I am excited to say that I am going to be showing some of my work at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans.
The Big Top Gallery is going to be doing a pop-up gallery and they asked to show my Mississippi River and some of my Beautiful Bodies pieces.
I haven’t talked much about my Beautiful Bodies series though I have been sharing photographs on my Instagram feed (username: jenelleleighc). They are a series of 6″x6″ canvases that I paint black and onto which I put a skeleton in white making some kind of gesture with a bright red heart in her chest. I include text next to her that describes the intention behind the gesture. The text is also the title of each piece.
These pieces are very fun to do and reflect the beginning of my journey into becoming licensed in Louisiana to work as a massage therapist. I became a massage therapist a decade ago at Health Choices Holistic Massage School in New Jersey. My life has take so many twists and turns since then and my bodywork career has waited patiently on the sidelines for a while now.
To become licensed here I have to take a class through Blue Cliff College so that my hours match the state requirements and then take a qualifying exam (MBLEX) and an oral exam given by the LA state board of massage therapy. All things considered I will be licensed and ready to work by 2013.
Which is why I am painting my way into skeleton country. Its a great study trick for me as I know I learn things better when I draw them.
I also believe that the skeleton is a potent artistic symbol. Its something we can al relate to and project ourselves into to. When I see them they make me feel a connection to my ancestry which I find to be very grounding and supportive of the struggle to bring my heart into the world.
Some examples (all done in acrylic paint):
Some examples:
