Hi, I am Cleo.
I am the artist and creator of The Cave Dweller.
My work is shaped by a love for the sacred and eternal.
I love reading, riding my bike and painting.
I’m sort of “off” social media, but I have a youtube with an archive of videos. I occasionally post to patreon but even that is too much social media for me nowadays.
personal webiste: Cleosamantha.com
Youtube: youtube.com/@cleosamantha
You can email me at info.cleosamantha@gmail.com
Elder Joseph the Cave Dweller
I have named my website the Cave dweller inspired by Elder Joseph the Cave Dweller. He was a Hesychast that sometimes lived in a cave.
“This practice of seeking freedom from the passions, acquiring attention, stillness, quiet and entering into prayer in order to achieve complete union with God is known as hesychasm from the Greek word which means “stillness, rest, quiet, silence”. Elder Joseph is one of the most recent examples of a hesychast: one who practices hesychasm. Many of the great saints throughout history witness to this practice and affirm that the Christian Faith is not simply a routine or a habit but must be a personal experience of the living Christ. Like Elder Joseph, holy men like St. Gregory Palamas and St. Symeon the New Theologian taught that we cannot experience God through education, philosophy, intellectual discussion and debates. God is a person with whom we are to be in a relationship, not a topic to be discussed or facts to memorize. They taught that God desires that we know Him, to experience Him, to share His life, to become one with Him.”
Q: Where do you live?
A: Emotionally, in a 19th century cottage in the middle of nowhere. Physically, too close to a main road (Victoria, Australia).
Q: What do you do?
A: I use art to, hopefully, partake in the eternal unfolding of myth and story telling.
Q: Why mythology?
A: Myths aren’t just stories, they’re eternal truths for the ineffable.
Q: Favorite philosopher?
A: Plotinus.
Q: What’s your vibe?
A: Christian mystic
Q: Who’s your favourite mythic figure?
A: Beowulf the dragon slayer
Q: What do you want people to feel when they see your art?
A: Like childhood.
Q: Coffee or tea?
A: Both? Coffee is my main vice…the addiction is real. Tea before bed, chamomile.
Q: Sweet or savoury?
A: Sweet…
Q: Morning or night?
A: In this part of my life, the quiet of Night.
Q: Favourite weather?
A: Green
Q: Do you believe in the power of fate?
A: No. I believe in providence.
Q: Favorite animal?
A: Crow
Q: Introvert or extrovert?
A: Deep introvert
Q: Comfort activity?
A: Reading books I’ve read a million times before. The familiar words bring me comfort. I would like to start a common place journal this year.
Q: Are you sentimental?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you believe in beauty?
A: Always. Beauty is a glimpse of the eternal.