In the first few months of 2009, I turned to nature, memory and music for inspiration. In March I attended a workshop which inspired a studies of the Tibetan Wheel of Life*. These bodies of work taught me to pursue my interests in whatever form they took. They also refreshed my love for collage and mixed media.
January to February 2009: In January, I took a drawing marathon with John Lees. He encouraged us to experiment with different materials, including ink wash, collage, watercolor and bleach. With John, I felt liberated to make whatever came to mind: I began with collages of my brothers and the Texas landscape; an unexpected visit to a jazz concert inspired a series of drawings and collages, which later merged with the animal imagery.
Goats and Brothers
11" x 17" watercolor and ink on paper
January 2009
Brothers, Pugsly the Cat
each 11" x 17" watercolor, ink, collage on paper
January 2009
Horses in Landscape
each 11" x 17" watercolor on paper
January 2009
Sketches of Jazz Musicians
each apx. 3" x 5" pencil on paper
January 2009
Jazz in Texas Landscape
11" x 17" watercolor collage on paper
January 2009
Deep Blues
8" x 10" mixed media collage on paper
January 2009
Jazz Collage Series
each 17" x 24" mixed media collage on paper
January 2009
Horse Jazz
11" x 17" watercolor on paper
January 2009
Emo Pictures
each 11" x 17" watercolor on paper
February 2009
Horse Jazz Lovers
29" x 17" acrylic on paper
February 2009
Large Jazz Collage
36" x 36" watercolor gouache on paper
February 2009
Horizontal Jazz
9" x 22" watercolor gouache collage on paper
February 2009
Life's Cycles
26" x 20.5" watercolor and gouache on paper
February 2009
This piece was inspired by Joseph Campbell's writings.
March 2009: Tibetan Wheel of Life
In March, I attended a workshop by Derek O'Neill in New York. He talked about many things but what stuck with me was his teachings on the Tibetan Wheel of Life. The Tibetan Wheel of Life* (samsara) is the chain of successive rebirths and deaths that comprise our existence. It is the dream that we create and are subject to, unless we attain the awareness that leads to liberation.
The innermost circle of the Wheel contains a pig, a rooster and a snake, representing respectively, the greed, ignorance and jealousy that keeps us trapped on the wheel. The next circle shows the two paths one can take: the light path to enlightenment or the dark path to further suffering.
The six sections of the next circle depict the six realms of existence which are subject to birth and death. Clockwise from top: the god realm (paradise until your time is up!), the demigods (who fight with the gods), the hungry ghosts (always hungry but mouths are size of pins), the hell realm (again, not permanent), the animal realm (not very fun), the human realm (suffering and little joy). The outermost circle shows the twelve causes or attachments that link us to the wheel. They include ignorance, emotions, desire, grasping and death.
I am grateful to have received these teachings from Derek and will continue to study them. The following works of art are interpretations of the Wheel, made with acrylic paint and mixed media collage on paper.
Tibetan Wheel of Life (red)
29" x 22" watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper
March 2009
Tibetan Wheel of Life (blue)
32" x 24" acrylic on paper
March 2009
Large Wheel of Life 1
54" x 48" acrylic on paper
March 2009
Large Wheel of Life 1 (detail)Here you can see the inner circle with the pig (greed), snake (jealousy) and rooster (ignorance), the next circle showing the two paths (light and dark), surrounded by the six realms of existence (gods, demigods, hungry ghosts, hell, animals and humans). Each realm contains a Buddha who holds the key to escaping that particular realm. Recall that even the god and hell realms are impermanent.
Large Wheel of Life 254" x 48" acrylic on paper
March 2009
Large Wheel of Life 354" x 48" acrylic and pastel on paper
March 2009
*You can look up more about the Tibetan Wheel of Life online:
SQ-Wellness--Karmic Wheel of Life
Himalayan Art
Buddha.net Interactive Tour
Wikipedia (with links at bottom)
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