Strength and Wisdom: Knowing

Knowing: Zoe oil on canvas Jude Harzer 2012

Knowing: Savka: "dedicated and brave" inspired by photograph of artist Natalija Mijatovic 

Knowing series oil on canvas oil on canvaas 2012

It was Aristotle who said that knowing ourselves is the beginning of all wisdom. My current work continues to explore feminine strength and resiliency but also the knowing of self that results from life experience. One does not have to be aged to possess wisdom, although grace in maturity is often evidence that the individual has learned a thing or two about how to navigate this life . It requires mastery of mind, strength of spirit, flexibility and a whole lot of letting go. But curiously, children often exude this same inner fortitude and awareness. In youth , some have been challenged to tap into those internal reserves that protect and preserve them from moment to moment. They exhibit a quietness and composure that reminds us that they are witnessing , constantly observing and learning.... They see and know based on how they are made to feel and how they perceive the business of life and the reactions and patterns of behavior of their elders to it.So my new work will celebrate the seers and knowers, whatever the age, because in exploring them, I am reminded how very little I know about myself ...how fabulously  foolish and flawed. ...

Contrary to what some people may believe, creating  art is more about discipline, time and practice than it is about talent and inspiration. I have the privilege of having access to some amazing professors at the Savannah College of Art and Design who are guiding me as I desperately try to paint, learn and improve. It helps to borrow the eyes and minds of other artists as I complete my first full year of graduate school. The goal is to finish before I am 50. Hmmm....I am on track. Fingers crossed! Here is some of the work that I have produced during the past 3 weeks of summer study at SCAD.

The Copper Frog Studio and Gallery

I am so grateful and honored to have been invited to exhibit my work at The Copper Frog Studio and Gallery in Allentown, New Jersey. I am a 1981 graduate of the nearby Allentown High School, home of the Redbirds! It feels like coming home!

Owned and operated by the very talented and renowned visual artist Ericka, O'Rourke, the Copper Frog will open in September of 2012.

THE GRAND OPENING WEEKEND CELEBRATION

will coincide with the  Allentown Annual Fall Festival, 

October 13th & 14th 2012

9am-5pm Saturday and Sunday

The Copper Frog Studio & Gallery

42 South Main St

@ The Old Mill

Historic Allentown, NJ 08501

Please mark your calendars and join us to celebrate the revitalization of downtown Allentown and the opening of this quality art establishment. Visit the website for information regarding artists, purchases and events.
http://copperfroggallery.com/

June: The Gift of Ruins

June is here. Summer sun, creating in my studio in Savannah, daydreaming and designing my new life and wondering where it will lead...where I will live ...and how it will impact my work.
I am not fearful...well maybe just a little. I am excited by the potential and possibilities of it all.I am ridding of the guilt associated with letting go of my old life.

My niece shared this with me: “A friend took me to the most amazing place the other day. It’s called the Augusteum. Octavian Augustus built it to house his remains. When the barbarians came they trashed it along with everything else. The great Augustus, Rome’s first true great emperor...how could he have imagined that Rome, the whole world as far as he was concerned, would be in ruins. It’s one of the quietest, loneliest places in Rome. The city has grown up around it over the centuries. It feels like a precious wound, a heartbreak you won’t let go of because it hurts too good. We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we’re afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Then I looked at around to this place, at the chaos it has endured – the way it has been adapted, burned, pillaged and found a way to build itself back up again. And I was reassured, maybe my life hasn’t been so chaotic, it’s just the world that is, and the real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.” Elizabeth Gilbert

Ruin is a gift. June is here. Change will come.

Review

          

                 In order to proceed with my graduate studies at Savannah College of Art and Design I had to pass the initial review.  Trucking two dozen of my most recent works in a cargo van with my suite mate from Connecticut, Jessica, I presented my art before a panel of three professors. It was exhausting but valuable. The process forced me to focus and to thoughtfully regard the relevance of my work.I passed, with the help of very dear friends who helped hang, measure and level work. My summer studies will bring even greater change. I was encouraged to break rules , paint the darkness and quiet the voices that promote comfort, acceptance and safety. Shhhh!!!!" Faint not!" (note to self)

Time Well Spent

When I have an uninterrupted hour,deciding how to use it is easy. My preferred activity is painting . It is my passion, my meditation ,my means of navigating this world. Here is evidence of one hour last night, well spent.

Teri and Zoe

Everyone has a story . As I continue to explore my two painted series,  "On Top of My Head" and "Child's Play" ,I am looking to individuals who have powerful personal tales of pain and persistence from their childhood as subject matter. I want to know how these experiences shaped their life, impacted their relationships and influenced who they are at this moment . Although I am not at liberty to fully divulge their stories, the women whom I select to paint have emerged from horrors that are difficult to fathom and yet they have emerged with hope ,passion and formidable strength.

The following are recent works all in process. Teri and her grand daughter Zoe inspire me on many levels .It is a story of a young girl's struggle to maintain her spirit, sanity and safety in the face of unspeakable abuses . It is the tale of her efforts to protect her children and grandchild from the same...a true love story.

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
― E.E. Cummings