Symbols

Newly hanging in my studio from my Assisi Thin Places body of work...

Symbols

Mount Subasio, in Assisi, Italy, is said to be a sacred mountain.  On Mount Subasio there is a cave where St. Francis would go to pray and contemplate.  It is called Eremo delle Carceri (Hermitage of St. Francis). 

The whole area near the cave is rich with symbols, from the frescos in the oratory leading to the cave, to sculptures in the hillside, to a variety of crosses, including humble, rough hewn crosses embedded in nature.

I like the mystery of symbols and visual metaphors.  I was especially drawn to the more natural, subtle symbols. I phototransfered two images onto a wood panel.  One image is of an outdoor chapel just down the trail from the cave.  It had an old tree stump with a small cross carved into it and a twig that also looked like a cross.  I fused that image with one of the door that opens to the oratory and cave.  Together they seemed to portray a beauty in subtlety.

Size: (h x w) 24" x 16:
Media: Phototransfer on wood panel (maple)
AVAILABLE

Visions

This piece is entitled Visions and was created with imagery I captured while in Assisi, Italy working on my Thin Places project. It was created by fusing two photos.  One image is of a fresco from the exterior of the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, located just outside of Assisi.  The other is of a medieval alleyway winding through the town.  I like how the images work together to create the sense of a vision unfolding ahead.  It conveys a trace of a thin place.  This glimmer of the unknown-- that which is just beyond-- continues to draw me in.

I am very excited to continue my work exploring thin places.  I will be traveling to Scotland May 30-June 8 to capture imagery to create a new body of work that portrays thin places.  I am particularly interested in Iona, which is a very small island in Scotland that is considered a thin place.  I am very eager to explore and experience this place!

But I wouldn't be doing this without the amazing support and encouragement of so many people! I am grateful for those who really "get" this project and want to see it succeed.  A friend recently wrote me: "This is an exciting part of your art journey, life journey too... enjoy/share/create/teach... but most of all = GROW! "   Thanks, my friend, I plan to!

For more information about my upcoming project, visit my Iona Imagery Kickstarter page!

Size: (h x w) 20" x 16"
Media: Digital Photography
SOLD

Iona Imagery Kickstarter Partners

My sincere gratitude goes out to the following people who are partnering with me on my Iona Imagery project.  Their support will help enable me to create a new body of work inspired by my experiences of thin places in Iona, Scotland.  

Special thanks to:

Barbara J.

Pamela Daum, in honor of her mother, Betty Joan White Zucker Milner

Lexi

Tom and Joyce Waalkes
Sharon and Jim Charmley
Fredlee Votaw
Brett and Brenda Woudenberg
Emil Alecusan
Jeff Dreyer
Su Nimon
Robb Hankins
Heidi Beke Harrigan
Marcia Everett
Barb Walker
Paul & Gail Wetherell-Sack

To find out more about my Iona Imagery project and how you can back my project please click here to visit my Kickstarter page!

The piece pictured above is part of my Thin Places body of work that was inspired by my thin place experiences in Assisi, Italy.  It is entitled Shelter, and is a combination of two images.  One is a photo of sheep grazing on a peaceful hillside outside of town.  The other is of the Eremo delle Carceri, which is the cave in Mount Subasio where St. Francis used to retreat for prayer and contemplation.  Perhaps it was because the cave was integrated in the quietness of nature, but I found it to feel even more sacred, or thin, than the St. Francis Basilica with all of it's frescoed splendor.

Size (h x w) 12" x 9"
Media: Phototransfer on wood panel
SOLD

Transcendence

Transcendence was created using imagery from Assisi, Italy.  It combines a photo of a stairway going up to the Basilica of St. Francis with an image of the Umbrian countryside, as seen from outside the San Damiano church and monastery.  On their own, each image captured a quiet sense of space, one near and the other far. Together, they fuse into a contemplative space somewhere in between here and there.

Size: (h x w) 24" x 16"
Media: Original digital photography on wood
SOLD

Grateful

As I scurry around this week finishing up the last installment of Thin Places artwork and looking back over this past year, I am reminded of how very thankful I am to have had the opportunity to go on the artist residency in Assisi to work on this project.  At the end of this project I have particularly enjoyed revisiting my photos, my stash of mementos, and my journal entries that so vividly remind me of the "thinness" I experienced.  I have been moved and inspired far beyond my expectations.

Many thanks to all of you who have affirmed and supported me through this adventure.  I am deeply grateful!

At this point, I am not sure if my Thin Places body of work will be exhibited again locally, so if you are in the area, please come to the opening reception for the show on Friday, January 11 from 5-9 pm at the Market Street Art Spot in Minerva.

Nearing Completion

Well, I am happy to say that the Thin Places body of work will be completed by the end of the year!  It has been such a wonderful process for me to strive to create work that offers a glimpse at my experiences of thin places while I was in Assisi, Italy.  Some of these pieces are currently in an exhibit in Assisi (opening December 2) and in the Dueber Cafe Gallery at the Timken Company in Canton, OH (until January 15).  The rest of the work will be on exhibit at The Art Spot in Minerva, OH, opening January 11, 2013.  Now my next goal is to try to find a venue for the entire body of work to be exhibited all together!

