Some history:
Due to a life-threatening crisis in 2002, I spontaneously
started carving for protection and spiritual connection making what I call
Sacred Staffs from the roots and trunks of trees. Prior to becoming a
visual artist, I was an actor, employing the ritual aspects of theatre to
impact community. Now my path to a
sacred space and a quest towards the divine has shifted to creating sacred
objects and drawings. My work explores issues of love and loss, spirituality,
sexuality, and gender identification and how these intersect. I also teach workshops combing these
elements. Through these various ritual practices and explorations, Ive been
fortunate to obtain a glimpse of my healing abilities.
I tapped into carving on a visceral level, and what
stemmed from crisis evolved to exhibition: The Prospect Park
Alliance and the Audubon Center sponsored a three-month solo show Sticks &
Stones at the Boathouse in Brooklyns Prospect Park, and The National Museum of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
& Transgender History presented a two-month solo show. I was profiled in The Daily News; was the subject of feature articles in Mann About Town magazine, Home News Tribune, In Brooklyn, The Park Slope
Paper, The Wave, and The Daily Sitka Sentinel, and featured on NY-1 Television.
In 2009, I was awarded a Development Grant from Fractured
Atlas to study with Native American Tlingit master woodcarver Tommy Joseph in
Sitka Alaska. I worked with Tommy in his beautiful
studio at the Southeast Indian Cultural
Center, housed inside the Sitka National Historical Park. I was surrounded by
formline art a style rarely seen in New York City outside of the Museum of
the American Indian. When I stepped into Tommys studio I was overwhelmed by
the sheer beauty and power of the objects within. Under Tommys tutelage, I carved a mask out of a tree trunk using traditional Tlingit hand
tools. The mask, entitled Trans-Formation manifested from a dream. Carving
with Tommy was hard physical work, humbling, profound and lots of fun too.
(See The Spirit in the Mask http://artistsoulspeaks.wordpress.com/2009/10/1....
Carvings, and the creation of masks and staffs,
are an ancient art form of expression in many cultures and traditions,
including in Judaism, my roots. And in the past most designed objects were used
for ritual. But
I live in NYC -- a fast-paced environment surrounded by
mass-produced goods created by machines. The objects most of us use on a daily
basis have little intrinsic beauty or spiritual value. And all too often we
live separated from nature and many of us rarely participate in rituals, rites
of passage or celebrations with community.
Thailand is well known for the carving of statues
destined for various Buddhist temples in Thailand and other parts of Asia.
Bangkok has countless examples of this type of carving, with its pinnacle being
the reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, the longest reclining Buddha in the world. Wat
Pho also contains over 1,000 other Buddha images, many carved. Secular carving
is also popular and can include carvings of monkeys, elephants or other natural
forms. There is a parallel history of Animism with a belief that guardian
spirits inhabit rivers, canals, trees and other natural features, which
pre-dates the arrival of all other religions and still plays a role in the
everyday life of most residents, with spirit shrines in abundance throughout the
country.
Studying with Native carver Tommy
Joseph in Alaska inspired me, and now I want to build on that experience to
work with artists who have a different form of Native art, integral and
essential to their lives. I am fascinated to meet and study with Thai masters,
to expose myself to their ancient forms and incorporate them into my work in a
non-traditional environment: the urban jungle that is New York. My goal is to continue my study with
artists who recognize the vital connection between the Source, the earth, what
we make with our hands, and our global connection to one-another.
Now, via this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity offered from
British Airways, along with your contribution, I will be able to enhance my
proficiency and deepen the inherent spiritual connection of my artwork. I look forward to my return and to
sharing with you what I learn.
Will you help me to actualize my gifts so that they
can be a source of beauty, healing, and joy?
I plan to stay in the cheapest (safe)
accommodations, stay with my tour guides and other local families and in
backpacking hostels whenever possible. Still, I need money for transportation,
lodging, food, immunization shots, equipment plus money for materials and to donate to my teachers.
Ive been advised that I should have approximately $3,000 for the trip, which, G-d willing, will take place February 3rd
March 3rd 2011.
I already have the plane reservations but I cant get
on the plane and go to Thailand without your help!
My fundraising goals:
40 people donate $10 ($400)
35 donate $20 ($700)
25 donate $30 ($750)
15 donate $40 (600)
5 donate $50 ($250)
3 donate $100 ($300)
Total goal: $3,000
NOTE: If I reach my goal, website administrators take 9% if I
dont meet my goal, and 4% if I do.
If I dont raise at least
$1,000 by February 1st I wont step foot on the plane! Of course you have till March 2nd to make your
donations but please dont wait that long do it right away!
Will you support me at the highest level that is
comfortable for you?
Any amount will help me reach my
goal.
Safe and secure on-line donations can be made right on this site.
MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE!
