The Deer's Cry and Portal + 8

The paintings that I produced in Columbus last week were cathartic.

It was fortunate that I attended a workshop at the Columbus College of Art and Design for AP Studio Art teachers. The program is outstanding and any teacher of AP Studio art would benefit immensley from this. The people running the show deserve soooo much credit for all they did to make this outstanding. Brooke Hunter-Lombardi and the rest of the gang presented an amazing workshop that included info packed presentations, hands on workshops and presenters that were outstanding.

The best part was the studio. We were all given a space and were expected to produce work. This culminated in a show at the end of the week. The work produced was interesting, thought provoking and of great quality.

More important than the show was the process.. every artist was engaged in their work and it was so exciting to go to the many studios to see what was germinating and growing w/ each person. Plus, I met many, many wonderful, interesting people. Unforgettable.

On a personal level, I was able to begin processing my sadness and feelings of loss for my Dad's death.
The painting in the previous post is titled Suspension. Think about the word and its many applications.

The Deer's Cry is also known as The Breastplate of St. Patrick.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right,
Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length,
Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

The above is only a segment of the poem.

I adapted this to:
Light above you, Light beside you, Light below you and Light before you.
This is written throughout the painting.

Portal + 8: This depicts my family and where we are now; the portal being the entry way my father has gone through, the 8 represents the eight children he had and my mother is represented through the pink color. Also, my Dad loved trees, thus the tree.