Chrysalis 2- in My Drawers

Day #23 of What's in My Drawers.

Chrysalis 2
Etching, aquatint with gold embossed
rubber stamp
Image size: 7" x 5"
Paper size: 12.5" x 9.5"
Edition of 20
©NanciHersh
$150.00

                                                             

This etching with aquatint started out as a demo plate for my class when I was teaching printmaking at Monmouth University in Long Branch, NJ.

A highly personal piece (I do wear my heart on my sleeve) it later became the iconic image for the Art of Survival at Herspace, an annual art exhibition honoring women who have been touched by breast cancer.

Following my bilateral mastectomy in 2003,  I felt tight and sore, and was scarred physically and probably a bit, emotionally. I saw myself creating a healing cocoon around my raw body.

And like a butterfly who emerges from her cocoon when the time is right, I trusted, that I, too would emerge and take flight.

Click here to see the post about What's in My Drawers and be in the loop for the rest of the art and stories in this blog series.

Namaste I- in My Drawers

Day #12, November 29, 2013 from What's in My Drawers.

Namaste I
Acrylic, graphite on paper
20" x 16"
©NanciHersh
$185.00

                                                               

Surrender, let go, bow to the divine light... it's all about putting your heart- and your faith above your head. Which is a good thing since lots of time it's our head that gets us into trouble, thinking too much, worry, judgement. It can be overwhelming so like Namaste II posted earlier this week, it is all about that life saving practice in your life... art, yoga, exercise, faith.

Click here to see the post about What's in My Drawers and be in the loop for the rest of the art and stories in this blog series.

Namaste II- in My Drawers

Day #9, November 26, 2013 of What's in My Drawers.

Namaste II
acrylic, watercolor and water color pencils on paper
15" x 20"
©NanciHersh
$185.00

                                                             

Namaste II is an acknowledgment that there is a divine spark in all of us. It is how we conclude each yoga practice. This mixed media on paper titled Namaste II recognizes how yoga, art and my connection to water have me helped navigate the constant flow and changes of life. 

My dear friend Pegge Hopper gave me the gift of yoga many years ago during a difficult time. Since then yoga has been a life line or life saver. Sometimes all we can do is keep two nostrils above water and bow to whatever it is we are going through. LIke it or not.

Namaste.

Click here to see the post about What's in My Drawers and be in the loop for the rest of the art and stories in this blog series.

Swimming Lessons of Life

Namaste
Watercolor, acrylic & graphite on paper
12" x 16"
©2013NanciHersh

It's all part of the picture. Yoga, art, water... life.

Whether it's swimming laps in the pool, walking along the beach, sitting by my pond- or those too few and far between surf sessions; water is the source.

So when I heard these words by Madisyn Taylor from her book Daily OM  read aloud by instructor Danielle Lindner at a yoga class. They flowed over me,  and then it was like a wowweee- that's it!

Fluid Life a River: Living Like Water 

The journey of water as it flows upon the earth can be a mirror of our own paths through life. Water begins its residence of Earth as it falls from the sky or melts from the ice and cascades down a mountain into a tributary or stream. In the same way, we come into the world and begin our lives on Earth. Like a river that flows within the confines of its banks, we are born with certain defining characteristics that govern our identity. We are born in a particular time and place, into a specific family, and with certain gifts and challenges.  Within these parameters, we move though life, encountering many twists, turns, and obstacles along the way-just as a river flows. 

We are met with challenges and unexpected events, situations, moments, as we float, swim, wade, or paddle through life.... and that is the beauty. The flotsam and jetsam (the nets) The stuff. and navigating through it is the great adventure.

Untitled for now... it's still wait, and maybe still in process
10" x 10"
Oil, spraypaint on canvas
©2013NanciHersh

Where are you right now? In the flow, or snagged on a line?  and even more important

Are you having fun (yet?)

Love, Loss and Healing

As heavy rains and wind whipped outside my studio doors I have been working on the newest evolution of my nets which I have come to realize are also nests. Nets/nests- both are vessels for holding, a sanctuary, a filter for memories, objects. The hanging teabags mark time, a daily ritual in our home.

