How can one feel thoughts, ideas and memories? The answer is through art. Art grasps the power to feel in its ancient hand. The hand of art can stroke meaningful thoughts, cup new ideas that overflow with creativity or gently cradle memories reflecting bitter-sweet days. The hand of art can slap the viewer with disturbing images or wipe away the tears of deep emotions. Enfolded in the hand of art is the power to communicate in a manner that needs no words, no interpretation, only a quiet moment for one to grasp, reflect and be inspired.
I created the following artwork during my summer studio classes at the University of Florida. They are the ramifications of thought, idea and memory stemming from my research trip to Cuba. Research is such a sterile word to describe a life changing event. I would prefer the term happenings. After all, research, in its pure form, is nothing more than interpreting past and ongoing happenings. As I approach my final semester of Graduate school and another phase of research or happenings, I am reminded of the significance of my journey. The subsequent images are not meant to be museum quality masterpieces but rather my own personal interpretations of a journey that began with the idea of traveling to Cuba. In fact many of the drawings and paintings were created in less than 10 minutes. Fork drawings under three minutes. I wanted to capture feeling father than be concerned with precision. There comes a time when one realizes that creating art for oneself surpasses the need to create art that meets the expectation of others.
Here is my hand reflecting my happenings in Cuba.
Cathedral shrine created out of clay.
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| Old coins in windows. |
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| Sea Glass in Stained glass window. |
Inspiration for fork book.
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| The image of a fork symbolizes the need for food in Cuba as well as the process of decision making -fork in the road. |
Inspiration for Tiles
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| Tiles created by Cuban Artist |
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| Rustic Tiles that I made at UF Ceramics |
Doodle sketches inspired by Cuban Artist
Altered Book
