Between years 2000 and 2012 I had several workshops on life drawing with Peruvian sculptor and aikido master Carmen Herrera. One of her greatest teaching, inspired by Taoism[1] and Japanese aikido ideas, is that illusion only happens when we see the surface; we can train our eyes in order to see the inner structure, the source of movement, where they come from and where they are going to. Carmen Herrera, in my opinion, has a very particular understanding of the human body and art in the 21st century. She has dedicated her life to study the human body’s anatomy and the inner structure of movement. Perceiving our immateriality through our materiality, the understanding of the spiritual by learning how to see the physical. It is through the physical she trespasses to see the world beyond. At a further point of her teachings, there is no difference between matter and essence anymore. She has created a fusion between the Western interest for science with the human anatomy representation, and Eastern Taoist aesthetics and calligraphy.

I visited her studio, in Lima, over a period of 10 years, following the long processes of the same extraordinary wooden sculptures. I am interested in her ideas and research on life drawing of the human body and wood carving sculpture.[2]She introduced me to Taoist aesthetics, which explain the aesthetic experience as being a direct source of deep knowledge. I belief this has created a more liberated view in my perception of what surrounds me. Because of this, I think the creative art processes can emancipate our way of thinking. The Taoist painters and poets talked about nature revealing itself and opening constantly to show its inner essence. It is about learning to perceive. Reading the Tao Te King[3] by Lao Tse, teaches me that the material experience is a pure source of knowledge.

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[1] ("Daoism (or Taoism) is the only truly native Chinese set up beliefs. Its ideas and practices grew out of early debates about the Dao or ‘way’. For the philosopher Laozi (born c. 604 BC) the Dao was the ‘way’ of all things, the innate pattern of nature and the universe. Different strands of Daoism developed over the centuries; some practiced philosophical Daoism, retiring from the world to live as hermits, while others sought immortality through magic, diet and alchemy..."), British Library, The Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library. Text extracted from the display of the Illuminated Manuscripts: China & Japan, sacred texts, Daoism.

[2] Despite her remarkable work, she has little presence in the Peruvian art scene; there are no publications of her work yet. I have to make clear that I strongly acknowledge her influence in how I understand my own work, and for the reasons mentioned above, I am not able to make an academic reference to her direct teachings and influence.

[3] Verse 1 from the Tao Te King written by Lao Tse: "The Tao that can be known is not the Eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the Eternal Name. The Nameless was the beginning of Heaven and Earth. It was named and became the Mother of the ten thousand things. With no desire in the heart the spirit of the Eternal Tao may be seen. With desire only the Tao that can be named is known. They bear the same yet in their origin they are different. They are one. This is the great mystery. Within this mystery is the gateway of all spiritual knowledge." Manners, D and Ault, M (1948: I) The book of Tao and Teh. Being the Tao Teh King of Lao Tse done into English. Kent: The Order of the Great Companions.

2000至2012年，我曾跟秘鲁雕刻家和合气道大师卡门·埃雷拉做过几场写生讲座。在受到道教(1)与日本合气道思想的启发后，她的最伟大的教导之一是：每当我们只看表面的时候就会有假象丛生；我们可以训练我们的眼睛，才能看到内部的结构、动作的来源，它们从何处来、往何处去？在我看来，卡门·埃雷拉对人体和二十一世纪的艺术有一番非常特别的见解。她将一生致力于研究人体结构跟动作的内部结构。透过我们的物质，认识自身的非物质，经由学习如何看待物质，进而了解其精神，她是透过物质而看到物质以外的世界。更进一步教导：物质和本质再也没有任何的区别了。她创制了西方对人体解剖学表现的兴趣与东方道家美学和书法之间的融合。

过去十年期间，我参观了她的工作室，经历了同样不凡的木雕塑的长期过程。她对人体写生以及木雕雕塑的想法和研究(2)，让我很感兴趣，她向我介绍道家美学，这也说明了审美经验是深厚造诣的直接来源。我相信这在我的感知内已经创造了一个更加宽广的视野，帮助我察觉围绕着我的是什么。正因为如此，我认为有创意的艺术过程可以解放我们的思维方式。道家的画家和诗人谈论到本性的自然流露以及不断地开放展现其内在本质，这就是学习如何感觉。读了老子写的道德经(3)，让我了解到物质上的经验纯粹是一个知识来源。

（“道教是唯一真正中国本土成立的信仰，其想法和修行法是从早期对于“道”的辩论所衍生出来的。对哲学家老子（公元前604年生）而言，道是万物的“道路”、宇宙和自性的本体。数百年以来，形成了许多不同的道教流派，有些派别修炼的是道家，修行者摆脱世俗隐居，成为隐士，而也有些派别修炼法术、节食和炼丹以寻求长生不死”），大英图书馆，约翰·里特布莱特画廊：大英图书馆的珍品。摘录自泥金装饰手抄本的文字：中国及日本，神圣的经典，道教。

尽管拥有出色的作品，她在秘鲁的艺术领域中几乎不占一席之地，甚至还没有任何作品发表。我必须明确地强调并承认她影响了我理解自己作品的方式，同时因为上述的因素，我无法在学术上引用她对我的直接教导和影响力。

老子道德经第一章：“道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。无名天地之始；有名万物之母。故常无，欲以观奇妙；常有，欲以观其徼。此两者同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，众妙之门。”S·曼内尔斯和M·奥尔特（1948年：一）道与德经。老子道德经英语版本。肯特：伟大的友伴的秩序。

    untitled; charcoal on paper, 81 x 116cm | Lima 2011

untitled; charcoal on paper, 81 x 116cm | Lima 2012

untitled; charcoal on paper | Lima 2012

 untitled; charcoal on paper, 116 x 81cm | Lima 2012

Jaime Miranda,

Jaime Miranda Bambaren,

www.jaimemiranda.com