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Life and Art in the Time of Covid-19

18 Wednesday Mar 2020

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Ofcourse the title is a nod to Love in the Time of Cholera  a novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. And folks, we are living it – in the here and now – a crisis pandemic in our times. So what’s an artist to do?

I feel lucky that I just received a commission for a large painting. A 3′ x 6 1/2′ canvas. A transformative lotus – an image that I’ve used in my work many times over the years. The petals unfolding never fail to soothe me, to embrace me and to help me transcend the ordinary.

Sketch for Painting

From my book, Symbols of the Spirit: A Meditative Journey Through Art: Incorporating the lotus into my artwork is meant as a spiritual metaphor, not just the image of a beautiful flower. Using simple graphic strokes, I try to capture the hidden aura of the plant and reveal an ethereal side of nature. Jung said that the symbol (any symbol) is the psychological mechanism for transforming energy. Through this simple form, I attempt to transform a blank canvas into something mystical, giving the viewer a spiritual connection through my art.

1. So during this time of uncertainty (and mass histeria!), I will hole-up in my studio and create.

2. I’ve also decided to amp up my spiritual practice and do my yoga and meditation every day (up until now, it was 2 or 3 times a week). But I have plenty of time – so I’m going for it!

3. Pull a Tarot card each day (Also a practice I’ve been doing once a week for many years). Yesterday I pulled 2 of Discs: Change. The only constant and it is cyclic. For the purpose of re-balancing. For revealing to us that which is knowable and that which is unfamiliar. Changes in the External reality – and Internal changes that are expansive and positive.

Today I pulled The Hanged Man: The Pattern Breaker. Somethimes it’s necessary to take a distinctly different posture to get un-stuck. Time to trust the deeper aspects of who we are.

See how these nuggets of wisdom can make us contemplate and go deeper? (These abbreviated readings from Angeles Arriens’ The Tarot Handbook).

I realize this forced social distancing and self quarantine is a hardship for many. Believe me, I’m not trying to make light of the situation we are all in. But what if we thought of our forced home stay as a gift of time? How will you use your gift?

New beginnings – Appyling gesso to the canvas

Celebrate Endings: Reflections on 2019

31 Tuesday Dec 2019

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“Lady of the Cave V”, Monoprint, 22″ x 14″, 2019

“Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings.”
—Jonathan Lockwood Huie


Reflections on 2019

It’s been a great year of art and travel, exhibiting, teaching, curating, learning, sharing with old friends and extended family and making new friends and connections around the world. Some of the highlights of my year:

Exhibiting at La Huipilista Artspace, San Miguel de Allende; in the Poéticas de Arte Contemporáneo, Dolores Hidalgo and Mexico City; and at GAP: Crossing Borders in Ghent, Belgium. Opening (and closing) Galeria Espiral in San Miguel’s Fabrica Aurora gave me valuable exposure, art sales and taught me what I did and did not want.

Publishing my second book, Symbols of the Spirit, gave me the opportunity to expand my audience and to give book talks at La Huipilista Artspace and Camino Silvestre ; Open Ground Studios, Triton Museum of Art and Richmond Art Center (Thanks to CSP!) in California.

Teaching my Monoprint Workshops allowed me to share my techniques and philosophy of art with wonderful artists (this year in my studio in San Miguel and at Open Ground Studios, California).

Curating two more Plastic Madness exhibitions (Casa Europa, San Miguel and Mazatlan Convention Center/Baupres Gallery) extended the message of the global plastic problem and led to upcoming exhibits in Columbia in 2020 (thanks to all the artists and fellow organizers!).

Traveling around Mexico, the U.S. and Europe enriched my life through new inspiration and allowed me to explore, commune & collaborate. Highlights were doing a house exchange and making prints in Sauve, France and a new opportunity for a public art piece outside of Vienna Austria, Throne for a Goddess, (more to come!). And believe it or not, it wasn’t all about art – I attended a very special McCrory family reunion in Kentucky where I re-connected with 25+ family members.

I am grateful that my art serves as a connector and allows me to share a message of honoring Mother Nature and the Sacred Feminine. Through the universal symbols that I’ve focused on for 25 years to my recent Return to the Figure (my upcoming show at Baupres Gallery, Mazatlan in February), the message in my prints, paintings, drawings, artist books and public art remains true and connected to the heart.

A sincere thank you to those who have been with me along my artistic journey!

May your dreams and creativity soar to make our world a better place!

The ‘Lady of the Cave’ at Niaux Grotto, France

04 Friday Oct 2019

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On a recent visit to France, I visited one of the last prehistoric caves sites open to the public where one can see authentic paintings from the paleolithic era. The Niaux Grotto is located in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees, just south of the French town of Foix. I made us a reservation months in advance for 1:30 in the afternoon – enough time, I thought, to drive from the small village of Sauve. We booked a rental car and set off – GPS said 3 1/2 hours to get there. It took 4 hours and we barely made our tour! Driving in a foreign country, sometimes on small windy roads, not knowing where we were going or if we would make it on time, added to a slightly stressful adventure.

