An Award of Merit

QumranEleven: unearthed evidence VII

acrylic on paper with stitching

20" x 9.5"

I was surprised and honored to have received an Award of Merit at the 7th Annual ArtistsRegistry. com members'  juried show in December.  There were about 100 works of art exhibited.  I have been included in and attended this opening reception for several years, but received my first award this year.  There is always new and innovative work from local Florida artists and the Gallery at Avalon Island is a beautiful space in the heart of Downtown Orlando.

Clay Jars and Ancient Scrolls; a contemporary version

I'm finally putting "finished" on my new series titled QumranEleven: unearthed evidence.  This has been an ongoing journey for several months but one I have thorougly enjoyed and learned from.  Though not an archaeologist I have been gathering and filing articles and reading books that have been written about the unearthing of the ancient Scriptures I cherish so highly.  This series of paintings references these hand-written pieces of parchment and papyrus scrolls that were discovered in eleven of the Qumran Caves in Israel from 1947-1957.

Hence, there are eleven pieces in this series including a hand slab-built clay jar that I just completed after taking a pottery class in hand-building last month.  I'm delighted with the way it came out and even more delighted I can add another dimension to my work.  The clay jar is 17" high and 6" wide in bisque-fired clay.  The rolled scroll is the eleventh piece in the series which is three pieces sewn together in scroll-like fashion.

My process of art-making for this series was also a discovery for me.  Unlike most of my previous works, I did not "pre-plan" these fragments as thumbnails.  After reading and researching in books and articles about the Qumran Caves and the terrain and environment as well as viewing photographs of the land and fragments of the preserved scrolls, I began by tacking 3-4 pieces of paper on the wall in my studio.  The first brush strokes were automatic drawings of line and mark representing yet not translating the beautiful languages of Hebrew and Aramaic.  Then I quickly added color in order to break up the space and obliterate any marks I didn't want.  I continued refining and adding as I saw sky, land, crevice and rock emerge.  Some pages have many layers of acrylic; others were quickly finished and left.  The pairs were unplanned until I began to see one page flow into another. Below is the opened version of the rolled-up piece sticking out of the jar.

QumranEleven: unearthed evidence XI

acrylic on paper sewn with thread

14.75"x 28.50"

When I read about these findings they shed light on and confirmed the trustworthiness of God's Word.  To me they proved the long-ago existence of real people in real places who lived real circumstances.  They made Psalm 85:11 read more than stanzas in a prayer: 

Truth shall spring out of the earth ; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

As I lived with QumranEleven: unearthed evidence I-XI for several months, I realized my interest in the old and aged carries over into my personal life.  Perhaps it's my desire for antiquity and nostalgia that keeps me cherishing old things kept from my grandparents, parents, school days, early marriage or even children's books and toys from our children's childhood and a "little something" from every place I have travelled and lived.  Or perhaps it is because they are evidence of my life lived.  These old objects have endured.  They have roots.  They have outlived the trends and fads and they bring stability.  Likewise, unearthing the Hebrew and Aramaic texts is evidence of a people who tirelessly copied the ancient yet relevant words on parchment and papyrus in order to pass on the proof and integrity of the Scripture that is eternal. 

Heaven and earth will pass away

but my words will never pass away.

Matthew 24:35.

New Works and Thoughts

I'ts about time I return to blogging.  I'm surprised I've waited this long.  I've been privileged to spend a lot of time in my studio the last couple months and have completed several new works except for final presentation.  I've been working on some calls for entries to three FL Museums and have one more submission to complete.  They all were listed about the same time so I've tried to make decisions about what goes where.  I'll be sharing where these are later, if I've found favor to be accepted in any of them.

I also visited the Florida Museum for Women Artists in Deland, FL where I have several friends exhibiting in a special Witness to Creativity show which allowed visitors to observe the art-making in progress for a week.  Go to  http://www.floridamuseumforwomenartists.org/ to check it out and if you're in Florida, be sure to see it.

I took a one-day Letterpress and Bookbinding workshop at Rollins College under Prof. Rachel Simmons a couple weeks ago.  It was tedious and time consuming but I'm happy to have printed four copies of the small four-page book and now I'm finishing it by adding color and illustrations and vellum.  When the pages are completed, I'll bind them and will have four limited-edition books!  I'll try to post a couple images when completed.

I've mentioned before I've been inspired to do a series of paintings based on the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls by a shepherd boy in the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea in Israel.  I'm so caught up in this work and have been consumed by studying the archaeological implications of this unearthed evidence that the Scriptures existed, were hand-lettered and preserved in clay pots down in these caves for years!  God's hand at preserving them is evident.  I've posted one image of QumranEleven: unearthed evidence I. It's been a new experience to incorporate "automatic drawing" that I learned in my Feb. workshop which gives a sense of "language" even though there are no recognizable words on the page.   I have so many notes to accompany the works--presently seven and potentially eleven to complete the series.  I'm contemplating the manner in which they will be presented and how I will compile all I have learned.  Writing about my work and inspiration is defintely closure for me in the process of art-making. 

QumranEleven: unearthed evidence I

acrylic with gold leaf on paper

14.75" x 9.5"

I'm also heavily in the middle of another series inspired by the Medieval Books of Hours, mentioned in a former post.  These are small, 6" x 6" images and I'm contemplating how they will be presented along with the writing of all I've learned. Then there's the 2010 Christmas card I've begun to make.  So much, so few hours in a day. . . .sometimes I'd like to have energy to work into the night.  But, I'm still trying to establish balance and quiet/meditative time so I don't miss out on what comes across my life on a daily, hour by hour basis. Challenging.

Watermelon on Memorial Day

This blog has been on my mind but I'm just now taking the initiative to write again. . . .on Memorial Day.  It's been a good holiday as I've given myself permission to do "what I want to do".  I've been learning I do not need to "go away" for a holiday but just by changing out what I do and when I do it makes it feel like a holiday.  So, I've celebrated by changing around my day and cutting open a big, juicy, red watermelon just like my dad used to do when he took an Indiana-grown watermelon into the backyard and cut it up so my three siblings and I could each have a slice and slurp it up with drips running down our chin!  What memories.  Maybe a watermelon will find it's way into a painting sometime?

I've continued in my "giving" mode by offering a recent painting (shown below) to the Limner Society http://www.limnersociety.com/ for their Small Works Art Sale Fundraiser.  Check out their website for more information. 

Third Day Vegetation

18" x 18"

acrylic on paper

I continue to learn more about acrylics and am enjoying the process.  I've begun a series of acrylic paintings inspired by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  I've found a fascination for archaeology and the unearthing of fragments from the original scrolls of the Old Testament which were discovered in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea in 1947.  These discoveries contained several copies of every book of the Old Testament with the exception of the Book of Esther!  More about that inspiration later.

I've also begun a series inspired by the Medieval Books of Hours, which record hand-written prayers for different times of the day.  These were books for private devotions and were often commissioned and could have been the first and only book a commoner owned!   They often brought awareness of the presence of God throughout the day.  I'm fascinated with scribes, illuminated manuscripts, and all manner of book-making, paper, letters, etc.  I don't know where all this is going, but I'm newly inspired to keep reading, making and finding out.