More Paper Panoramas

Countryside Collage 1- mixed media work on paper

Countryside Collage 2- mixed media work on paper

Countryside Collage 3- mixed media work on paper

Countryside Collage 4- mixed media work on paper It has been almost 2 years since I have done any traveling. Since there is no new travel, I am left with remembered images and my imagination to create imaginary landscapes. I create art that is a mixture of what I have seen with my eyes and the truth of what I see in my heart.

Travel In My Mind's Eye

 

 

Since travel is limited this days, I am searching back in my photos and my mind's eye to previous travel to my favorite places. Antarctica is up there as my number 1 spot. I am so fortunate to have been there, traveled through some parts of it and walked on the White Continent.

I made these 12 x 12" mixed media works on paper recently and will include some, if not all, of them in my upcoming exhibit Footprints: Travel Landscapes at Da Vinci Art Alliance in May 2021. The exhibition will include art inspired by my travel to the seven continents.  Details will follow.

Traveling as an Inward Journey

I love to travel and was always drawn to experiences new things. As a child, I had a map of the United States on the wall at the foot of my bed. I would study it and memorize the capitals and states. I wanted to visit all the states and was so happy when I could count up more than the two states PA and NJ as states I had visited.

I like to travel far away, to exotic places. Despite the inconvenience of long flights, or the fear of being so far from home, I am always ready to go some place new. The jet lag and hassle of arrangements are worth it. Once I leave my comfort zone and start the journey, I am ready to face the unknown- another culture, another place. I will learn from the travel challenges about the places I am visiting and about myself as well.

Someone once asked me why I travel. What's the point? This person never goes anywhere new. He stays home. In the Torah, God tells Abraham to "Go Forth." Rashi, the medieval Torah commentator, points out that these words literally mean "go to you." He understands this to mean that God is telling Abraham to go forward for his own good, to delve into himself. Go on a physical journey and find your true self- who you should be- in an inner journey at the same time.

Maybe being away from my familiar surroundings and culture frees me to learn more about myself than I normally would. I will be doing things I would normally not do- like riding in a helicopter, or going on a glacier, or climbing a mountain. I will be negotiating travel experiences and challenges. I will be meeting new people and seeing new things. I can see things differently and understand who I am more clearly. I am renewed. I discover this self-knowledge in an unfamiliar setting, coming home changed by my experiences.

I would like to thank Rabbi Danielle Stillman, Hillel advisor at Ursinus College for her insights into Lech Lecha from the Torah Portion in the Jewish Exponent, 10/29/09.

From top: Yellow Sky, mixed media and Yellow and Blue, mixed media, use vibrant hues and earthy textures, incorporating the mystery of memory and the magic of place. They express my reaction to travel and show how the journey from physical places to places in my being have been changed forever.

Light Relumed

My solo show Light Relumed at the Cosmopolitan Club in Philadelphia contains 23 original mixed media and monotype prints that I have done based on my current travel. Many of them have been discussed in previous blog postings.

The exhibit is on the second floor in the dining room. I love color and it is obvious when you walk in the room how my art brightens the space and lights up the atmosphere. The show will be up until June 25, 2009 and I invite you to see it.