But we did make it (at 1:15) and it was worth the stress! Like my traveling companion said, this was a once in a lifetime experience. (Actually, this was my third cave visit (See my blogs), but equally exciting. Ofcourse, no photography was allowed and veryone was given a flashlight to maneuver the unlit cave.

Once inside the cathedral like space, I felt a serenity and a connection to the ancients who walked this space 15,000years before us. On the left, a figure of a woman (not a painting- a spirit) greeted me. (This is not in the guide books, folks!) She was there to the left outlined in the gold and white granite rock. I pointed her out to my friend and she saw her as well. This sign of the sacred feminine spoke to me and let her presence known. Perhaps she created some of these drawings and wanted me to know it. Thats my story and Im sticking to it!

‘Lady of the Cave III”, Monoprint, 10″ x 8″
‘Lady of the Cave II’, Monoprint, 10″ x 8″

As we moved further into the cave, our guide pointed out the beautiful drawings made with black carbon – horses, bison, mountain goat, ibis etc. There was often a layering of images – implying motion and one could tell many hands created these images over time. One never knows what will inspire the artist – in my case it was something even more mysterious and ethereal than the ancient cave drawings themselves. It was the spirit of the cave and perhaps a whisper in my ear…

Treasures of the Pueblo

04 Tuesday Jun 2019

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“Los Tesoros del Pueblo”, Oil on Canvas, 60 x 60cm, 2019

I was recently invited by curator Maximiliano Grego to be in a group exhibition, Poeticas del Arte Contemporaneo, in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato at the Bicentenario Museo. Each artist was given a them, usually a poem to inspire their work. I was given the theme of the Otomi women (indigenous to the area) and their tradition of stamping their tortillas for fiestas and special occasions – perfect for me since I recently returned to the figure. “Los Tesoros del Pueblo” was the result. I used real stamps for the tortilla designs I had bought previously.

My artist statement:

I hold an image in my mind’s eye of women at the hearth. It’s an ancient universal vision that transcends local culture and is found in every corner of the world.  Women cooking at the heart of the home or working over a communal fire is a traditional theme. She, as giver of life, provides strength and cohesiveness to the family and the community in many ways. In ‘Los Tesoros del Pueblo’, her arms encircle an offering of sustenance and healing. In Mexico, tortillas, central to each meal, remain a treasure of the culture.

I was told that in ancient times, the Otomi were a matrilineal culture and they worshipped the moon as the highest deity.  Mother Earth was also celebrated for the bounty of her harvest. As in many cultures, it’s the women who keep the stories, the traditions and the symbols alive. The tortilla, a small round shape, patted out by hand is itself an archetype – the circle, a symbol of wholeness and universality.

The Otomi women embellish their tortillas with designs using sacred imagery. Each family has its own seal carved out of wood from the mesquite tree and the dark purple dye from the muicle plant is used to stamp the images. These circular woodcut designs are passed down from generation to generation and used to print the tortillas for special celebrations and fiestas. It is a testament to the Otomi women that this ritual remains alive to honor the ancestors and preserve ancient traditions.

As an artist, I take my inspiration from symbols and artefacts that honor women and the divine feminine from cultures around the world. My two books document these influences on my art: Art & Sacred Sites: Connecting with Spirit of Place and Symbols of the Spirit: A Meditative Journey Through Art.

‘Her Story’ – A return to the figure with new paintings and prints

05 Friday Apr 2019

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Glen Rogers – New Works – Opening at Galeria Espiral, Fabrica Aurora, San Miguel de Allende Saturday April 6, 5-7pm and for the month of April

With these new paintings and prints, I honor women and the sacred feminine . With each new life passage, she has a desire to be heard and respected.  Women share an inherent strength to face challenges in the present, demons from the past, and uncertain futures. In Her Story and Black Madonna, mothers, sisters, and daughters display the power of the feminine. While they radiate independence, they also acknowledge the arbitrary barriers and obstacles that women often encounter. These women stand at the threshold of their lives and hold a shared wisdom as divine creators.

“HerStory – Facing the Past”, oil on panel, 24″ x 20″, 2018

The return to the figure began in September when I went to Morocco for an artist residency. I planned on pursuing symbols inspired by Moorish design but something shifted, as often happens when I travel and create in a new locale. To my surprise, the figure reappeared – this time in the form of Islamic women in their head dresses and jallabas – with a series of prints, Anonymous in Morocco. (Read my blog on Morocco here: https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/artandsacredsites.com/1626). This new direction was not a conscious choice – yet these figures showed themselves and transformed my imagery to figurative after more than 25 years of working symbolically.

