Introducing
Ginger Andro
Scent as Art
In his collection of essays, “No Man Is an Island”, Thomas Merton “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” This describes what art can do. Traditionally, its components of paint, wood, clay, words, etc., are constructed into a mechanism that allows the artist to communicate “heart to heart and soul to soul.”
Chemotherapy transformed my life as a visual artist. Suddenly my olfactory sense overtook all my other senses. As a result, scent became an essential element in my art practice. This lead me to study natural perfumery and later aromatherapy, expanding my understanding of art as a healing experience.
In this talk I will share a brief history of olfactory art and how it has changed over recent years. While discussing other visual artists who are exploring this ethereal element in their work I will also be presenting my own installation work within the artist team of Andro and Glicksman. I will describe my creative process in choosing the essential oils for a few of my pieces, sometimes in a direct relationship to a narrative, sometimes used metaphorically and sometimes created from a specific environment.
In these installations, environmental fragrance intermingles with reflective objects, video projection, shadows and sound evoking a sense of place emotion and memory.
Ginger Andro is an artist with a BA in Fine Arts and has certifications in Aromatherapy and Natural Perfumery. She is a lead teacher for Ebers School of Aromatherapy and a registered S.P.E. (Spiritual Phyto-Essencing) Practitioner, as well as a Level 2 Animal Aromatherapy Practitioner from Ashi Aromatics. Ginger is a Professional Member of NAHA and the NAHA Regional Director for New Jersey in the Bergen County area, as well as the Secretary of the Lower Hudson Valley Chapter of The American Herbalist Guild. She has studied with Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute and has a Level 3 certification in EFT. She is a partner in Kiki and Friends Aromatics, LLC., specializing in animal aromatherapy products, consultations, and educational workshops.
As a part of the collaborative art team Andro & Glicksman, she uses scent as part of the elements used in their multi-sensory installations which have shown both nationally and internationally.
Ginger’s passion for science and art is merged by using essential oils as a medium for healing, expression and communication.
I am Certified in Aromatherapy and Natural Perfumery and Level 2 Animal Aromatherapy. I have studied with many wonderful teachers including Debbie Freund, Kelly Holland Azzaro, Dr. Bruce Berkowsky, David Crow, Michael Scholes Shanti Dechen and JK DeLapp. I am also a certified Feng Shui practitioner.