Human Potential
by Jasmine Raskas
Doug Kassabaum
Artist, Architect, Thinker
As a retired architect, Doug Kassabaum has always turned to painting as a way to freely express and explore the arts. He works primarily with what he describes as a cartoon. Even his sculptures are intended to be playful. His work documents the collective human experience through narrative strips. Everything he makes plays off of a “semiserious- psycho-spiritual” journey. These abstract stories string together principles of psychological growth and the transformation of the self. The latest group of Doug’s work was recently shown in the solo exhibit, "Embedded Narrative," at The Stone Spiral Gallery. Doug owns The Stone Spiral Coffeeshop and Gallery at 2500-2506 Sutton Boulevard in Maplewood, Missouri—a neighborhood staple supporting a welcoming micro community of art and culture.
Primal Patterns: “Pretty Close To Source”
Doug’s most recent paintings create a theoretical map of spirit. Form arises out of nature’s purest elemental structures. A combination of what appears to be rocks, geological maps, weather maps, and biological creatures produce the appearance of scientific patterns.
The geometric formations in this series of paintings carve out glimmers of human flesh. In a playful way, they poke at the idea of being stuck in “the meat-suit” of the human condition. The primal imagery is the type of thing you might see in the back of your mind when all the lights go out. In fact, a cluster of this work is directly intended to show what Doug’s new grandchild would see as she first opened her eyes to the mystery of earth. Within the mind of an infant, lies infinite potential.
Reasons To Create: Art as a “personal intimate game, played with oneself, in an evolving search for what you find personally meaningful.”
After a career in architecture, these paintings portray an antidote to precision. Doug’s motivation to create stems from his openness to explore. As architecture encouraged “tightly wound," analytical and linear measures of design, Doug pushed back with the deployment of bright colors that flow between the lines. Working with art as a cartoon helps his paintings remain light hearted and inviting to all. The most important thing we should all walk away with is a good inner chuckle.
The transformative side to this work emerges as the art is used as a tool for inner guidance. Doug believes in art as a way to “unhitch” the Ego from identity and explore deeper truths. Each body of work focuses on a specific turning point within the human journey. Transformations such as the movement from childhood to adulthood and parenthood and to grandparenthood record journeys of inner growth and self discovery.
Art & Evolution: “The idea of something catching your eye, must go back pretty far to the nature of human beings”
Art open us up to an understanding of the intangible. Doug sees abstract art as a great intellectual leap forward in knowledge and one of the greatest breakthroughs in the development of human consciousness. Within the abstract there’s space for brand new connections to form. With the profound sense of freedom to communicate and create our own meaning, self expression and exploration lie at the cornerstone of human potential.
The Process: “A game with no rules aside from the ones you create yourself.”
Doug paints when he knows it’s time to paint. Each painting usually begins with closed eyes. Within the darkness, he creates an open ended pencil sketch to guide the initial direction of creation. The evolution of the piece has no conscious goal in mind, but yet there is a clear stopping point found through an intuitive sense of knowing. Each painting goes through its own transformative journey, some more psychological and some more playful than others. Working in series allow Doug to follow a certain flow of energy through a period time. He likes to ride the wave of energy to its entirety and fully accepts and embraces the inconsistencies to the creative process.
Art and Well-being: “Art as the game we should all be learning to play”
As we’re constantly bombarded by information from the outside world, it’s easy to loose track of who we really are on the inside. Doug views the primary purpose of art as a method to establish a system of personal communication with oneself. This relationship to the self offers a way to cope with ambiguity and dissonance that build up in the mind. The experience of fun is as important in the art. Part of the idea of the cartoon reflects this insistence of fun as part of the inner processes of art, “ At some level or another, it has to be fun. You are trying to define your “fun” as deeply as possible, but at the root fun is fun.”
Doug believes that, every person should learn to become an artist in their own medium as a way to cultivate wellness and healing within a relationship to the self that’s playful. He embodies this belief in the power of art by supporting artists and thinkers of all kinds. The Stone Spiral is a coffee shop home to nightly live music, open mics and poetry readings. There’s frequently someone in the shop with a pallete of paint or box of charcoal. It’s a unique space that promotes a rare form of presence. It’s eclectic but yet aesthetic space is both filled with art, and a piece of art in and of itself. Next door to the coffee shop, is The Stone Spiral Gallery where Doug held his most recent showing. The Gallery supports visual artists by giving them a space to showcase and display work. In the future, Doug wishes to form more collaborative events and seek new opportunities to create dialogue between artists and viewers. He especially enjoys having art around that’s thoughtfully playful and based in abstraction. The Stone Spiral is a place that will continue to ignite evolution, healing and growth through its support of the human side of life, the nature of being, and creation as a pure form of play.
Interested in showing work at The Stone Spiral Gallery? If so, please send digital images to
dkabaum@gmail.com.
