Featured artist: Ulla Anobile
April 11 - May 5, 2015
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 11, 2015 * 6p-9p
Cactus Gallery is pleased to present Communing with the Ancestors. Please join us for this thought provoking exhibition brought to life through imagination and memory.
Contact Sandra Mastroianni at semastroianni70@yahoo.com for purchase info or additional images. The gallery is open to installment plans to help you grow your collection.
Ulla Anobile: ARTIST'S STATEMENT
For this series of works, I focused on the mythical world of my long-gone Finnish-Karelian ancestors: their ideas and beliefs about this world as well as the afterlife. I began with snippets I knew or had heard about when growing up in Finland, and then based on those snippets, did quite a bit of research.
I read books and roamed around the Internet, and many surprising facts came to light, as I learned about the pre-Christian world my ancestors inhabited. It was a world both harsh and poetic; despite the day-to-day struggles, it still was full of songs, poems and myths about nature gods, animal spirits and all sorts of small invisible creatures.
My family comes from what used to be the eastern part of Finland, called Karelia. This region was ceded to the Soviet Union after two wars fought between the countries during the Second World War. My family, along with around 500 000 Karelians, left their homes and were absorbed by Finland proper, whose population in those days was only around 4,5 million.
Consequently, the stories I heard about Karelia and the old days were filled with a sense of loss and nostalgia. In some ways, it was a wound that never healed, and there were other family tragedies that followed. At one point, as a teenager, I wanted nothing to do with all that loss. I wanted to be myself, a modern, sophisticated European person.
Now, as I'm getting older, I've began to understand that even though I did not grow up in Karelia, I am in many surprising ways a Karelian person. And I've come see and feel how strong my roots are, and how, even today, I carry my ancestors in a living part of my psyche.
These works are part of that journey of discovery - and there are still many, many other stories to tell.
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PUHURI (Spirit of North Wind) Ulla Anobile
paper mache, acrylics, 5” x 12"
$175 - AVAILABLE
PUHURI (Spirit of North Wind)
Puhuri was a personification of a special kind of brisk, chilly north wind and is still used when speaking of cold winter winds. In Finnish myths, Puhuri is the progenitor of Pakkanen, the personification of cold winter weather, much like Jack the Frost. There are special poems addressing Puhuri and Pakkanen, and petitioning them to be gentle and not cause chills or frostbite.
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SIELULINTU LÄHTEE (Bird Soul Leaving) Ulla Anobile paper mache, mixed media, 9 1/2" x 4"
SOLD
SIELULINTU LÄHTEE (Bird Soul Leaving)
According to Karelian folklore, a person had several souls (or, as we might say in contemporary terms, core identities). One of them was the bird soul. At the moment of death, this soul departed the body, and would sometimes return at birth to the body of another family member. Other myths about the afterlife also hint at some type of belief in reincarnation. It was thought that yard birds in particular (as opposed to water birds) might be ancestral souls paying the old homestead a visit.
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VEDENALAISET (Underwater Folk ) Ulla Anobile paper mache, acrylics, 16 1/2" x 17 1/2"
SOLD
VEDENALAISET (Underwater Folk)
One of the Finnish myths about the afterlife tells us that those who've passed go to an underwater world, which can be either a large body of water or a dark river. The river of Tuonela - Tuonelan joki - resembles the river Styx in Greek mythology, except that the one ferrying the dead souls is a woman: Tuonen Tytti (daughter of Tuoni). This realm is also sometimes called Manala. Many other myths exist about the afterlife. Some of them hint at the idea of souls at some point returning to a new life.
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LANGETA LOVEEN (Falling Underground)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, acrylics, 9 1/2" x 13 1/2"
$350 - AVAILABLE
LANGETA LOVEEN (Falling Underground)
The words literally means 'falling into a hole' and refer to a wise man or woman ('tietäjä', a 'knower') falling into a trance in order to travel to the otherworld and consult the ancestors about some important issue. The accompanying spirit guide could be a special ancestor (left), a raven (right) or a snake (on the arm).
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MENNINKÄINEN #1 (Underground Spirit)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, wood, acrylics, 5” x 5"
SOLD
MENNINKÄINEN #1 (Underground Spirit)
When I was a child, 'menninkäinen' in storybooks simply meant a 'gnome' or a 'troll'. But it turns out that they, too were a form of ancestral spirits. They were shy creatures living underground and rarely showed themselves. If treated properly, they would bring luck to a household. But if treated with disrespect, they might cause some sort of mischief.
