MFA Thesis Show: Spring 2009

MFA Thesis Show: Below are images from the 2009 MFA Thesis Exhibition at the New York Studio School. The exhibition featured 14 sculptors and painters from around the world and the United States. In the final month leading to the show, the investigations of the past year coalesced into a single body of work. Derek O'Neill's talk on the Tibetan Wheel of Life inspired an investigation of mandalas and symbols which led me to the works of Joseph Campbell, Carl G. Jung and Sir James G. Frazer, and the art of ancient Indian, Himalayan and Native American cultures, to name a few.

The following are collages made with materials found in my studio: paper, wood, canvas, acrylic paint, oil paint, watercolor and gouache. Some are combined with needle and thread, others with glue and string. The final pieces (Triangle Piece, Portrait of a Man, Four Corners) are the most sculptural: they begin to incorporate the wooden backing that protrudes from the wall. The Self-Portrait with Bamboo is painted on sewn canvas scraps.

Memama’s Tapestry
20" x 15" watercolor on paper
September 2008

Jazz & Tibetan Wheel of Life: Winter 2009

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.

Close Your Eyes and It's Passed...
11" x 17" watercolor and ink on paper
January 2009

Geometric Symbolism: Fall 2008

September 2008 began my second year of the New York Studio School MFA program. After summer of making art in relative freedom, I felt pressure to create a solid and serious body of work. Although the MFA show was over six months away, anxiety often clouded my mind. For example, I wondered how I could focus on a single subject when my tendency is to make multiple bodies of work that relate on a grander scale. The lesson that I learned during MFA 2 year was self trust: finding the courage to pursue what feels right, even if it means taking a different path than expected. Here is a sampling of works created during the first half of the year.

Transcriptions for the Fall 2008 Benefit: The Four Elements
Every year the New York Studio School has a benefit auction and dinner which raises scholarship money. Graham Nickson, the dean, selects a theme for the year and students make transcriptions (a personalized version of a copy) of works of art related to this theme. This year's theme was the four elements. I selected paintings that I saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: two by Nicolas Poussin, a French painter who studied in Italy, one by Eugene Delacroix and one by El Greco. The first Poussin transcription was given to Sean Scully as a gift from the school and the second disappeared from the benefit!

Transcription of Nicolas Poussin's

Summer: Ruth and Boaz (1660-1664)

9" x 12" oil on wood

October 2008