Love, Loss & Healing, 2012
detail 1
Wire, pulp, encaustic, collage, vinyl tubing, teabags
©2012NanciHersh

In one incarnation they hung from lines, fishing lines, like the flotsam and jetsom that wash ashore and come in with the tide.  Now they hang from clear vinyl tubing, like i.v.'s or life lines. No longer are they only bare and skeletal, most are now enveloped in another kind of netting- pantyhose that has been burned to also be net like, think fish net stockings.  The inner frameworks support the more decorative coverings which reference fashion of some kind- mostly the flamboyant hats I grew up with in my dad's milinary stores- Nobby Hats.  Family. Home.... and loss-

Love, Loss & Healing, 2012
detail 2
Wire, pulp, encaustic, collage, vinyl tubing, teabags
©2012NanciHersh

There is something breast- like about them, as they float detached from the body. But art is about creation, redemption and transformation.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has or is facing loss during this "Frankenstorm."

Body as an Open Book

Body As an Open Book is from a series of mixed media prints using photographs of my body that were taking before and during treatment for breast cancer.  It is currently part of my exhibition at Willow on State in Kennett Square, PA.

Body as an Open Book
Digital print on hand made paper with collage
10" x 22"
©2011NanciHersh

It's easy to feel like a specimen rather than a person as you move through all the stages from diagnosis to healing.   And, there is no recipe for getting through the physical and emotional trauma of any life altering experience.

But I found, that the more I made work about it, the more control I felt I had of the situation. Focusing on process. finding images and various materials that intuitively felt right with each piece helped me find distance, healing and even the lighter side of life.

What connection do you see between my body and the elements incorporated into the piece?

Art Heals

Whether you are looking at art, or making it;  art has the ability to transform our experience.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center gets it.

The Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center houses a major collection of paintings, works on paper, photographs and some sculpture, as does their other buildings.  Art fills the hallways and entry ways.  

©2011JoyceKozloff

I was pleased to see some of Joyce Kozloff's small maps in the building on 53rd street where my plastic surgeon has his office. 

The only place that art was missing was in my room- though it did have a magnetized bulletin board.

Fortunately, the 15th floor in the main hospital housed a recreation room, along with an outdoor patio (fresh air and sunshine!) and some interesting shadows (of course I had my camera!)

There was also live music at the time, a library, work tables, a sink and storage closets full of art and craft supplies.  A young woman assisted me in gathering up an assortment of quality brushes,  heavier paper, watercolors and watercolor pencils.

I spent some time working freely, playfully, and enjoying the reprieve from being a patient. 

10.5" x 7.5"
Watercolor on paper
©2011NanciHersh

7.5" x 10.5"
Watercolor on paper
©2011NanciHersh

7.5" x 10.5"
Watercolor on paper
©2011NanciHersh

7.5" x 10.5"
Watercolor on paper
©2011NanciHersh

Now, I had art for my room.

How have you used art to transform your space or experience?

YOU inspire me

Albert Einstein said it best when he said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." I feel that way about inspiration... the good, the bad, the beautiful and ugly... can be inspiring - a call to action - even if that action is "to be." Of course, New York City as inspiration is a given- every where you turn. A beautiful spring day, just makes it easy!

I took the Double Happiness bus on friday from Wilmington, DE to NYC (an adventure in and of itself!) It was a beautiful sunny day full of friends, family (with a surprise visit to my brother), art and more art. I went to see the window I am doing an installation for in June, had lunch with Laurette and Jennifer, went to MOMA (William Kentridge and Marina Abramovic) and then meandered back to midtown and found this wonderful space filled with art. Habitats for Artists (HFA) has an exhibition up until tomorrow (!) at Chashama on West 44th St. They are a collective project that uses the idea of an artist's studio as a catalyst for mutual engagement between artists and communities. Laurette and I stopped by, chatted, drew on the walls and chatted with the founder- a very friendly guy named Simon from Wales. Fun, fun!

Here's a shot of one of the places I take my inspiration... my studio!