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MENNINKÄINEN #2 (Underground Spirit)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, wood, acrylics, burlap fibers, 5” x 5"
SOLD
MENNINKÄINEN #2 (Underground Spirit)
When I was a child, 'menninkäinen' in storybooks simply meant a 'gnome' or a 'troll'. But it turns out that they, too were a form of ancestral spirits. They were shy creatures living underground and rarely showed themselves. If treated properly, they would bring luck to a household. But if treated with disrespect, they might cause some sort of mischief.
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KULTA KÄKÕNEN (Darling Cuckoo)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, wood, acrylics, felt, embroidery floss, 14" x 9 1/2"
$195 - AVAILABLE
KULTA KÄKÕNEN (Darling Cuckoo)
Many Finnish folk songs and poems feature the cuckoo, 'käki'. Käkönen is a form of endearment, and it also happens to be my Finnish surname. It is assumed that such animal-based surnames came from a clan's totemic animal. In surnames, the 'nen' suffix refers to origins, as in 'coming from'. I have many friends whose surnames translate as Foxes, Bears, Wolves, Cranes, Roosters and so on. Particularly in Karelia, animal surnames were abundant.
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ENSI KÄKI (First Cuckoo)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, acrylics, 11 1/4" x 12 1/2"
$350 - AVAILABLE
ENSI KÄKI (First Cuckoo)
The cuckoo is a bird of omens and a bird of fate in Finnish mythology, and also in the folklore of many Baltic and Slavic cultures. Even today, the song of the first cuckoo has a special resonance. In the old Karelian culture, one would count the number of times the cuckoo sang to predict the future. In this piece, the young girl giddily listens to the cuckoo's message. The old-timer at left - her grandmother? her future self? - is a bit world-weary, and may even be counting how many years she has left in this life.
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HONGATAR (Mother of All Bears)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, wood, acrylics, felt, silk yarn, beads, 20 1/2" x 12"
SOLD
HONGATAR (Mother of All Bears)
The bear has a special place in Finnish folklore. In eastern Finland, he was considered an actual ancestor, so many taboos were attached to him. His birth story states that he was born 'on the shoulders of Ursa Major (Big Bear), lowered to the earth in a golden cradle with the aid of silver bands'. His spiritual mother ('emuu', an archaic form of 'emo', mother) was Hongatar, the protector of pine trees. She lived in Romentola, which meant an old-growth pine forest.
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ÄIDIT (Motherline )
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, acrylics, 9 1/2" x 17 1/2"
$350 - AVAILABLE
ÄIDIT (Motherline)
Since I did not know my biological mother - she died when I was 2 months old - I've always been fascinated by the concept of the archetypal mother. For me, Nature in its many forms has always been a surrogate mother. This piece was inspired by the fact that though I know very little about the family history of my personal mother, I do know that we all come from a long line of mothers and grandmothers extending into the dizzying past.
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AHTI (Guardian of Waters)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, acrylics, 9 1/2" x 10 1/2"
SOLD
AHTI (Guardian of Waters)
In Finnish mythology, Ahti was the god of waters, capable of granting or denying fishermen a good catch. My father, though a thoroughly modern person, still always summoned Ahti before going fishing. Ahti's spouse was called Vellamo, Mistress of Waters, and many myths exist about her as well. Their watery realm was called Ahtola.
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TULLEN MENNEN (Coming & Going)
Ulla Anobile
paper mache, acrylics, burlap, embroidery floss, 15 1/2" x 9 1/2"
$275 - AVAILABLE
TULLEN MENNEN (Coming & Going)
In my family's native Karelia, many myths existed about birds (and sometimes butterflies) as ancestral souls. Many rituals were linked to birds, their treatment and feeding. On certain days, ancestral souls were invited back to a feast. A window was left open a crack, and from it was hung an embroidered cloth ('käspaikka') as a sort of map to show them the way home. This piece commemorates that tradition. At the top is a bird called 'Karjalan käki' ('Karelian cuckoo', sometimes also called 'Karelian chicken'). Stylized forms of this bird appear in embroidered folk textiles and jewelry.
