BLACK MADONNA

BLACK MADONNA AND CHILD

Egyptian goddesses Isis, the Mother of Horus

Examples of the Black Madonna can be found both in Catholic and Orthodox countries. The paintings are usually icons, which are Byzantine in origin or style, some of which were produced in 13th- or 14th-century Italy. Other examples from the Middle East, Caucasus, or Africa, mainly Egypt and Ethiopia, are even older. The origins of the Black Madonna are mysterious. For many years speculation arose that the coloring of the Black Madonna was due to the accumulated soot from candles burned near the images. The Black Madonna of Europe has been associated with pre-Christian earth goddesses and Egyptian goddesses like Isis, the Mother of Horus.

 Today the meaning of the Black Madonna is linked to pre-Christian ideas and religions. Since the Madonna and Child resemble ancient Egyptian depictions of Isis and Horus, it is possible that the dark skin of the Black Madonna is a reference to the Egyptian origin of the image. Dark-skinned Madonna may also be based on other pre-Christian goddess figures; some Black Madonna shrines are located at the former sites of pagan shrines to goddesses such as Diana. When the Crusaders returned from the Islamic world in the 13th century, they brought back not only a new appreciation of intricate design but also a new respect for the meaning of Isis, the Egyptian goddess whose blackness was associated with the wisdom and life force of matter – the body of the Great Mother. One theory on the origin of some of the effigies points to a verse in The Song of Solomon (1:5), in which a woman (not Mary) refers to herself as being 'black' or 'dark' (depending on the version). It seems to me that this idea has been retrofitted to the Black Madonna, In many ways, Madona and Child was actually a pagan ideal of fertility. Our ancestors could not give up our goddesses. They found a way to keep the traditions alive, despite the concerted efforts of the Church for over 2000 years to destroy and tarnish them. 

8th century 

Montserrat Black Madonna

Stone Isis Nursing Horus

Roman Isis

African Fertility figure

In ancient Egypt, the Great Mother was depicted as a woman or a crow, because crows have very strong family links and are monogamous. Because of this, in ancient Egypt, they were symbols of faithful love. 

Black Madonna and Child, Etching 2013, Larry Vienneau

The Book of the Raven, Corvids in Art and Legend

 The Book of the Raven

In 2019 I was contacted by a publisher about being included in a book that celebrated Corvids in Art and Literature. Excitedly I gathered high-resolution images of the prints in the publisher was interested in. A few weeks later I received a contract from a London publisher, Laurence King Publishing. After a quick Google search, I learned that my artwork would be included in a book by the United Kingdom’s premier publisher of art books, I was thrilled. The book was due out in 2020. Then Covid happened and I heard very little from them. I wasn’t even certain if my work made it into the final edit. In December 2020 I wrote to them and asked about the status of the book, I got a polite reply saying that everything had been pushed back until Fall 2021. I asked if I had been included and “Yes, we chose two of your prints”. Today I received the book from the publisher and it is more beautiful than I thought, it is small, but it is 160 pages, beautifully edited, bound, and printed. It is due out October 15. When I opened the book, I found many of my favorite artists and writers from the 18^th century. Some artists I do not know but many are known, as masters. It is a profound privilege to be included in the book.

Robert Batman,

Will Barnet

Masahisa Fukase

June Hunter

Alex Coleville

Frank Capra

Kawanabe Kyosai

Ohara Koson

Sakia Hoitsu

Casper David Friedrich

Arthur Rackham

Sue Bowman

Karl Martens

Paul Gauguin

Leonard Baskin

Vincent Van Gogh

Watanabe Seitei

And Me!!

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/198516071/wall-art-raven-artwork-raven-crow-black?ref=shop_home_active_35&pro=1&frs=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/469262323/wall-art-raven-artwork-raven-crow-three?ref=shop_home_active_41&pro=1&frs=1

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Raven-Corvids-Art-Legend/dp/1786277018/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1DWMAD6IN70DG&dchild=1&keywords=the+book+of+the+raven+corvid+in+art+and+legend&qid=1631924285&sprefix=Thw+Book+of+the+raven%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-1

IT IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATE

 IT IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATE,  

SEPTEMBER 9 - OCTOBER 15

I have been making prints since 1978. I love drawing and painting. Painting is very difficult for me; I will labor over a painting for weeks and still not be satisfied. It has never come easy, and that is one of the reasons I love it, it challenges me. Drawing has always been easier for me. As a teen, I learned scrimshaw (engraving whale teeth). I spent summers selling my artwork on Nantucket. The building in which I worked was part of the Moby Dick legacy. George Pollard, the Captain of the Essex tragedy once own the building, Herman Melville visited Captain Pollard in that very building while crafting his epic novel Moby Dick.  

I suppose Printmaking was a natural transition for me. I honed my skills as a teen engraving whaling scenes, printmaking was the perfect marriage of those engraving skills with the love of drawing and painting.

After all these years I still get excited by pulling a nice print. It is always a surprise; I never know what I will get. It is like a Box of Chocolates.

My show at Valencia College was an honor. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all gallery shows went virtual since March 2021. I was honored to be the first in-person show since the pandemic. No offense to virtual art galleries, but NOTHING can compare to seeing artwork live.

Carley Frank and her team did an incredible job curating, hanging, and lighting the show. I gave her much more artwork than needed for this show. I hadn’t been in the gallery in years and wasn’t sure how much space there was, so I brought it all. She skillfully selected a wonderful show.

