is about
union. So when
you say ‘I’m
art-ing’, that’s
bringing the
two hearts
together.
Imagine
a necklace of pearls. Each pearl has
two holes for
the string to
go through.
This pearl is
called heart.
If my pearl
does not have
a hole, the
string is not
going to go
through it.
The string that
goes through these
pearls is what
we call love.
Some call it
God. Michael
Beckwith calls
it Agape,
which is a
Latin word for
unconditional
love.
Now if
there is only one hole, the string is
going to go in
there and
stop. There’s
got to be
another hole
for that
string to come
out in order
for the necklace
to be formed –
the union of the
pearls – which
is what I’m
calling
‘heart-storming’.
The medium
that does that
is God or love
or Yoga –
which are all
the same.
KB: Are
we all born with two holes in our
pearl? If so,
what causes
one of both of
these holes to
get blocked
along the way?
R: We’re
all born with the two holes but very
quickly we
begin to lose
the child
within us. We
begin to not
use the holes
so they get
rusty and
pretty soon, they
close.
It’s
the same as the blood that goes through
the heart. The
mystics call
it the wine.
That wine or
blood goes
into your
heart, gets
purified and
comes back
out. The same
thing happens with
love. We’ve got
to put love into
everything we
do in order to
experience
that pure
oneness, to
develop that
unity, to be
part of that
Yoga. Just
like this
magazine which
is called Los
Angeles Yoga:
the union of
the angels.
KB: Why do
you think some people are able to
realize that
God is inside
of them, when
most spend
their time
searching for
God in the
external world
or some other
dimension?
R: Because
I am a mystic, I know that God is
inside of me.
Whenever I
need to ask
something, I
ask my heart,
“What do I do
next” and my
heart tells me
what to do.
Nobody’s heart
is ever wrong.
Even when it
seems to be going
the wrong way,
it is going the
right way.
KB: How
are we able to tell the difference
between what
our heart and
what our
rational mind
is telling us
based on what
we’ve learned
and been
conditioned to
believe?
R: The
soul is on Earth to enjoy it. The tree
is doing its
treeing
because it
enjoys
treeing. The
roots are rooting,
the branches are
branching, the
fruit is
fruiting.
They’re not thinking
about anything
but loving what
they’re doing.
The tree
is making love all the time –
whether its
winter or
fall, it is
still making
love. ‘God-ing’
is what we
call love. To
‘God’ means
loving because
that’s what
God does –
loves. We are
created to
enjoy every
moment, to be
the creator,
to love. God
has made us to
be God. The
whole idea for
us is to love.
We have
this rational mind for the
protection of
the body,
that’s it.
Without the
rational mind,
I might walk
into the street
and a car hits
me, or I walk into
a wall or I go
outside in the
winter and
catch cold. My
soul doesn’t
need
protection –
my soul is
connected with
my heart. If
my mind wants
to decide for
my heart, it’s
going to be
wrong. And if
my heart wants
to decide for
my mind, it’s
going to be
wrong as well.
The two have
to work
together.
On Sundays
early in the morning, I climb the
mountain in
the dark, sit
on the peak of
the mountain
and wait for
the sun to
come. I love
walking in the
dark because
mystery is the
essence of
creativity. Without
mystery there
would not be
artists or
scientists –
it’s the
mystery that
attracts us. I
watch the
transition
from darkness
to light, from
cool to warm,
from blues
into yellows.
I watch and I
meditate. I am
asking the
Sun, my
creator to
wash away all
the darkness
inside me,
whatever has
captured me this
last week. I go
through my
complete Yoga,
knowing I’m
being cleansed
in the
process. I
have become
one with
everybody and
everything –
mountains,
sea, sky.
In that
waiting for
the beloved to
appear, I
experience
true union.
That is the
unity that
prayer brings
to us; that
Yoga brings to
us. Then I
come to my
studio and
begin to paint.
KB: Do you
feel you’re still in a trance and/or
meditative
state when you
come down from
the mountain
and start
painting? How
do you keep
yourself into
that state?
R: Oh yes.
But it depends. Whenever I feel
good, I paint
and whenever I
paint, I feel
good. I don’t
paint to make
a painting.
When I paint
I’m dancing.
And as I’m
playing with
paint, I begin
to fly. I’m conscious,
but I’m not aware
of what I’m
doing.
That’s
the problem with people who use
external means
of getting
high. When
you’re using
internal means
of being high,
it’s empowering,
and the next
morning you
can build up
on it. If I
drink and get
drunk, in
those moments
it feels good
but next
morning it’s a
problem
because I’m
down again. If
I get high
from my inner
being, the
next morning I
build up on it
and get even
higher. Every
painting I do
is in a
different zone
and at a different
level than the
one before.