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Inseparable
Keely Benkey Reichman
Polymer clay, acrylic paint, knitted felted wool, 5” x 20"
$300 - AVAILABLE
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| Tiempo Miriam Martinez Mixed media on wood, 9" x 12" SOLD A few years ago I visited Villanueva, Zacatecas, Mexico for the first time. As I walked the deserted streets with my family I noticed an elderly woman sitting alone by a blue door. Often think of her as 'the lady by the blue door.' I had no time to get to know her, to ask her name, or perhaps I didn't want to make the time because I was too busy being a tourist in a town I didn't know. I now regret not taking the time to get to know her. So many conversations are lost with our elders because we don't make the time to listen to their stories, where they come from, what they been through and who they loved. This painting is to honor the lady by the blue door, whomever she is, she is remembered with respect and love.
Dolor de una Ausencia - "ni me da licencia el llanto, ni me da lugar el tiempo."
These two lines are taken from a poem written by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz.
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El Lobo Piñata
Joe Alvarez
Acrylic, aluminum on wood, 18” x 24”
$650 - AVAILABLE
This piñata piece was inspired by my daughter Lola’s 7th birthday party in which the attendees dressed as Little Red and the piñata was the Big Bad Wolf. Having been raised in Echo Park, CA, it was typical for my Mexican family to break piñatas for birthday parties, but the tradition dates back to Mesoamerica. Both the Mayans and the Aztecs had a similar traditions. Aztecs commemorated the birthday of the god Huitzilopochtli in mid December.
The Mexican Catholic interpretation of the piñata rested on the struggle of man against temptation. The seven points represent the seven deadly sins. The pot represents evil and the seasonal fruit and candy inside the temptations of evil. The person with the stick is blindfolded to represent faith. The turning and the singing and shouting represent the disorientation that temptation creates. In some traditions, the participant is turned thirty three times, one for each year of Christ's life. These interpretations were given to the piñata for catechism purposes. As the participant beats the piñata, it is supposed to represent the struggle against temptation and evil. When the piñata breaks, the treats inside then represent the rewards of keeping the faith.
Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, and is popular in other Latin American countries, as well as the U.S., but it has mostly lost its religious significance.
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Hands in the Sky
Isabelle Bryer
Acrylics on canvas, 30"x40"
$3000 - AVAILABLE
Hands in the sky is tied to the spirit of ancestry. The hands coming out of the sky represent the goodwill and nurturing of the girl's ancestors even though they are no longer on Earth. They still watch over her from "the sky" and the love they give her she passes on by nurturing and loving the bear. As a broader concept, it shows the idea that we are not alone but cared for by invisible spirits (and personally I am not entirely sure of it but I love that concept!).
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Queen of Nature
Isabelle Bryer
Acrylics on canvas, 24"x48"
$1950 - AVAILABLE
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What Once Was (Lo Que Alguna Vez Fue)
Patricia Krebs
Mixed media (acrylic, ink, pencil, collage & paper clay) on canvas, 10" x 30”
SOLD"What Once Was" (Lo Que Alguna Vez Fue) is an imaginary scene built in part from what I know about my family's history, and in part from what I can make up from songs they used to sing from Spain in the XV century. Through periods of peace and tranquility, and those in between wars and persecution, music was part of every day life. My ancestors had to leave Spain at this time in history because of the Inquisition, buy they carried these songs with them to other countries and through generations. "Romance del Enamorado y la Muerte" (Romance of the Lover and Dead) is one of these songs; I felt connected to it from when I was very little, and found out later on that my grandmother (whom I never met) used to sing it often, along with other songs of the same era. This is a type of music that moves me deeply. |
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Romance del Enamorado y la Muerte (Romance of the Lover and Death)
Patricia Krebs
Mixed media (acrylic, ink & collage), 10" x 30”
SOLD
"What Once Was" (Lo Que Alguna Vez Fue) is an imaginary scene built in part from what I know about my family's history, and in part from what I can make up from songs they used to sing from Spain in the XV century. Through periods of peace and tranquility, and those in between wars and persecution, music was part of every day life. My ancestors had to leave Spain at this time in history because of the Inquisition, buy they carried these songs with them to other countries and through generations. "Romance del Enamorado y la Muerte" (Romance of the Lover and Dead) is one of these songs; I felt connected to it from when I was very little, and found out later on that my grandmother (whom I never met) used to sing it often, along with other songs of the same era. This is a type of music that moves me deeply.
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Chalchitlicuepilli (La nina de las faldas de jade)
Gabriela Zapata
Acrylic on canvas, 34” x 34”
$2500 - AVAILABLE
The guardian of the waters.