With that said, it feels a little sad to be nearing the completion of this project.  It has been such a fulfilling experience and I have been stretched and challenged in so many new ways-- I don't want that to stop.  I want to use this as a springboard to the next project...whatever that may be!  Though the next project has not yet emerged from the bramble of ideas in my head, I look forward to seeing what's next.

Thinking and Being

Two images are combined in this piece to capture experiences while in Assisi, Italy that made me want to just pause and “be.”

One image is of a weathered chair.  It was in an old Italian farmhouse outside of Assisi.  It captured my imagination with its distressed beauty and seemed to exude a sense of history that was embedded in this worn, yet sturdy chair.

The second image was a mountain view taken from the top of Mount Subasio, also in Assisi.  The vastness of the beauty made me pause to savor it.

Thinking and Being
Size (h x w): 24" x 30"
Media: Digital Photography on canvas
SOLD

Unexpected Surprise!

So many have asked about my time in Assisi.  It has been difficult to articulate and share about the large and small elements of the experience that made it so inspiring, rewarding, thought provoking, moving,...but I am working on it!  I am still thinking about and processing so many aspects of it, which I am sure I will be doing for quite a while!  Creating the new body of work will undoubtedly be an integral part of processing the experience. 

Interestingly, since returning from Italy I have noticed that I am still scanning my surroundings with a heightened sense of observation, looking for beauty and meaning around me.  In Assisi, I knew I had limited time and was seeking to capture imagery and experience the surroundings to create my Thin Places body of work.  Yet, here I am, back in Ohio, looking closely and appreciating the beauty around me.  What an unexpected surprise!

Assisi

I spent a full day in Assisi, walking up hills and down hills. There was a wonderful sense of adventure as the streets have small alleys branching off and interconnecting with other streets. There was a continuous feeling of discovery as I wandered around bends, hiked up steps and wound through narrow streets. Assisi is on the side of a large hill, so it obviously slopes downhill, but it also goes downhill on the opposite plane, making for a lot of inclines and steps! It is really amazing to see the various Roman arches that indicate where the city walls were and where expansion took place. One road shows three expansions, a very early arch, one from an expansion in 1265 and another from 1316.

It wasn't very crowded today, so I really got a great feel for the place in a quiet atmosphere. I saw the Rocca Minore and the Rocca Maggiore, both medieval fortresses. I toured the inside of the large fortress, which was historically and architecturally intriguing. It also provided an excellent view, since it is on the top of the hill that Assisi is situated on. I spent a good amount of time at the cemetery just outside the city walls. It was a contemplative place with abundant artwork and a beautiful view. It didn't have the forsaken feel of so many other cemeteries, the dead were not forgotten with the scent of fresh flowers by numerous graves, old and new.

I visited many churches today, but the church I enjoyed most was St. Stephano. It is one of the oldest churches in Assisi and was built very plainly by stonemasons. It was the most unadorned basic church I had been in so far, but there was something about the beauty of the sparse space, with only a few faded frescos and low lighting, which provided dramatic shadows.

Eremo delle Carceri

Perhaps my favorite place yet is the area around St. Francis' hermitage, the Eremo Della Carceri. On Mt. Subascio there is a cave or grotto where St. Francis would withdraw to pray and contemplate. (Carceri means "to withdraw"). To get there, you go through a tiny 15th century oratory connected to a small chapel area, the Cappella Della Madonna. There is one fresco in each area, which you can stand very near to and focus on. These intimate spaces provided a deeply thin place for me. I am still pondering the oratory and chapel, as to why it felt so different. Perhaps because of its close proximity with nature, intimate spaces, fewer crowds, the history surrounding it, or a mixture of them all. I know there is no formula for thin places, but I am still left with a sense of wonder.

Funding Successful!

The Assisi Thin Places project has been funded!!!! Many thanks to all who have supported my project!!! The names of those who have made this project successful are listed in the post below... Again, thank you so much, I am so very grateful!

Assisi Thin Places Partners

I am honored to list those who have pledged to partner with me on the Assisi Thin Places project:

Jill & Todd Rich
Harry & Laurie Winters
David Wills
Ann Lawson
Steve & Sarah Shumaker
Brett & Brenda Woudenberg
Tom & Joyce Waalkes
Su Nimon
Laurie & John Skipper
Paul & Lynn Digby
Richard Thomas
Todd Walburn & Brennis Booth
Tom & Debbie Beiter
Margie Stocker
Tiffany Marsh
Kevin Maxwell
Marcia Everett
Ginny & Steve Jensen
Paul & Gail Wetherell Sack
Marge & John Oliver

If you are interested in learning more about the Assisi Thin Places project or partnering with me on it, please check out my project page on Kickstarter.

Artist Residency in Assisi

I have been accepted for an artist residency at the Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Assisi, Italy. While there, I will be working on capturing imagery for a new mixed media body of work that conveys thin places. A thin place being a time or place in which the veil between the divine and human feels mysteriously thinner, or more permeable. I will be using the imagery from the residency to create mixed media pieces that juxtapose different images together to create intriguing perspectives of a thin place. In addition, I will have a piece of my new work, created as a result of the residency, exhibited in Assisi this fall, along with the work of other artists in residence from throughout this year.

I will travel to Italy on March 21 and return on April 2, 2012. I am using Kickstarter as a funding platform to help fund the travel costs involved in getting to and from Assisi for the residency. Please check out my page on Kickstarter.com, my project title is: Assisi Thin Places. By funding my project, you are also funding the creation of my new body of work for exhibition!