RECENT WORK
2020 Fort Collins Museum of Art Mask Project: Demeter
EXHIBIT: OPENING RECEPTION Friday April 3, 2020
EXHIBIT: OPENING RECEPTION Friday April 3, 2020
DEMETER mask: beginning the project
Above left: original mask form all artists received to work with;
above right: my foundation mask with wooden dowels attached at top of head for backing support for the dried foliage added later, and painted with acrylic paints. Demeter's face and hair were sculpted using Epoxy-sculpt and adhered with an industrial glue.
My brief description accompanying the mask:
Demeter is mother, autumn harvest, nourishment and fertility. Her daughter Persephone was captured by Hades and taken into the Underworld, associated with death and winter. Persephone’s return in spring is rebirth and joyful reunion. The Greek story represents the seasons of nature and cycles of life.
I’m a mother who lost my mother when I was 12, resulting in deep suffering, a long dark night of the soul, and rebirth through art and motherhood. Demeter is a reconnecting with the lost mother.
Above left: original mask form all artists received to work with;
above right: my foundation mask with wooden dowels attached at top of head for backing support for the dried foliage added later, and painted with acrylic paints. Demeter's face and hair were sculpted using Epoxy-sculpt and adhered with an industrial glue.
My brief description accompanying the mask:
Demeter is mother, autumn harvest, nourishment and fertility. Her daughter Persephone was captured by Hades and taken into the Underworld, associated with death and winter. Persephone’s return in spring is rebirth and joyful reunion. The Greek story represents the seasons of nature and cycles of life.
I’m a mother who lost my mother when I was 12, resulting in deep suffering, a long dark night of the soul, and rebirth through art and motherhood. Demeter is a reconnecting with the lost mother.
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This painting was commissioned by a client friend. She wanted a painting with Horsetooth Mt in the background, a yellowish moon, and 4 geese flying in the foreground, done in a loose and expressive style similar to much of my other work. She provided the examples below and described what she envisioned along with a story about what the symbolic significance is of specific elements in the painting. She also wanted it to be a specific size, to hang above the fireplace mantel in their living room, and to reflect the color palette, mood, and feeling of the space it would hang in. To accomplish this I took photos of the room, and then using my intuition and the information given, I created the painting above for her.
Education
MFA, Master of Fine Arts degree, University of Iowa, Multimedia-Intermedia and Video Arts
MA, Master of Arts degree, University of Iowa, Multimedia-Intermedia and Video Arts
BS, Bachelor of Science degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Art Education
Certificates
Art and Expressive Arts Therapies; Arizona, Texas
Homeopathic Medicine, Arizona
Biomagnetic Healing, Arizona
Other Coursework
Expressive Arts Therapy workshop, University of Texas Continuing Education at Laguna Gloria
Expressive Arts Therapy Summer Institute, Prescott College, Arizona
Psychology, Colorado State University; Front Range Community College
MFA, Master of Fine Arts degree, University of Iowa, Multimedia-Intermedia and Video Arts
MA, Master of Arts degree, University of Iowa, Multimedia-Intermedia and Video Arts
BS, Bachelor of Science degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Art Education
Certificates
Art and Expressive Arts Therapies; Arizona, Texas
Homeopathic Medicine, Arizona
Biomagnetic Healing, Arizona
Other Coursework
Expressive Arts Therapy workshop, University of Texas Continuing Education at Laguna Gloria
Expressive Arts Therapy Summer Institute, Prescott College, Arizona
Psychology, Colorado State University; Front Range Community College