She is the one that contains the seas,
The rivers, the lakes
And that makes the springs appear.
The maintainer, the sustainer
Of all life form
Over the skin of the earth.
The one who guards the precious jade in her skirt
And who maintains fresh the lushness of the earth.
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Thank You Mom
Johnny 'Zurdo' Quintanilla
Acrylic, aerosol on wood panel, 24” x 48”
$1100 - AVAILABLE
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Los Cuates
Jamie Chavez
Acrylic on toned paper, 9” x 11”, framed to 13” x 16”
SOLD
In Mexico, the term ‘cuate’ means twins, but it is also a slang term for ‘good friend.’ In this piece are the brothers in arms, the good, the bad, the twins.
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Eagle Stripes
Jamie Chavez
Acrylic on toned paper, 9” x 11”, framed to 13” x 16”
SOLD
The eagle warrior earns his stripes as well as his feathers.
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| Love
Jamie Chavez
Acrylic on toned paper, 9” x 11”, framed to 13” x 16”
SOLD
All things are beautiful when you're in love.
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Tlaloc’s Return
Jamie Chavez
Acrylic on toned paper, 9” x 11”, framed to 13” x 16”
SOLD
Inspired by wanting and waiting for the return of the rains. Tlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion; as supreme god of the rains. He was widely worshiped as a beneficent giver of life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder, and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. The number 43 is an homage to the 43 Mexican students who were abducted in September 2014 by municipal police in the city of Iguala and are still missing.
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Koo-Koo-Roo-Koo-Koo
Rosie Garcia
Oil on canvas, 12” x 12”
$300 - AVAILABLE
The morning call of the Rooster and the smell of burning wood in backyard pits always take me back to childhood memories in Mexico. The color palette is in honor of my Oaxacan sensitivity to bright colors.
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Homage to Nature, No. 4
Roger O’Leary-Archer
Monoprint
$300 - AVAILABLE
My homage to ancestors emerged through the following process. I initially free-hand cut figures for the Homage to Nature mono print series, trying to create movement and soul from my own experiences and feelings. Each figure placed in primitive, even primordial, environments became more meaningful than the next, as well as more personal regarding my own feelings. Eventually, the figures began to wear out from the amount of ink and the pressure of the printmaking press. Finally, I placed them in a more communal sense for a final collograph print representing a major event occurring generations later than the Homage to Nature series. Though these may be imaginary ancestors I strongly feel a connection to each of them and the communities in which they resided.
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My Heart Goes Out to You
Sarah Legault
Paperclay, wires and cloth, 26.5” tall
$400 - AVAILABLE
My Heart Goes Out to You represents the memories of family members who have passed away and the love that continues for them after they are gone.
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Human Nature
Daisuke Okamoto
Ink on paper, 11" x 14”, framed to 16" x 20"
$550 - AVAILABLE
This is a new type of humankind; the first of its kind. New generation and birth of universe.
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The Deep Sea Fish
Daisuke Okamoto
Indian ink on paper, 6” x 6”, framed to 9” x 9"
$200 - AVAILABLE
All animals were created from the sea. This fish gave life to new animals and creatures from the deep ocean.
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Huichol Spirit
Eden Folwell
Acrylic on canvas, 11”x14”, framed to 14”x17”
$400 - AVAILABLE
My great grandmother came to California from Jalisco, Mexico. She was from the Huichol people who are wonderful artists. Their traditional art is made by pressing yarn into beeswax covered plywood squares known as "yarn paintings". When I began painting with acrylics, I had no knowledge of this tradition. The first time I saw Huichol art, I realized that the colors and symbols in their artwork were present in many of my acrylic paintings. Like the candle in this painting, the spirit of my Huichol ancestors has illuminated my artwork and flowed through me onto the canvas. |
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Selu
Tammy Mae Moon
Soft pastel and ink on Pastelmat, 8.5” x11”, framed to 11” x 14”
SOLD
My great, great grandmother was full blood Cherokee. She liked to drink whiskey, dance, and was known as the Witch Woman of Willow Springs, MO. Evidently she had a talent for curing warts and stopping bleeding. She sounds like a woman I would have loved to have met and I feel her in my blood.
I wanted to honor her with this artwork. I chose to do a Cherokee myth of the Cherokee corn goddess, Selu, which has always fascinated me. She also got called a witch for creating corn and in some versions of the myth was murdered by her own sons for doing so. This myth relates to the Biblical creation myth. Many who study mythology believe that the sin that Eve brought into the world was farming. Before farming men were free, after they were tied to the land and often had to fight wars to protect their land. Men must have felt contempt for women, who are believed to have invented farming.
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Bear Roots
Lena Sayadian
Acrylic on wood, 8” x 8”
$275 - AVAILABLE
These works are based on the idea of how we are all connected and relate to nature. Basis of life grows from our theory evolution. From basic cell to a creature as complex as a human. We all originate from the same place and developed our own branch of life. |
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Bison Roots
Lena Sayadian
Acrylic on wood, 8” x 8”
$200 - AVAILABLE
These works are based on the idea of how we are all connected and relate to nature. Basis of life grows from our theory evolution. From basic cell to a creature as complex as a human. We all originate from the same place and developed our own branch of life.
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Deer Roots
Lena Sayadian
Acrylic on wood, 8” x 8”
$200 - AVAILABLE
These works are based on the idea of how we are all connected and relate to nature. Basis of life grows from our theory evolution. From basic cell to a creature as complex as a human. We all originate from the same place and developed our own branch of life.
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Spirits of Marble Communicate with their Ancestors (hands)
Elisa Belloni
Digital Photography, 9” x 11”
$120 - AVAILABLE
These photographs were inspired by the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, the city in which I live. The spirits, beliefs, traditions, rituals and the stories connected to the mountains and quarrymen have always been a part of our lives. The quarries have been a sacred place since the time of our ancestors, “the Apuan.”
This sacred and magical place is also a place of death and pain. The marble extraction has killed many quarrymen and changed the life and culture of the place. I think that the sacred stone that was exploited for the God of Money, and the spirits of the mountains long for us to conserve the beauty and rituals of this magnificent gift given to us.
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Spirits of Marble Communicate with their Ancestors (arms raised)
Elisa Belloni
Digital Photography, 9” x 11”, framed to
$120 - AVAILABLE
These photographs were inspired by the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, the city in which I live. The spirits, beliefs, traditions, rituals and the stories connected to the mountains and quarrymen have always been a part of our lives. The quarries have been a sacred place since the time of our ancestors, “the Apuan.”
This sacred and magical place is also a place of death and pain. The marble extraction has killed many quarrymen and changed the life and culture of the place. I think that the sacred stone that was exploited for the God of Money, and the spirits of the mountains long for us to conserve the beauty and rituals of this magnificent gift given to us.
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Spirits of Marble Communicate with their Ancestors (woman)
Elisa Belloni
Digital Photography, 9” x 11”
$120 - AVAILABLE
These photographs were inspired by the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, the city in which I live. The spirits, beliefs, traditions, rituals and the stories connected to the mountains and quarrymen have always been a part of our lives. The quarries have been a sacred place since the time of our ancestors, “the Apuan.”
This sacred and magical place is also a place of death and pain. The marble extraction has killed many quarrymen and changed the life and culture of the place. I think that the sacred stone that was exploited for the God of Money, and the spirits of the mountains long for us to conserve the beauty and rituals of this magnificent gift given to us.
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| Gilda
Klaudia Gaugier (HORKA DOLLS)
Hand painted eyes, mix of fired clay and porcelain for face, porcelain forearms & hands with movable wrists and legs
High quality synthetic fiber for hair, linen cloth filled with polyester fibers for torso, head, arms and thighs, hand embroidery, silk dress, 27” tall
$1600 - AVAILABLE
I live in Southwest Poland. It is a place where an unambiguous flat land ends and begins; marked with light and shadow, Sleza Massif - has a unique landscape, specific microclimate and extraordinarily rich history shrouded in many legends. I draw inspiration from this half real, half fantastic world listening with attention to the voices of gods, people, animals, plants and spirits.
People once believed that when a woman becomes pregnant, the holy ancestor's spirit enters her body to incarnate again. Gilda sees beyond the time and understands much more than others. She's a treasure trove of the wisdom of the generations. Dressed in red epitomizes the life force, and the heart wrapped in black as a sign of mourning for those who have passed away, she awaits for the new, the first hit. When this happens, Gilda will provide the child the philosophy and way of thinking, she'll tell stories and legends about their family and the nation as a whole.
