Veiled Perception
Abstract 52 x 39
Latex paint on roofing paper mounted on masonite box frame
Albert Einstein said "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
For most of us, the veils of our perception make invisible to us our deepest truths.This painting is a call to look further, deeper; to persistently peer behind the veils.
Rumi's invitation- "Work in the invisible world as least as hard as you do in the visible."
For most of us, the veils of our perception make invisible to us our deepest truths.This painting is a call to look further, deeper; to persistently peer behind the veils.
Rumi's invitation- "Work in the invisible world as least as hard as you do in the visible."
stillpoint 1
25 x 33
Abstract figurative on cold press watercolor paper, acrylic and latex paint, acrylic medium and collage mounted on recycled steel
The stillpoint is the place within us where we find ourselves present and engaged, most often in a state of awe, whole and holy.
In the poem At the Still Point, T.S. Elliot writes:
"At the still point, there the dance is,
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
And there is only the dance."
In the poem At the Still Point, T.S. Elliot writes:
"At the still point, there the dance is,
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
And there is only the dance."
When Souls Touch
41 x 29
Abstract, latex paint and collage on roofing paper mounted on masonite box frame
When Souls Touch, the passion of love upturns our hearts.
“When souls touch
intimately
the unseen applauds.
It is the echo of
the divine
against our limbs
that causes all desire.”
-Hafiz
“When souls touch
intimately
the unseen applauds.
It is the echo of
the divine
against our limbs
that causes all desire.”
-Hafiz
Becoming Light
35 x 27
Abstract painting on cold press watercolor paper, latex paint and medium. Framed.
As we rise to the higher regions of this painting we escape the concreteness of our stories and embrace the flooding beauty of the Light.
"For no reason
I start skipping like a child.
I kiss the Sun's mouth
And dissolve.
Is it true that our destiny
Is to turn into Light
Itself?"
-Hafiz
"For no reason
I start skipping like a child.
I kiss the Sun's mouth
And dissolve.
Is it true that our destiny
Is to turn into Light
Itself?"
-Hafiz
Flying-click on main painting to turn
39x36
Abstract figurative painting on roofing paper using latex paint, rose petals from my garden and burlap mounted on masonite box.
This painting is mounted to move, creating new view points at every turn.
I was asked to create a self portrait, what seemed to me a daunting task. In preparation for it, I went into silence and saw over and over again an image of myself flying above the earth and dropping rose petals from my hands. It was spring and my garden was in bloom, roses in profusion, everywhere. And so I began to paint, plucking the most beautiful petals from my garden and using them in the painting. As I worked I felt the sudden need to turn the painting upside down and at once saw another truth emerging, a portrait of me coming up for air. On it’s side, I was dancing. And so it became the turning painting. From Rumi,
"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky,
to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First to let go of life.
Finally to step without feet."
"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky,
to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First to let go of life.
Finally to step without feet."
Hanging on to What We Love, At the Lake
58 x 40 x 2 Mounted
Latex paint, chalk, acrylics on roofing paper and salvaged rusted 'ladder' mounted on painting
58 x 40 x 2 Mounted
Latex paint, chalk, acrylics on roofing paper and salvaged rusted 'ladder' mounted on painting
This painting, that combines a metal ladder, came to being out of a great love for nature. Those early morning canoe or rowboat rides across a still and beautiful lake bring us into the present like no other. How to hold such beauty in our hearts? The ladder represents a sense of hanging on to what we love, to what is lovely...deep within.
At the Lake
excerpt by Mary Oliver
This is, I think,
what holiness is:
the natural world,
where every moment is full
of the passion to keep moving.
I’ve knelt there,
and so have you,
hanging on
to what you love,
to what is lovely.
At the Lake
excerpt by Mary Oliver
This is, I think,
what holiness is:
the natural world,
where every moment is full
of the passion to keep moving.
I’ve knelt there,
and so have you,
hanging on
to what you love,
to what is lovely.
Nine Gradations of Light
Acrylic paint on canvas, mixed media
60" wide by 48" high
Acrylic paint on canvas, mixed media
60" wide by 48" high
Nine Gradations of Light is an homage to Marin poet laureateJoseph Zaccardi. His poem, The Nine Gradations of Light from his book by the same name, inspired this painting. Excerpt from poet follows:
"Firstly brightness,
which is given as ten to the power of ten.
and is given to mean miracles and snow blindness.
It tears at the eyes; it carries water into the thinness
between air and vacuum.
and is the closest thing to God, and is of itself in three parts."
"Firstly brightness,
which is given as ten to the power of ten.
and is given to mean miracles and snow blindness.
It tears at the eyes; it carries water into the thinness
between air and vacuum.
and is the closest thing to God, and is of itself in three parts."
Meditation
Canvas, acrylic paint, embedded collage
36" high by 24" wide
Canvas, acrylic paint, embedded collage
36" high by 24" wide
“Just as the ocean has waves or the sun has rays, so the minds’s own radiance.”
-S. Rinpoche
It's Tangled Out There
Assemblage collage, paint pastels mounted on carved wood with ‘book’ ends- 35”x12”
Assemblage collage, paint pastels mounted on carved wood with ‘book’ ends- 35”x12”
Tangled
Tangled
It’s tangled out
there
the world does not
remain
steady or
stationary
try as we might
to
get it
to do so
as
hot air
settles
heavy
on a
New York
day
what we want
is
a moment of
calm
when we can
pause
time
like a viral
movie.
Pause.
get up
move around it,
perhaps
even
in a moment
of
objectivity,
understand.
We are
instead
disheveled
tousled
thrown
about
in a sort of
delirious
frenzy
and yet
at the same
time as all of
that,
the sun is
shining
in
perfect
simplicity.
It’s
all unknown
hard as we try
with all our
theories and
words and
hopes and
dreams
It remains
what it has always been
for
generations and
generations,
a
wounded and
brilliantly lit
mystery.
-SandraCohn
Tangled
It’s tangled out
there
the world does not
remain
steady or
stationary
try as we might
to
get it
to do so
as
hot air
settles
heavy
on a
New York
day
what we want
is
a moment of
calm
when we can
pause
time
like a viral
movie.
Pause.
get up
move around it,
perhaps
even
in a moment
of
objectivity,
understand.
We are
instead
disheveled
tousled
thrown
about
in a sort of
delirious
frenzy
and yet
at the same
time as all of
that,
the sun is
shining
in
perfect
simplicity.
It’s
all unknown
hard as we try
with all our
theories and
words and
hopes and
dreams
It remains
what it has always been
for
generations and
generations,
a
wounded and
brilliantly lit
mystery.
-SandraCohn