Here are some photos and videos from the evening

Seminole County Printmakers Steamroller Event

 

Seminole County Printmakers worked with The Tenth St. John Festival of the Arts to bring to the City of Sanford its First Annual Steamroller Printmaking Event. “…What is printmaking?” ….and.. “why use a steamroller?” you may ask.

Today most people do not understand the art of Printmaking. It is a very old art form that starting in China over 1500 years ago and arrived in Europe with Marco Polo in the 13^th century. Printmaking is an art form that allows an artist to create multiple handmade copies of one image. Today we take quick reproduction for granted but once it was the only way an image could be reproduced. Some printmaking methods are woodcuts, wood engraving, etching, metal engraving, and relief prints. Relief printing is made by carving away areas that aren’t to be printed, the high points hold the ink.

The Seminole County Printmakers provide Seminole County and Central Florida access to Fine Art printmaking. The Group informs students, artists, faculty, and the public by sharing our knowledge, understanding, and support for all forms of artmaking.

A Steamroller event is a wonderful public art celebration. Steamroller events have been very popular with art groups over the past 15 years as fundraisers and educational events.

Traditionally, printmaking is done in an artist’s studio with the aid of a printing press. Artists carve on wood or artist linoleum and create large-format plates. A typical relief plate is usually small depending upon the printing press size. A plate is run through a printing press, it runs under a roller and the ink is transferred from the plate to the paper. With a Steamroller event, the artists are only limited by the size of the steamroller. The steamroller becomes the printing press and artists often create huge prints some as large as 4 feet by 8 feet. Our event was smaller 2ft to 3ft max. 

Steamroller Printmaking Events are wonderful public events. The Crowds loved the event and were eager audiences. Children and adults are intrigued by the process and the printed results.

Seminole County Printmakers hope this will become an Annual Event and will enrich the Arts Community by making Sanford an artistic hub in the region. Artists from all over Central Florida are recruited are participants. The plates we  used are 24” x 24” and 24” x 36”. We printed 4 prints per plate. Sales of the prints will benefit Seminole County Printmakers and St. Johns River Festival of the Arts Children’s Programs. Please visit our Etsy Shop, Seminoleprintmakers

 

Solo Show at Fifth Avenue Art Gallery, Melbourne Florida.

In 2018 I applied for a solo show at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery in Melbourne, Florida.

I was thrill to be offered a solo show in April 2020. I am a full time college professor at a Florida college and time for artmaking is scarce. I planned to use my summer for artmaking. One of the perks of teaching is having use of the art studios when class are not held. I should have been able to do several prints and painting during that time.........However....

Have you ever had the feeling that Mother Nature was out to get you? I have..

On May, 3rd, 2019 I was doing an art festival with students of Seminole State College and artist members Of Seminole County Printmakers at the annual St Johns River Festival of the Arts. We had a wonderful day, carving our relief plates for the general public and having great time. 

Seminole Printmaker

the deluge, trying to hold down the tents.

At about 3:00  a tremendous storm rolled through, blowing over tents and dumping a huge volume of water. Still, it isn't anything unusual in Florida.

On Monday when I went to school, I found a very large oak had partially blown over at the back of the art building, when I entered the building, I found large cracks in  the walls and some doors would not open. Uh Oh!! Risk management gave is a day to collect a few things for our summer class, with the promise we will be back soon. Over the next few days a massive sinkhole, 30ft x 30ft x 80 ft deep, opened up in the theater department, and swallowed up, offices, storage, a script library, as well as valuable tools. We are now nomads on campus, evicted since May 2019. So needless to say, I could not do much new artwork for this solo show. 

How can it get worse you may ask?

Enter Mother Nature again with  Covid -19. My Show was scheduled for April 3rd 2020, just as  the pandemic hit Florida hard. The show was pushed back until August 3. Surely everything would be over by then, right? 

my garage /  studio

Well, the good news, I opted not to teach so that I could work on this show, I set up my garage as a studio, and spent three months painting. I managed to paint 6 new canvases. I had plenty of work for this show now, nine paintings and plenty of etchings. The bad news was the pandemic didn't "go away", it was still a threat. However areas Florida had fewer cases, as did Melbourne. So we decided to do the show. The Gallery was excellent, the people were incredible. I dropped of my paintings and they did a fantastic job hanging it. Normal opening at this gallery have music, food, and drinks. But we couldn't because of the virus. I live about 80 miles from the gallery so I wasn't expecting many people from home there. The turn out was light, as expected, but I had some unexpected visitors. One good friend from our Seminole printmakers showed up, as did my family. One of the surprises of the night was former colleague from University of Alaska showed up. I had not seen him in 20 years but as soon as he popped his head into the gallery I recognized him, mask and all. I was honored that he came. I have tremendous respect for him, as an artist as well as a person. I have always admired his incredible energy. His painting and printmaking have been a great influence on me. Then later in the evening things settled down and I thought about heading home. A large group arrived late,and there were two students, with parents and friends, who signed up for my fall drawing classes. I was very surprised. Both students are young but I noticed what they looked at, and what they found interesting in the paintings. Afterwards they had some very good questions. So despite Covid-19 I had a very memorable art opening.  

I would like to thank everyone at the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery for making me feel welcomed and for their professionalism in a difficult situation. Lets hope the pandemic ends soon so that we all can get back to doing the things we love,