Everything
keeps building
up so I’m
transforming constantly.This
is how you can
judge a work
of an artist.
Does the work
come from a
divine power
or someone who
is under an
external
influence?
KB: It’s
fairly common for people, especially
in the arts
and music, to
try to reach
that trance
state through
the external
influence of
drugs and
alcohol. How
can they begin
to find inspiration
from an
internal high
instead?
R: Again,
it’s the relationship of creation
and
destruction.
The creative
one puts things
out there and
the editor is
the destroyer who
takes things
away. If the
editor leads
the way,
you’re in
trouble
because it
shuts off the
process before
it even
starts. This
happens with
many artists,
they start
editing
themselves
before they begin
to create. It
took Brahms
twenty-five
years to
compose his
first symphony
because he was
comparing
himself to
Beethoven.
KB: How
do we keep our editor on the sidelines
until it’s his
time to help?
R: Leila,
creation and destruction, is going to
take place at
the same time.
If you watch
me paint, I’m
creating at
the canvas,
and then I
stand back and
the editor can
see, then I’m
back at the
canvas and
painting. I’m
in the trance
state this whole
time and the editor
is well trained
to do his job.
It’s like when
you’re
driving. Your
driver is your
editor. You’re
in your own
world, putting
lipstick on,
talking on the
phone,
thinking about
your day, but
the driver is
your editor.
The editor
knows how to
handle things
without
hurting the
creative
being. Let’s
say I take the
pink brush and
put some pink
paint here, at
the same time,
I’m destroying
the blue paint
that was
underneath. I
am destroying
and creating at
the same time.
KB: When
you’re in the trance, creating and
editing a
painting, do
you have an
idea or vision
in your mind
of what the
end product
will be?
R: Not
at all. Actually, when I’m painting, a
lot of times,
I will turn
the canvas
upside down
and work from
that
perspective and
the painting
becomes
something
totally
different. I
do this with
students at my
workshops and
they see that
what they were
painting was
an entire
landscape that
they didn’t
even see.
KB: When
you teach, how do you help people get
themselves
into the
trance state
so that their
creative
energy can
start to flow?
R: It’s
always different. Sometimes, I have
them close
their eyes,
get close to
the canvas and
paint without
looking at the
canvass. I
tell them, “If
you open your
eyes, your
painting is
finished.” Once
it’s done, they
can open your eyes
and find out
that it is
completely
different that
it was in
their mind.
Now the editor
starts
comparing what
you’ve done to
what you had
in mind and
now the
creator can
stand with the
editor and
really see
what is there.
I often
see things that I didn’t know I had
painted, they
just come
through. I’ll
see for
example the
shape of an
old man leaning
over with a book
in front of him
and he seems
to be writing
on something.
Now when my
editor sees
that, he can
eliminate the
parts that
don’t belong
to that, the
parts around
it, so that
what came
through me can
really pop
out. This is
the process of
creating.
KB: I read
a quote you gave that said “I’m not
painting
something
abstract, but
something more
real than what
we see.” Do
you mean that
what we see is
an illusion
and, if so, is
there any value
in it?
R: Reality
is only one manifestation of the
truth. For
example: a
bird and
flight. The
bird is only a
manifestation
of flight. Flight
never dies but
the bird dies.
Truth is
immortal but
reality is
mortal. What I
paint is the
truth. Not the
changing
reality. What
you see in my
paintings is
not
abstraction.
Abstraction is
not dealing
with the
reality or the
truth or
anything. It
is innocent
painting – I’ll
just paint and
people will
see whatever
they want to
see in it.
It’s their
thing and
whatever they
want to do
with it is
there
business.
That’s why
painters who
paint
abstraction don’t
usually title their
paintings. My
paintings are
about the
truth beyond
the reality.
Many
students and artists follow my school
of teaching
and we have
retreats and
workshops.
It’s all about
play and I get
them in the
zone to play.
At the end
everybody discusses
their process
so the others
can benefit
from it. It’s
a safe zone
for people to
play and it’s
a place of
healing for
everyone. No
one is
judging.
KB: Would
you consider your workshops and
retreats to be
a form of art
therapy?
R: With
art therapy you are trying to open up
the mind and
here I am
trying to open
up the heart.
I am a vehicle
that allows
people to take
the journey of
transformation.
I explain that
they’re doing
the act of
creativity
which is ‘God-ing’.
What do they
have in the
dictionary
instead of
‘God-ing’? Love.
You want to be
giving love.
That is the
creative
process. I
gave them
pastels and
paper and told
them to do the
act of
love-making
with the paper
and the chalk.