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A Prayer for a Abul Abbaz
Laura Cosner
Colored on mylar, 12” x 12”
SOLD
In 801, the emperor Charlemagne was gifted an elephant by the caliph Harun al-Rashid. Abul Abbaz the elephant lived the remainder of his days as a war elephant - serving as both an exotic spectacle and symbol of power. He eventually met his demise on a military campaign against Denmark in 810.
In our familial and personal histories we often find stories of captivity - both literal and ideological. In paying respect to our ancestry, we remain mindful of the suffering in our past - and grateful for the choices of change and transformation we are afforded in our present. With this acknowledgement, we are given the opportunity to transmute past pain and bondage into the hope of a brighter future for ourselves and those that come after us.
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Soraidh
Mavis Leahy
Mixed media (Antique photographs, wood, human hair, milagros, beeswax, antique bisque doll and doll parts, found objects), 10" x 15" x 7.5"
$350 - AVAILABLE
In honor my Scottish ancestry, I titled this piece “Soraidh,” which is Gaelic for farewell. Memory vessels fascinate me - celebrating rich and diverse cultural heritages. I took “artistic liberty” and choose not to use the traditional jar or jug. I used many Victorian images on this piece - so I decided incorporate some of the mourning customs of the period.
It was not uncommon for families - especially those who lost children, to have plaster casts made of arms, hands and busts. The use of human hair from the deceased was also very popular. It may seem morbid, but death back then - especially of the young - was a common occurrence. The rate of childhood mortality was staggering - 57 out of 100 children in working class homes were dead by the age of 5. Grieving families wanted to memorialize those lost to them - and to keep them close - even in death.
The photographs are a mixed lot. Some are of my family-and some are unknown. However, they belong to someone, and everyone deserves to be remembered.
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Past and Seeds
Ingrid Tusell
Oil on canvas, 24” x24”
SOLD
I am woman, fruit of all women who have preceded me.
Thankfulness has the effect that the sun and rain have over a seed, it makes it flower.
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Time Is Relative
Denise Bledsoe
Mixed media, 10” tall
SOLD
This storyteller piece speaks of passing down memories and heritage through cherished photographs.
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| Independent Time
Rasa Jadzeviciene
Oil on canvas, 11” X 14”
RESERVED
By Kahlil Gibran….
On Time
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not from love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?
And is not time even as love is, undivided and spaceless?
But if in your thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.
What can help me measure time? Maybe those who already have counted it know? Can I do it? Do I need it? Did my ancestors ask themselves the same questions? Maybe can I find answers in old books? Or, maybe all asked questions shouldn't have been answered? Maybe I should write my book or painting? Let them stay somewhere independent from time. - Rasa
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She Was Me, and I Am She
Holly Wood
Acrylic gouache on panel, 12” x 12”
$500 - AVAILABLE
The inspiration I got for this Ancestors themed show was based on a past-life reading I got from my hair stylist. (Hey! I live in Santa Fe!) He saw me as a pugnacious nomadic warrior woman on a shaggy pony, riding across the steppes of Central Asia. It fits.
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Sinn Sinn Seanmhair
Anita Inverarity
Ink on paper, 8.5” x 7.5”, framed to 10” x 11”
$300 - AVAILABLE
Sinn Sinn Seanmhair is Gaelic for great-great grandmother. In creating this piece, I thought about the old traditions passed down, like being shown how to read tea leaves and other crafts or superstitions. I wondered how it came about. The standing stone on the right is a famous healing and fertility stone which once stood on the Orkney Isles - it is no longer there, which reminded me of trying to grasp at the same mysteries through time. Perhaps the whispers of our ancestors are still carried by the birds and the creatures… if you listen closely enough.
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Spada Rotta
Michael Edwards
Paper, acrylics, shellac, wax, crepe wool, 9.5” x 7”
SOLD
I find great comfort and inspiration and amusement in the comic types of the Italian Commedia. The appetites of the Captain are on display— the florid nose, the bushy mustache— but in their ridiculousness they illuminate the corresponding weakness. A window into the soul is opened when a mask is donned. Perhaps looking at these simple paper constructions is an opportunity to both laugh in amusement and to see into ourselves, where we hide the same kind of appetites and shortcomings as are found in a braggart-but-cowardly soldier.
