This series is a statement about endings as being beginnings. I have decided to put beauty next to blackness or the shadow of life, the dark times when clarity is gone. The yin-yang concept flows into all of my art work. Each piece is to represent one person of the almost 3,000 deaths involved in the 911 attacks. I have used this dramatic experience in history to touch and connect with anyone who has suffered a loss in their life, either through death or divorce with the glimmer of hope that when one thing ends we celebrate it's existence and try to find the beauty of the new way of life afterward.
Wikipedia Article on 911 Attacks
The Women of the World series is a study on the beauty of strong women from different cultural backgrounds and ceremonial or dynamic experiences. From a Korean bride in traditional dress to the woman who shaved her head in honor of her Mother's struggle with cancer, these pen and inks were all done with love and respect for display at my first ever professional art showing. The art show was themed "Women and Art." So I thought my study of the Japanese Geisha should be expanded to reflect all the amazing women I have met during my travels throughout the world. I see this as an ongoing, lifetime series with no end. I chose the harsh black and white format to represent the soft beauty, passion and grace of women coupled with women's strength, from labor and birthing to the historical breaking into the world of a man's work force and Universities with intelligence, talent and creativity. This is my reflection of the toughest strength in the world.
