Women’s Faces
In the fall of 2011, I walked through German, Polish, and Romanian Holocaust memorial sites and museums. I boarded an old train to visit the venerated Black Madonna icon in Czestochowa, Poland. These experiences touched me deeply and I returned home ill and completely depleted of energy. However, that dark period gradually inspired me to transform my powerful reactions and revealed a new series of artworks — the only way I could process the tumultuous feelings of sadness I experienced. I created a series of 18 pieces depicting the female face. Except for the image I painted of myself, the faces were all essentially of a blue hue. The first three, uploaded here in Face 1 and Face 3, appeared quickly on paper yet they were among the most wrenching to paint.
I experienced a message while in front of the Black Madonna icon in Czestochowa. I sensed that her message of compassion, wisdom, and love needed to be spread beyond the confines of the small chapel in the Janas Gora Monastery. I further sensed she wanted her being to be brought forward using the color blue – blue for the sky, the water, and for serenity.
Face #1 15”w x 22”h Mixed media on gessoed paper 2012
This is the first artwork I completed after returning from a trip to Eastern Europe where I visited the Holocaust camps.
Face #3 15”w x 22”h Acrhylic on gessoed paper 2012
The last of a trilogy of art pieces reflecting my emotional response to walking through the camps of Buchenwald and Auschwitz and the Jewish Museum in Berlin in 2011. I painted this piece very, very quickly. It is haunting.
Crown of Thorns 15”w x 22”h Acrylic on gessoed paper 2012
Pictures of women wearing a crown of thorns are few and far between. The image reflects the pain and suffering women endure.
Enclosed and Captive 15”w x 22”h Acrylic on gessoed paper 2012
This artwork illustrates, for me at least, women who are either willingly or forced to be held captive.
Amethyst 15” x 22” Acrylic in gessoed paper 2012
I must have been seeking calm and serenity to have included a large amethyst crystal in this painting. This purple crystal is one of the most popular in the world and has been used to support the generating of peaceful feelings and calm energy.
Mary Lou 48’”w x 48” h Acrylic on Gessoed paper 2012
Painted in a burst of energy, this self portrait is probably the only one I have done of myself. I am glad I am smiling!
Speak Up 15”w x 22”h Acrylic on gessoed paper 2012
This painting portrays an elder woman who is not afraid to speak up and shout out what is on her mind about injustice. Courage, inner strength, and wisdom hopefully will be found to come together at some point in a woman’s life, and she will then powerfully vocalize her deep kindness, compassion, and love in and for the world.
Peace 15”w x 22”h Acrylic on gessoed paper 2012
Peace — “Salam” in Arabic. In A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini, the burqa is a symbol of control over a woman. When the Taliban issues the order that all women must wear burqas, it further represents the power of all men over women under their rule. There are many interpretations of the wearing of traditional female bodily coverings such as burqas and hijabs. In this painting, I chose to insert the word PEACE for obvious reasons. The ladder in the background illustrates a possible way to escape tight restrictions imposed on women.
Serenity 15” x 22”h Acrylic on gessoed paper 2012
This painting is the last of 18 artworks in my Faces series.