Jonas Jödicke, aka JoJoesArt, hails from Berlin, Germany. He has been creating and imagining fantastic worlds ever since he can remember. In 2010 he started uploading some of his artworks on the Internet and growing more and more of a fan-base. What started as a hobby has now become his profession. His works are appreciated and purchased all around the globe and have been featured on countless well-known blogs, websites, magazines and book covers.

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Jonas Jödicke

<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c28515;">AN ART ESSAY</span></h3>
<h4><span style="color: #c28515;">JONAS JÖDICKE</span> has been creating and imagining fantastic worlds ever since he
    can remember. What started as a hobby has now become his profession. Here he shares with us what art means to him,
    and offers a poem associated with each work of art.</h4>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Art has always been a crucial part of who I am. It’s as though art chose me, not the
    other way round. Pablo Picasso once said, “Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding.” I can only
    attest to that. The urge to let my inner feelings and thoughts become reality has always been very strong,
    especially growing up in a creative family with six siblings, two of which are also full-time artists.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When I turned 14, I stumbled upon a video on YouTube of someone painting on their PC. I
    was immediately hooked and asked my parents to gift me a graphic tablet and a student version of Adobe Photoshop for
    my birthday. Digital Art quickly became my favorite medium.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">After finishing high school I decided to go on a two-year missionary trip with my
    church, which was a crucial time of self-discovery and spiritual growth. I think the spiritual dimension I added to
    my fantasy art after that journey really struck a chord with many people, and within a year I was able to fully
    sustain myself as an artist.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I choose animals as the subject of most of my pieces because, weird as it may sound, I
    feel it is easier for us to relate to the depiction of animals on an emotional level than it is to relate to the
    depiction of humans. Unconsciously we tend to judge people by their looks, skin color, proportions, gender, and so
    on, which can prevent us from focusing on the essentials. I give my animals slightly human traits such as deep,
    emotional eyes, and it almost makes the viewer feel as though they are looking into a mirror. It makes them realize
    that they themselves are divine beings.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I am especially fascinated by the interconnectedness of light and dark, portraying the
    bipolar relationship between the forces that govern our universe: cold and warmth, day and night, good and evil,
    body and spirit. Portraying both sides of the spectrum in one piece of art creates a tension that the viewers can
    feel inside of them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In my ‘Symbols of Life’ series, these two poles, represented by animals, are actually
    bound together in a mix of affection, love, necessity, and also pain. My belief is that each of them cannot exist
    without the other: stars could never shine without the dark of the night. The same applies to relationships between
    humans. We may be as different as day and night, but still we can and ought to be bound together in love.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Many of my pieces also evolve around the theme of guardians, those heavenly beings who
    watch over us. I believe in God, and through my art I try to express what His presence feels like to me.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Art is more than a hobby or a profession to me. It is a means of giving voice to the
    thoughts, feelings and truths I carry inside, which can’t be expressed any other way. It helps me access the
    peaceful space of divinity inside myself and all around me. When I create, I feel as though everything but me and
    the piece I am working on disappears for a while, almost like during meditation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I believe we were all made to create in one way or another. Whether it is through art,
    music, cooking, writing or photography, being creative connects us to our deeper consciousness and to our fellow
    human beings. It brings the unconscious to the surface and teaches us a lot about ourselves.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Many of my pieces have helped me better understand certain issues I was having at the
    time I was working on them. They contained messages that were meant for me. But when others looked at them, they saw
    something totally different and interpreted them in their unique, personal way. That is the magic of art – one and
    the same piece can tell a million different stories to a million different people.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c28515;">Brotherhood</span></h3>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">We may be as day and night,<br>
    as different as black and white,<br>
    yet there is no reason here<br>
    to fight a war because of fear.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Cause you’re just you and I am me,<br>
    come, open up your eyes and see,<br>
    that no matter how different,<br>
    it’s love that binds us in the end.</h5>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
        src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life2_bbaab83652.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:34:43.273Z">
</p>
<hr>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c28515;">Yin and Yang</span></h3>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Balance is a state of opposition,<br>
    a state of two forces facing each other.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">There is no light without darkness,<br>
    no peace without pain.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">It is our choice which way we face<br>
    and in the end that choice</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">…determines our eternal destiny.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
        src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life3_438cd5346d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:35:52.980Z">
</h5>
<hr>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c28515;">Eternal Bond</span></h3>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">We live, we die,<br>
    we laugh, we cry,<br>
    we’re low, then high,<br>
    we fail and try.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">We hope, we doubt,<br>
    we breathe, we shout,<br>
    we’re soft, then loud,<br>
    we’re meek and proud.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Eternity is meant to be<br>
    a never ending harmony<br>
    of dusk and dawn,<br>
    nor split nor torn,</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">for as we die,<br>
    we’ll be reborn.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
        src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life4_20857089d4.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:36:59.995Z">
</h5>
<hr>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c28515;">Circle of Life</span></h3>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">In life we face both low and peek,<br>
    we fail and sometimes we succeed<br>
    to gain fulfillment, joy and peace,<br>
    until we find that missing piece:</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Someone to hold, someone to feel,<br>
    someone, who makes our joy so real,<br>
    a lover, friend, a child, our God,<br>
    someone we can truly love.</h5>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
        src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life5_b2c04a7c8f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:38:05.112Z">
</p>
<hr>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #c28515;">Peace</span></h3>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Is war the answer,<br>
    is hate the way?<br>
    Is life just a game<br>
    of predator and prey?</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Give me your hand,<br>
    feel my heart beat,<br>
    put down your weapons<br>
    and let us make peace.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">For we both know,<br>
    we can’t hide,<br>
    we might die together,<br>
    if we chose to fight.</h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
        src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life6_b08cb2cb69.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:39:37.750Z">
</h5>
<p><span style="color: #c28515;">https://www.instagram.com/jojoesart/</span><br>
    <span style="color: #c28515;">https://www.facebook.com/JojoesArt/?ref=settings</span><br>
    <span style="color: #c28515;">https://www.youtube.com/user/PeeGeeArts</span>
</p>
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Art, poetry and article by JONAS JÖDICKE</h4>
<hr>