I told them
not to create
anything like
anything else.
Create like
God. Play like
God. That’s
how you can
expand your
love. And they
got it.
KB: If you
could share one piece of advice with
people who
want to follow
their heart,
what would it
be?
R: Know
that you are greater than even you
think you are.
You were the
winner amongst
infinite
numbers of
creatures in
that drop of
sperm. You
were the messiah
among millions.
So act
upon it. Whatever you do, be the best
at it. Rumi
says,
“Footprints
lead you to
the shore of
the sea, from
there on no
trace remains.”
Learn from
others, so you
can find a way
to get to the
shore of the
sea. There you
are on your
own. Dive in.
And experience
that infinite
sea.
Altar
of Devotion By Rassouli
Soul's
Journey By Rassouli
A Candid Interview with Artist Rassouli
Written
by Lauren
Ashley Golt
HOME
Southern
California is privy to an artist
whom is both
unique and
inspiring.
Using a
skillful technique,
known as Fusionart,
Rassouli
creates works
of art that
reflect
spiritual experience
by expressing
images from
his
subconscious.
Fusionart,
a fusion of
mysticism and
European
painting
technology, is
a style that
Rassouli
himself has
created,
registered and
currently
teaches. With
smooth
strokes,
bright colors
and a consistent
theme of
elegance,
Rassouli, uses
his creative
talent to
illustrate his
spirituality.
When
asked what inspires him, Rassouli says,
“Mystics such
as Hafiz and
Rumi, artists
like Gustave
Moreau,
William Blake
and Jean-Honore’
Fragonard. I
do not start a
painting with
sketches, I do
not paint on
location and I
do not work
from photos.
Instead, many
mornings,
before the
dawn, I climb
a mountain to
its peak.
There, sitting
in solitude, I
observe rising
of the sun. I
watch plants
open their
leaves, buds
tear up their
dresses and
the birds sing
to the arrival
of their
creator. There
is an
interconnected
serenity that
allows all creatures
to experience
the divine unity.
Having felt
that creative
energy, I rush
to my studio,
dip my brush
into paint,
and let it
move freely on
canvas.”
Born
in Isfahan, Rassouli came to the United
States at the
age of 15
where he
studied
painting and
architecture
at the University
of New Mexico.
Now Rassouli
has hundreds
of solo and
collective
exhibits,
including
three murals
in California,
two in Los
Angeles and
one in
Venice.
The mural in
Venice,
entitled “Angel
of Unity,” is
120 feet wide
by 45 feet high
and is viewed
daily by
thousands of
California
residents and
visitors.
Rassouli,
65, not only
uses his craft
to express
himself but he
also teaches Fusionart at the
University of
Transformational
Studies in
Culver City,
The Wheel of
Wellbeing in
Los Angeles
and he holds
monthly full
day painting
retreats at
the Mayfair
Hotel in downtown
LA. Rita Roberts
took his one
of his classes
and says,
“Aside from
being
extremely
talented, he
is a
fascinating
individual.
I’ve taken one
of his
painting
workshops and
he actually teaches
his students to
allow spirit
to paint
through them
and much to
our amazement,
when we do
this, human
images often
appear in the
paintings
without you
having
deliberately
painted
them.
You really have
to experience
it!”
Currently Rassouli
is developing
various
programs to
focus on
bringing out
the creative
child within.
He believes,
“Once people
realize how
creative they
are, they will
begin to use
that in their
everyday life
in order to
bring them balance
and more joy “.
During the
fall and
winter,
Rassouli will
be working on
a coffee-table
book that
features his
artwork along
with
inspirational
messages. He
will also hold
various art
classes as
well as full
day and
weekend painting
retreats.
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Loves
Embrace
Save
me from
this
sheltering
slumber!
Paint my
spirit into
the streaming
colors of
your Heart.
Let me flow
from your
brush like
wine.
Blend me
with your
hands, and
let me mingle
with your
beloved Soul.
Create me
from
the
deepest
treasures
flowing in
the currents
of your
rivering
secrets
rushing to the
sea.
Let me
live in the
rainbows
of the
visions hidden
in the colors
of your
flashing eyes.
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Free
Flight
Love
is a Wingless
Flight of
Freedom
setting
me adrift
in a
Sea with no Shore
with no
charts to help
me find
my
Way
through
this pathless
Wilderness.
Yet,
I can see
the
Valleys
of
Forever
as
the Winds of
Heaven
carry
me to the
hidden
Kingdom
of my
Beloved.
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Online
Videos Reflecting Rassouli's
Art
|
A selection from videos created or
approved by Rassouli
Click on the image to watch the
video
A
selection from other sites
about Rassouli and his art |
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