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Frances, Portrait of My Great Grand-Mother
Candace Metzger
Mixed media, 38" x 32"
NFS
This work was inspired by my father's grand-mother, Frances Gault Ellison. I did not know her "in the flesh" as she died a couple of years before I was born. However, stories that my grand-mother Mary Ellison Allen, her daughter, and my father have told me are remarkable.....so much so, that I made this portrait of my feelings. She was half Cherokee Indian and half White. Her mother died when Frances was young, and her father, feeling that she needed a motherly influence, sent her to be raised by his sisters. One was a doctor, and Frances was inspired to become an Osteopath. She was generous, bright, "spunkie,” and always the first one to try something "new.” She met her husband, Edward Ellison at Occidental College in pre-med classes, and they both became doctors. However, since she kept fainting at the sight of blood on operating tables, she didn't carry on with her practice very much! They lived in Eagle Rock, and Edward had his practice upstairs in the "Swork" building for many years. She has inspired my feeling to be eager to explore new challenges and go beyond adversity.
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Family Ties
Linda Johnstone-Allen
Mixed media, 30” x 60”
NFS
This fabric piece was created after my mother and father, Ralph & Jeanette Johnstone, both artists, passed away. It had been many years of illness and dealing their art and collection. As I was going through their clothing, dispensing their things to various places, I felt that I had to create an "homage" to their spirits and what they had taught me in many ways, artistically and in other ways. As they wore arty and "colorful" clothing, I knew it had to be an art piece. The background material is a batik looking dress which she loved. Dad's shirts & ties were many, and he often would wear a patterned shirt with plaid pants.....loving pattern on pattern. I endeavored to pick the ones I remembered well. It was very cathartic to work with "what they wore" so often, as memories of their love and teachings went through my heart and soul.
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America the Beautiful
Patrick Haemmerlein
Mixed media collage, 8” x 13”
$150 - AVAILABLE
I can't think of two men whom guided me more then these two. While both very different, both have a love for nature that was passed on to me, and for that I am grateful. |
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(L) Liberate or Domesticate and (R) Liberate or Conform Kelly Thompson Acrylic, resin on wood panel $500 each - BOTH AVAILABLE
For "Communing with the Ancestors,” I've decided to expand on my Feminine Deportment painting series. In this new work, I’m exploring how clothing, uniforms, and outerwear communicate ideas that may challenge the feminine illusion. These simple articles of clothing can change and shape the way the world and society view a woman, and, as women ourselves, inevitably mold our own personal reactions. Women in History have struggled to find equality and independence. For instance, does a maid's uniform bring to mind being a slave or being a woman who is making a living no matter how meager? Is this a path to independence or continued regression by our patriarchal society? Was the independence of wearing a suit really a huge liberation or merely conforming to men and their ideals of power and success? Perhaps both. So excited to be included in this show celebrating Ulla Anobile’s work and life. Happy Birthday Ulla!
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Smiles
Patrick Haemmerlein
Mixed media collage, 8” x 13”
$150 - AVAILABLEI can't think of two men whom guided me more then these two. While both very different, both have a love for nature that was passed on to me, and for that I am grateful. |
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Asencion
Roger O’Leary-Archer
Collagraph
$450
My homage to ancestors emerged through the following process. I initially free-hand cut figures for the Homage to Nature mono print series, trying to create movement and soul from my own experiences and feelings. Each figure placed in primitive, even primordial, environments became more meaningful than the next, as well as more personal regarding my own feelings. Eventually, the figures began to wear out from the amount of ink and the pressure of the printmaking press. Finally, I placed them in a more communal sense for a final collograph print representing a major event occurring generations later than the Homage to Nature series. Though these may be imaginary ancestors I strongly feel a connection to each of them and the communities in which they resided.
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Apples Never Fall Far From The Tree
Janet Olenik
Tree: Acrylic on birch plywood, 24" x 36", $600
Each apple: Acrylic on birch board, 5” x 5”, $50 each
Trees have the ability to mirror life and death by living above and below ground simultaneously. Historically, trees held great reverence for this gift of duality. Apples were symbolic of many things such as life and awakening. It is suggested that before apples, the pomegranate was revered as a life symbol because of its seeds and blood red color. The phrase ‘the apple never falls far from the tree’ suggests that an individual is not that much different than the parent. It is one of many phrases involving ‘one bad apple,’ ‘rotten apples,’ ‘don’t judge an apple by its color’ and on and on...My tree is pink and its apples may have ‘fallen far from the tree.’
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