When I came back to my studio, I realized that a painting I was working on was almost complete it just lacked a reflective element. It was obvious that the reflection on their surfaces, of the surrounding forest we all saw everyday, was a sound metaphor for the illusory and transient nature of all things. The lakes were beautiful, calm, and almost enchanted. We tend to notice better when we see a young life go so quickly. They were charged with symbolism, history and the memory of the owners’ four children, who all died in their childhood, making them a precious example of how ephemeral human life is. I had just returned from Yaddo, where we were doing a residency, and over there, I had walked countless times by the four lakes located on their grounds. SA: Over the summer, as I was writing for the opera piece, I was also contemplating the idea of Carpe Diem and how to approach it as a piece to be experienced within the concept of the fleeting moment. Right now there is a new piece in the making as usual the initial stages are full of research and conversation! I feel extremely fortunate to have the privilege of working with such talented artists in so many diverse fields, covering and exploring such a wide variety of creative expressions, but I also feel very fortunate to count them as my friends.ĪR-L: Your pieces for the Diálogo 465: CARPE DIEM exhibition are about reflection/s in some ways, and I was hoping you’d tell us more about them. Then in the field of contemporary dance-theatre, but also interwoven with these processes of collaboration, is my work with André Koslowski, director of Pennsylvania Dance Theatre, with whom I’ve been working over the last seven years as their scenic designer. Of course I couldn’t help but answer to these with a renewed sense of conversation. This is a work of true dialogue between a poem Carol wrote years ago and drawings I did in response to her text, she then responded, many years later, to the series of drawings with a new set of poetry. We are starting with the first steps of the production process, with the intention to have a premiere here in Philadelphia next year! I am also finishing up another project with a great poet friend of mine, Carol Ciavonne, in the form of a book (“Birdhouse Dialogues”) beautifully designed by Vanessa Briceno, who is also in our collaborative team. It’s inspired on a period in the life of Joan Miró, the renowned Spanish artist, whom I have admired for years. This particular work has a lot of connections with the art world and some of its history. We had such a great experience with the previous ones that we felt enthusiastic and excited with the idea of creating another piece. It’s actually our third operatic adventure and collaboration. About the opera, this year I’ve been writing the libretto for a new chamber piece, to which my husband, composer Efraín Amaya, is writing the music. SA: Thanks for bringing this up! It seem like I’ve been living in parallel dimensions over the years, and somehow, over the past few months these different, but related, categories seem to want to merge into a more unified body of work. The use of mica has been fairly constant in my mixed media work, since I am always attracted to its reflective qualities and the strength they have behind their fragile appearance.ĪR-L: Would you please tell us about the various other projects you’ve been involved in during the past months as a theatre professional? I understand you were working on an opera with your husband and was hoping you’d tell us more about that. This painting borrows the mirror metaphor, and allows us to catch a glimpse of light, maybe a fragment of our own reflection just for that instant when we face the mica surface. Like a reflection on the surface of a pond or on a quiet body of water, I find those fleeting moments to be like a magical illusion, at which point I stop just to contemplate a mirrored image, the most elusive in nature. Thinking in more visual terms: now you see it, now you do not. I have always associated ‘Carpe Diem’ with the experience of the ephemeral. Acrylic and Mica Flakes on Canvas: 72 in x 24 in, 182.88 cm x 60.96 cm, 2012.
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