Her Story I, Monoprint, 22 x 14″, 2019

Black Madonna, monoprint, 7″ x 5″, 2019

Contact me for prices or more information: glen@glenrogersart.com

Symbols of the Spirit: A Meditative Journey Through Art

15 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by in ancient symbols, archetypal symbols, Art, Glen Rogers, Uncategorized

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I’m happy to present my recently published book, “Symbols of the Spirit: A Meditative Journey Through Art” . 

Cover of Symbols of the Spirit

Cover of Symbols of the Spirit

On the back cover: Glen takes us on a journey to explore eight iconic symbols that appear universally in early civilizations. She introduces archetypes—the bird, the circle, the lotus, the moon, the seed, the spiral, the vessel, and the vesica piscis—delving into both their meanings and their metaphors. She believes all are connected to the spiritual realm and have an undeniable link to the Sacred Feminine. Glen engages us with her unique style of art to illustrate each chapter and shares her personal stories and inspiration.

book page the seed sm

 

Excerpt from the Forward by Janet Blaser:

Through research, intuition and a deep sense of creativity and interconnectedness, the author explains with words and visual images how these symbols with their hidden messages can enrich our daily lives and anchor us firmly on our spiritual path.

Carl G. Jung in his book, Man and His Symbols, referred to certain symbols as archetypal—images that all of us can tap into through our unconscious mind, dream states and the creative process. For the last 25 years, Glen’s artwork in abstract symbolism has attempted to capture the essence of such imagery. While in her previous book, Art & Sacred Sites: Connecting with Spirit of Place, she described her pilgrimages to sacred sites around the world as inspiration for her art, in Symbols of the Spirit, she focuses on the symbol.

book page the lotus

In these pages, Glen explains her intimate, personal encounters with the energies of these symbols, and how they’ve been a bridge to a more spiritual and connected life for her. She then goes one step further to share with the reader a meditation on each of the eight symbols, so they, too, can connect with these energies. It’s a powerful formula, backed by Glen’s years of exploration and experience, and a unique opportunity to enter a perhaps previously unthought-of spiritual territory.

While one could – as I did, for so long – look at her prints and paintings merely as beautiful works of art, there’s a deeper level of connection and meaning to be found. To paraphrase Glen’s words, I urge you to experience this book “from the heart, not the head,” and allow the images and meditations to become a part of your visual and spiritual vocabulary too.

 

Designed by Margery Cantor in collaboration with the artist. 104 pages, 9″ x 9″, soft cover, full color images, printed in Mexico City, $25usd.  Add this book to your own collection or give to that special friend as a gift!    

To order, contact me at: glen@glenrogersart.com

 

 

 

 

The Vessel, The Chalice, The Cauldron An ode to the Divine Feminine

29 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in archetypal symbols, Sacred Feminine in ARt, Uncategorized

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The Chalice

The Chalice, Oil on Canvas, 40″ x 34″

The vessel, a simple utilitarian object, is layeredwith metaphorical meaning.  At its essence, the vessel is a symbol for the human body – specifically the female body, which carries and nurtures the child within. Mimicking a pregnant woman, the vessel bulges out at the center into a curvilinear shape. In pagan societies, the cauldron was a symbol for the womb of the Great Goddess and offered the power of rebirth.

The famous Chalice, some scholars believe, was actually Mary Magdalene, the sacred vessel that held the Christ child. According to Barbara G. Walker in her book, The Crone: Woman of Age, Wisdom, and Power, the vessel was the source of life, wisdom and inspiration in pagan religions. At its most primal level, it is a sacred container that will forever be connected with magic and the act of creation.

Even the simplest hand-made pot can transcend the ordinary and reflect the spirit of those who came before us. I gather these images around me and draw from them in the studio. The shape emerges and becomes the focal point of a painting or print often filled with a liquid golden light signifying its sacred nature.

Excerpts from my upcoming book, Symbols of the Spirit, A Meditative Journey Through Art.

www.glenrogersart.com

 

The Circle – Symbol of Wholeness

20 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by in ancient sites in Europe, ancient symbols, archetypal symbols, Uncategorized

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Glen Rogers, ‘Ancient Circle’, 12″ x 9″, Monotype Print w xerox transfer, 

Looking up at the sky, one can see two great circles, the sun and the moon. Here I find inspiration to create art using the most universal of shapes. The Circle is an archetypal symbol of wholeness and unity. Its roundness implies the feminine as the straight line does the masculine. This geometric shape, formed by a curving, never-ending line, creates a closed space which speaks of protection and inclusiveness.  It is the simplest form, yet the strongest because it has no corners, no weak points.  Circles pull me towards them with their promise of protection, like the warm embrace of a mother.

