QUARANTINE BACKYARD MANDALAS
The Quarantine Backyard Mandala series are created in my backyard and woodlands in northern NJ during the covid-19 pandemic. The genesis of the mixed media prints comes from placing my paintings, pastels and mixed media works with nature in situ and photographing them together.
The essential elements that inspire me are color, movement and light. In the final stage some of the archival prints are hand colored with pastels or metallic paints. Whether the patterns are extreme
or sublime, I want the compositions to give pause for beauty, balance, unity and wellness.
QUARANTINE BACKYARD MANDALAS
The Quarantine Backyard Mandala series are created in my backyard and woodlands in northern NJ during the covid-19 pandemic. The genesis of the mixed media prints comes from placing my paintings, pastels and mixed media works with nature in situ and photographing them together.
The essential elements that inspire me are color, movement and light. In the final stage some of the archival prints are hand colored with pastels or metallic paints. Whether the patterns are extreme
or sublime, I want the compositions to give pause for beauty, balance, unity and wellness.
BACKYARD CRISIS
On a micro level my backyard reflects a greater macro concern of our changing world. I've been photographing invasive plants to focus on the effects of increasing storms and massive tree loss. I've combined two vantage points: shooting above into the sky and shooting below the low-lying plants. Many non-native plants are harmful since they crowd out the natives which have thrived for millennia. They are better at adapting to the accelerating climate change and beat the native species to the new fields, mountains and valleys that would be able to support them. They also damage the diverse ecosystem that much of nature depends on. As plants and trees are forced to adapt, they must, in effect, make some sort of order out of chaos.
INTERTWINED
The act of drawing is an homage to the wabi sabi of my woods whether with a singular fallen branch or a composition of intertwined vines and trees in situ. There is beauty in the interconnectedness
and decay. Sometimes my lines are fluid and fast and other times there is a meditative quality to intentionally slowing down. The spirit of the watercolor combines with the graphite to capture opposing forces of movement and stillness.
INTERTWINED
The act of drawing is an homage to the wabi sabi of my woods whether with a singular fallen branch or a composition of intertwined vines and trees in situ. There is beauty in the interconnectedness
and decay. Sometimes my lines are fluid and fast and other times there is a meditative quality to intentionally slowing down. The spirit of the watercolor combines with the graphite to capture opposing forces of movement and stillness.
ABOUT
Maureen Bennett is a New Jersey artist who explores her relationship to the natural and human world around her, through painting, drawing and mixed media. Her recent works are in response to the accelerating changes of her backyard and woodlands in the larger context of the global climate crisis.
Maureen had her first solo show, “Transcendent Faces”, at Borghi Fine Art Gallery. She has exhibited at Historic Walnford, Monmouth County Park, Alfa Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ, Site: Brooklyn Gallery, NYC, and at the Cultural Alliance of Western CT. She was the Artist-in-Residence 2021 for Oyster Point Hotel, Red Bank, NJ.
Maureen is an educator and advocate for the arts who makes connections between global communities. She was the creator of the global traveling art project “Peace by Piece”, involving thousands of participants creating paintings and writings of personal expression about peace. She was the recipient of the NYC Circle of Mercy Award and has been awarded numerous grants to support art as a transformative force for social change in some of the poorest areas of the country. She leads art workshops for all ages in NYC and NJ about education, earth awareness, nonviolence, wellness and peace. Maureen started her career in NYC as an Art Director in the retail, music and non-profit industries.