Artist's Statement

In 2002, a year of major change for me, I received a tarot deck as a gift. I had an immediate response to the visual images and symbolism and have worked with this system daily since that time. This work has become a key to my psychological, philosophical and spiritual unfolding.

In 2004 I became interested in Sacred Geometry which studies the ratios and proportions of natural forms and their reflections in art, architecture and music. I am fascinated by this way of seeing and understanding the forms and patterns of life on this planet. My work as a choreographer, dance educator, and performing artist uses geometry and patterning to move dancers through space and I instinctively understood many of these concepts. During my dance career I had also created full stage paintings and sculptural sets for my work. To create thoughtful and original dance and visual art in the woods of Maine I wove threads from my own life experience with natural patterns, rhythms and cycles, ancient rituals and modern scientific theories. Beauty, the web of the natural world, and the human place in life's balance were examined while maintaining a wide open sense of humor. Through a focus on nature I worked to reconnect to the natural environment and to bring the masculine and feminine forces into balance, within and without.

In 2008 I combined my interests in Tarot, Sacred Geometry and visual art. I began to paint in a serious way and my unconscious began to emerge through the symbolism. Images came in dreams or upon awakening. Some were painted before they were recognized as the representation of a specific aspect/archetype of the tarot symbol system. Others were painted with intention after meditation on my understanding of the traditional meanings of individual cards. The process was one of deep personal growth, self-awareness, and individuation.

The painting of the 78 original paintings and publication of Pythias Sacred Geometry Tarot was a five year project created in a former Knights of Pythias Hall which was my home and studio. During this process I learned that Pythias was a follower of Pythagoras, a father of geometry.

Geometry studies the Whole and its parts. Tarot studies the Whole and its parts. I continue to learn from the combination of these two disciplines. I have shown the tarot paintings and spoken about the images at several galleries in midcoast and central Maine, for Pecha Kucha at Colby College, at the C.G. Jung Center for Studies in Analytical Psychology in Brunswick, Maine and in Vermont at the Jungian Center for the Spiritual Sciences.

In 2012 I opened Square the Circle Gallery and Studio in the old Masonic Temple in Belfast, Maine and exhibited the original paintings from the Pythias series. Lectures, classes on the tarot system and sacred geometry, drawing workshops and readings were held there. In the Masonic Temple I was surrounded by geometric symbols of Freemasonry and began to study Masonic thought and symbolism, learning about the parallels of geometry and personal development at the core of their work. This led to an installation with sculptural symbols and paintings titled ‘The Act of Becoming’. I completed a series titled ‘Pollinators and Habitat’, and the ‘Navigation’ series, before closing the gallery in 2015.

At my new home by the water I began to blend geometry with seascapes and the beauty around me.

In 2020 the card deck Lepidoptera: Moths and Butterflies was published. Beauty, color and pattern inspired this series of paintings. The writing emerged from an awareness of the state of emergency facing the lives of moths and butterflies.

Sea: A Vision Deck 2021 includes the seascapes and landscapes that were painted at my seaside home. Short poems give voice to the creatures who depend upon this environment.

Two more card decks are in process:
• Earth focuses on the geometry inherent in life forms that inhabit this planet, and on our interconnectedness.
• Symbol focuses on balance in nature and within the human psyche.

 

Katenia