See related poems in the 2022 Fall Journal
Artist’s Statement – Most of my art work focuses on the spiritual journey of the strong, independent woman, her relationships with loved ones, and her connection to nature. I explore the complex and layered aspects of self-discovery, awakening, expanding the heart, healing inner wounds, and rising in courage. Nature and symbolism are often used to enrich my stories. As an art work takes shape, I find I am softly anchored in ritual repetition as hours pass and the details emerge. My work is a visual chant, borrowed from the insights of mystics through the ages. My artistic process includes poetry that comes to me while I am working at my art table. In both my art and poetry, I hone in on the common ground of human experience with my subject matter, celebrating all that is spirit within each of us. Whether in the drawing of a concept, or in composing just the right words to convey a thought, I welcomes the flow of one line following the next as it slowly comes into being. It’s like breathing, the intake, the exhale, the putting down one thought, and the pause before the next follows. It gives me great joy to share it all with you.
Bio – A graduate of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, Dorothy initially taught art and freelanced as an editorial illustrator. She is now focused on her fine art. Her work has a rich, other-worldly quality. She renders her subjects with intricate layers of ink, watercolor and colored pencil on rag paper. Every line is purposeful, each element is symbolic. With more recent pieces, she includes elements of collage, mingling worldly bits of paper with ethereal subjects to create another point of connection for the viewer. Dorothy Bury Shaw is also a poet. She is the author of LOVE WITHOUT DISTANCE – A Heartscape of Art and Verse, a book that features some of her art and poetry. You can learn more about her at http://www.dburyshaw.com.
These are gorgeous!