14 x 24
pastel, graphite, Irish linen thread on paper sewn onto wooden panel
$650.

The mandala has had deep and personal meaning for me for most of my adult life. As a gallerist, I represented artists making kaleidoscopes for nearly 3 decades and was immersed in the beauty, the symmetry and the rhythm of the changing patterns found within these magical and artistic devices. I found them to be meditative through their mesmerizing, ever changing patterns. Through the kaleidoscope I discovered the beauty that can be found in chaos and subsequently, my imperfections.

In recent years, I have used the mandala in workshops with my coaching clients as well as through the Outreach program at Arizona Artists Guild, working with Veterans, Survivors of Suicide, and non-English speaking adult refugees. I saw its universal power through my work with young women around the world through the World Academy for the Future of Women while in China during the spring of 2018. Shortly after, the mandala began to show up in my art work as well.

This series, these mandalas, is about the repetition of behaviors and beliefs that inform our choices. Our days, weeks, months, even years can be filled with unconscious repetition of habits or a conscious engagement with activity. It is by looking and doing, and through stillness and observation that we can really see the pattern of our lives.

When I began the work for this show, I thought Silence was monochromatic. A soft, quiet time where I could be still in the pause between the breaths, thoughts floating by without engagement, and a focus on peace and tranquility. As the work progressed so too did the path of my life. Through this engagement I discovered the brilliance and the colors of stilled Silence.