|
Portraits
of Our Self and Others
Intimate
Conversations We Have with Our Self
As a child
of eight enrolled in adult art classes, my driving ambition was
learning how to "do" a human face. Even at that young
age, I was conscious of the time we took to "read" the
faces of others for the telling signs of warning, love, hostility
or kindness. Instead, I was charged with duplicating stale landscapes,
tired arrangements of flowers and fruit and one besotted Cocker
Spaniel with the longest, curliest ears I had ever seen. Reproduced
in charcoal, it lacked all the qualities of life displayed by my
dog at home. It seemed as if it would take forever to get to faces
(it did!) so in despair, I began my own clandestine series of "faces"
which persisted in seclusion all through the years of my life. They
would occasionally emerge from hiding and bring forth new meaning
to the past. Many times they served as therapy in the gathering
storms of grief and would emerge unbidden in full force: "My
Mother Myself" "My Sister Myself." Sent as messengers
to help rescue me from the depth of mourning . . . Others speak
to me in profound silence, marking the journey through life.
 |
Within each
of us lurks an artist waiting to be invited to participate in the
process of creativity. Fun-filled Ateliers will introduce students
and faculty to the visual arts as an oasis for creativity enhancement
and stress management. The concept is based on research which state
that we remember 20% of what we hear, 40% of what we hear and see,
but 75% of what we hear, see and do. In other words, people of all
ages learn best when they actively participate in learning, are
challenged and have fun in the process. Within moments, the healing
dimension of art is revealed and stress reduction is palpable.
-- Mary Anne Bartley |
|
Image 14
My Mother, My Self
(click
to enlarge)
|
|
 |
