Art by Isaac Mills / Mugwort Designs

Mugwort (Isaac Mills) is a digital artist and designer embarking on unique explorations into the realms of creativity. Using artistic expression as a vehicle for spiritual exploration, he believes that though art and imagination we can deepen our understanding of ourselves, our interconnectedness with all things, and inspire social change. The name ‘Mugwort’ derives from the plant Mugwort Artemisia, a herb used since ancient times to enhance lucid dreaming and astral projection. He explores a multitude of artistic approaches and mediums; from digital painting, illustration, large-scale installations and live audio-visual performance, he increasingly taps into the dynamic potential of digital media. Much of his gallery work is thematically centred on transformation, archetypal forces, shifting paradigms, animals, and shamanic symbolism. Hailing from the east coast of Canada, Mugwort migrated to the forested shores of the west coast where he currently resides. His art has been displayed at galleries and festivals all across Canada, the US, Europe and Australia.

“I seek to represent imaginal journeys and dreams as crystallized visions, in order to help remind the waking world of the dreaming. Practicing visual art since early childhood, drawing and painting have always been natural outlets. When I switched to digital painting in 2009, I discovered that with this new medium I was able to portray my visions more accurately, in higher resolution.

Many of my pieces start as concept sketches of ideas or visions I’ve had, and evolve into to finished images through a dynamic creative evolution. I use several programs and a wide variety of digital techniques and custom tools, relying on my sense of composition, balance, and narrative. By employing a synthesis of drawing, digital painting, graphic design, and sampling, I rely on intuition to guide the ascetic evolution of an image. I am drawn towards archetypal imagery with narrative potency, and imagery that is highly textured and patterned. The Wacom tablet is my preferred tool. My inspirations come from my dreams, epiphanies, moments of lucidity in everyday life, nature, sound and love.” ~ Mugwort