____________________________
Jasmine Raskas is a St. Louis-based artist whose artworks have been featured in exhibitions throughout the St. Louis region. She is also the owner of Chaos 2 Order Coaching.
by Jasmine Raskas
 |
| Doug Kassabaum. Untitled. Acrylic on Canvas. Featured in “Embedded Narrative” at Stone Spiral Coffeeshop & Gallery. Photograph by Jasmine Raskas. |
Doug Kassabaum
Artist, Architect, Thinker
As a retired architect, Doug Kassabaum has always turned to painting as a way to freely express and explore the arts. He works primarily with what he describes as a cartoon. Even his sculptures are intended to be playful. His work documents the collective human experience through narrative strips. Everything he makes plays off of a “semiserious- psycho-spiritual” journey. These abstract stories string together principles of psychological growth and the transformation of the self. The latest group of Doug’s work was recently shown in the solo exhibit, "Embedded Narrative," at The Stone Spiral Gallery. Doug owns The Stone Spiral Coffeeshop and Gallery at 2500-2506 Sutton Boulevard in Maplewood, Missouri—a neighborhood staple supporting a welcoming micro community of art and culture.
 |
| Doug Kassabaum. Untitled. Acrylic on Canvas. Featured in “Embedded Narrative” at Stone Spiral Coffeeshop & Gallery. Photograph by Jasmine Raskas. |
Primal Patterns: “Pretty Close To Source”
Doug’s most recent paintings create a theoretical map of spirit. Form arises out of nature’s purest elemental structures. A combination of what appears to be rocks, geological maps, weather maps, and biological creatures produce the appearance of scientific patterns.
The geometric formations in this series of paintings carve out glimmers of human flesh. In a playful way, they poke at the idea of being stuck in “the meat-suit” of the human condition. The primal imagery is the type of thing you might see in the back of your mind when all the lights go out. In fact, a cluster of this work is directly intended to show what Doug’s new grandchild would see as she first opened her eyes to the mystery of earth. Within the mind of an infant, lies infinite potential.
Reasons To Create: Art as a “personal intimate game, played with oneself, in an evolving search for what you find personally meaningful.”
After a career in architecture, these paintings portray an antidote to precision. Doug’s motivation to create stems from his openness to explore. As architecture encouraged “tightly wound," analytical and linear measures of design, Doug pushed back with the deployment of bright colors that flow between the lines. Working with art as a cartoon helps his paintings remain light hearted and inviting to all. The most important thing we should all walk away with is a good inner chuckle.
The transformative side to this work emerges as the art is used as a tool for inner guidance. Doug believes in art as a way to “unhitch” the Ego from identity and explore deeper truths. Each body of work focuses on a specific turning point within the human journey. Transformations such as the movement from childhood to adulthood and parenthood and to grandparenthood record journeys of inner growth and self discovery.
 |
| Doug Kassabaum. Untitled. Acrylic on Canvas. Featured in “Embedded Narrative” at Stone Spiral Coffeeshop & Gallery. Photograph by Jasmine Raskas. |
Art & Evolution: “The idea of something catching your eye, must go back pretty far to the nature of human beings”
Art open us up to an understanding of the intangible. Doug sees abstract art as a great intellectual leap forward in knowledge and one of the greatest breakthroughs in the development of human consciousness. Within the abstract there’s space for brand new connections to form. With the profound sense of freedom to communicate and create our own meaning, self expression and exploration lie at the cornerstone of human potential.
The Process: “A game with no rules aside from the ones you create yourself.”
Doug paints when he knows it’s time to paint. Each painting usually begins with closed eyes. Within the darkness, he creates an open ended pencil sketch to guide the initial direction of creation. The evolution of the piece has no conscious goal in mind, but yet there is a clear stopping point found through an intuitive sense of knowing. Each painting goes through its own transformative journey, some more psychological and some more playful than others. Working in series allow Doug to follow a certain flow of energy through a period time. He likes to ride the wave of energy to its entirety and fully accepts and embraces the inconsistencies to the creative process.
Art and Well-being: “Art as the game we should all be learning to play”
As we’re constantly bombarded by information from the outside world, it’s easy to loose track of who we really are on the inside. Doug views the primary purpose of art as a method to establish a system of personal communication with oneself. This relationship to the self offers a way to cope with ambiguity and dissonance that build up in the mind. The experience of fun is as important in the art. Part of the idea of the cartoon reflects this insistence of fun as part of the inner processes of art, “ At some level or another, it has to be fun. You are trying to define your “fun” as deeply as possible, but at the root fun is fun.”
Doug believes that, every person should learn to become an artist in their own medium as a way to cultivate wellness and healing within a relationship to the self that’s playful. He embodies this belief in the power of art by supporting artists and thinkers of all kinds. The Stone Spiral is a coffee shop home to nightly live music, open mics and poetry readings. There’s frequently someone in the shop with a pallete of paint or box of charcoal. It’s a unique space that promotes a rare form of presence. It’s eclectic but yet aesthetic space is both filled with art, and a piece of art in and of itself. Next door to the coffee shop, is The Stone Spiral Gallery where Doug held his most recent showing. The Gallery supports visual artists by giving them a space to showcase and display work. In the future, Doug wishes to form more collaborative events and seek new opportunities to create dialogue between artists and viewers. He especially enjoys having art around that’s thoughtfully playful and based in abstraction. The Stone Spiral is a place that will continue to ignite evolution, healing and growth through its support of the human side of life, the nature of being, and creation as a pure form of play.
 |
| Doug Kassabaum. Untitled. Acrylic on Canvas. Featured in “Embedded Narrative” at Stone Spiral Coffeeshop & Gallery. Photograph by Jasmine Raskas. |
Interested in showing work at The Stone Spiral Gallery? If so, please send digital images to
dkabaum@gmail.com.
____________________________
Jasmine Raskas is a St. Louis-based artist whose artworks have been featured in exhibitions throughout the St. Louis region. She is also the owner of Chaos 2 Order Coaching.
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