10-Year Retrospective Exhibition
"Celebrating the Genius of Women"
by Maria Guerrero, Founder & Exec. Director, Women in the Arts Inc.
This series presents works by Petra Jovanovska from Jesenik, Czech Republic; Phyllis “Pannet” Taylor, Chuluota, Florida; Phyllis Thomas, Belle Isle, Florida; Sandra de Nijs, Ft. Worth, Texas.
In "Postponed Joy," Petra imprints her thoughts, emotions, and a worldview, in a grid of circles using mixed paper media and drypoint printing.
The artist associates the circle with the mother's womb, the fetus, the seed, the cell: "A circle has no beginning, no end, no corners, no pages. It does not limit, although it gives form. In it and outside of it, everything is in motion, it is also the zero from which everything starts and to which everything eventually returns. It calls for action, symbolizes time cycles, the movement of planets around the Sun, totality, fulfillment, focus, togetherness, perfection, revolution, and evolution. Psychologically speaking, the circle allows us to imprint ourselves, that is, our "I", into one universal, boundless scheme of the universe and, thus, to equate ourselves with all living beings, even all that surrounds us."
"Minona"
Phyllis "Pannet" Taylor portrays strong women in her paintings. The artist says: "Minona represents the Goddess of Prophecy and protector of women for the people of Benin, Africa. Minona uses her power to divine an infant's destiny and protects the child until adulthood."
Phyllis Thomas made "Qumran Eleven Unearthed Evidence II" in response to her research on the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It speaks to digging deep and finding fragments of the papyrus scrolls, then putting them back together for evidence the Scripture is real and true.
Lines and marks represent the Hebrew and Aramaic words and the stitching references the piecing together of the ancient scrolls. The gold leaf accents speak to the purity of God's word.
"Aurora Borealis"
Sandra recounts: "I combined two of my favorite things, ducks that I remember from my childhood in the Netherlands, and the amazing aurora borealis."
View the Digital Exhibition for more works by these artists, and all fifty-eight participants from Orlando and abroad.
A collection of works by twenty-two local artists is on view at the Orlando Public Library until April 23.
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