In the studio I am open to an intuitive approach to creating art – going with the flow and being open to the possibilities. Often, a circle appears as I apply the ink to a plate and begin a new monotype print. Inspired by the circles of old, I use them as a point of departure to weave my own tale. (Here I’ve used a xerox transfer process to integrate the old stone circles from El Mesquita, in Cordoba, Spain).

Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux Holy Man, said it best:

“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round… The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours…Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.”

 

Architectural Details from Spain Inspire My Newest Paintings

08 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by in ancient sites in Europe, archetypal symbols, Glen Rogers, painting, Uncategorized

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On my travels, I am always keeping an eye out for symbols – archetypal symbols inspired by nature and integrated into ancient sites and architectural details.  I zero in on stone carvings found at Neolithic sites of Europe or at the Pyramidal sites such as Uxmal or Monte Alban in Mexico. Working with these universal symbols like the circle and the seed inspires my art and provides me with a spiritual and artistic anchor.

In general, visiting churches in Europe or Mexico is not my ‘thing’.  I prefer the ancient sites.  Ofcourse there are exceptions, I visited the Familia Sagrada in Barcelona and El Mesquita – a combination Mosque/Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain.  I was drawn to the architectural details carved into stone.  I photographed them and brought them back to the studio to use as inspiration for my artwork.

This detail from the facade of the Seville Cathedral, inspired a new painting. I appropriated the basic form and added my own style. Emphasizing the seed, the flower, the roots – all speak of renewal and regeneration – new life. Below is ‘Primavera’, 40″ x 34″, Oil on Canvas.

Seville Cathedral, Spain
Primevera , Oil on Canvas, 40″ x 34″

Below is an sculptural detail on display inside El Mesquita, in Cordoba, Spain. The resulting painting is “Lunar Phases”, Oil on Canvas, 40″ x 34″. As you can see, I use the photograph as a point of departure – then let the creative juices flow.

Sculptural detail inside El Mesquita, Cordob
Lunar Phases, 40″ x 34″, Oil on Canvas

By focusing on these simple forms, my goal is to transcend the ordinary and to evoke a mystical connection to something greater than myself, beyond my everyday reality.

“A Room of One’s Own”

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Artist studios, Uncategorized

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The famous line by Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own”, has always struck a chord with me. The quote comes from a series of essays she wrote in 1928 about carving out a space for oneself – both literal and figurative. It was later adopted as a feminist statement in the 60’s and 70’s.  I translated this ‘room’ as a creative space, a refuge – a studio for the artist. As a young woman coming of age in the 70’s, it was important for me to have just that.

I claimed my first studio while still an undergraduate student at University of Florida. This was a shared space with some photographers, a rather bohemian situation. And even though money was hard to come by, living in student poverty as I was, somehow I found a way.  I needed this creative space away from academia, boyfriends, and other distractions. I was in the process of defining myself as an artist and making that declaration to the world. To have a studio, ‘a room of one’s own’, was a commitment.

When I moved to California in 1979, I got a job right away as a graphic artist fulfilling my financial obligations.  But needing to feed my artist side as well, I answered an ad in Artweek magazine for a studio partner in a printmaking studio in San Jose. Betty and I had a successful partnership sharing a studio for almost 20 years. We moved studio and presses twice – from a converted 2 car garage in Campbell to the Citadel, an old cannery warehouse on 10th and Taylor, and later to the “new” Citadel on 5th and Martha. Having a studio helped define me as a serious artist in the community.

I later moved to Oakland and developed a studio there as well – but not for long, as my heart was pulled in another direction – Mexico.  In 1999, I bought a small house in Mazatlán’s Centro Historico (for $27,000usd!) and soon after, built a studio on the 2nd floor. This was going to be my ‘studio abroad’ – my dream, my pie in the sky.   I had envisioned South of France or Italy, but after one visit to Mazatlán, I was hooked.  This beautiful city on the Sea of Cortez had just what I was looking for and was to be my haven away from the maddening crowds (and traffic!) of the San Francisco Bay Area.  It didn’t take long, less than 2 years, to move there full time and create my dream life.

Fast forward to 2018.  I am in San Miguel de Allende and just built a 3rd floor studio with plenty of natural light, space for painting, printmaking and workshops. Here, I am in a city known for its arts community and gallery scene – and an opportunity to introduce my work to a new market.  Call it the 17year itch – I was definitely ready for a change.

I have always considered an artist’s studio as sacred space – a place to grow, create, and thrive as an artist.

Glen at the Old Citadel

Glen at the Citadel in San Jose, CA, 1980’s

Glen doing a monotype

My 2nd studio in Mazatlan, 2007(?)

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My new studio in San Miguel de Allende