"2001: A Spiritual Odyssey"

Virtual Gallery
Art Exhibit at South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM,
December 7-27, 2001

My art in this show is dedicated to George Harrison, Ken Kesey & the victims and heroes of 911 who truly are on a spiritual odyssey now. Mitake Oyasin…for all my relations.

Search for God. Love one another. Find God in one another and in yourself.
Live each day with gratitude, as if it were your last. Make art from the heart.

Since childhood an artist is what I wanted to be. I choose to create instead of destroy. God is a (com)passionate artist and so am I. I have been loaned this gift of creativity until I sing my death chant. I choose to pass on this gift to the children, the future generation, who will hopefully also pass on this gift to others. I honor God's creations by painting them. I open my heart and see what falls onto the canvas. I paint because that is my path and my quest. My paintings are visual prayers of gratitude and altars of Love. I see God's creative hand in all beings, seen and invisible. My art reflects my belief that there are many common rooms in Creator's home and the earth's religions. Mother Father God is immanent within all life, within all changes. Many times my images come as a surprise flash of inspiration, many times I only find the meaning of symbols after the painting is done. My paintings become love notes and sweet surprises.

I paint in the method known as grisaille - tones of gray. I work out my tonal variations in a very tight underpainting. I then use transparent color glazes on top of the underpainting, building up layers of paint and depth. Some paintings I simply use the burnt umber and white colors as they remind me of sepia-toned photographs.

I am a New Yorker living in New Mexico. In the aftermath of the 911 tragedies, my paintings for this show became even more precious to me. The people I painted are mostly New Yorkers. The ones I love are far away but time and distance have no bearing. People set up homes in each other's hearts. Painting these people I love brings my heart closer to this home. My spiritual beliefs have not changed much because of this event. I still choose love and compassion over fear and hatred. The other women in this show, Miriam Foronda and Sue Orchant have been a great support to me as we are all from New York.

We are all interconnected and that is the way life is. It is no longer six degrees of separation but one or two. The world has become smaller somehow. Now I share my images with you, the viewer. Go home and love your family and friends. They are God in action.

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"Little Bear and Me" Andrew McDonagh, age 10, Oil Medicine Shield 2001

This is my godson Andrew McDonagh. I am his goddess mother. When my husband and I were trying, unsuccessfully, to have children, our friends Helena and Paul were blessed by another son. They asked me to be his godmother. Our relationship is precious. He asked me to do a painting of him so I did. I made this medicine shield to keep him safe. He is a very sensitive child living in an often harsh world. The branches are from NYC and NM. I prayed throughout the entire creative process. I finished the shield after 911.

When Drew saw the email file, he said, "That is so cool. The bears are me and Roni." His nickname is Little Bear and I am Roni Bear. I love him and hold him in my heart. Distance and time does not separate us. This is a gift that I will send to my honey bear after this show.

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This is a painting of Miriam Foronda and her children Andy and Karla. I met Miriam in 1987 in a coffee shop at the Citicorp Building. I saw her everyday, liked her spiritual reading material, her jewelry and thought, "This is someone I need to know." The rest is herstory. They are my family. Her painting of her family in this show, coincided with the same imagery of bears and jaguars as mine. This was "coincidental" or synchronistic, as I prefer to call it. Her painting is the front side of the back side of my image of her holding her shell, offering up prayers for her family. It is a spirit painting. The large Miriam is the protective mother of her children with jaguar and eagle spirit guides. She is a gentle warrior mom who works very hard to support her family. She is one of the great ones whose prayers help to balance the energies of this planet.

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My sister and I were introduced to the world's religions by our mother, before she died in 1966. She used to take us to the American Indian Museum in Manhattan and pow wow dances. Being an apartment dweller, I used to pretend I lived in a pueblo. I have been very drawn to indigenous ways for a very long time. This influenced my move here.

This painting is based on a dream I had while still living in Manhattan, a year before we moved to New Mexico. In it a woman appeared to me holding a drum. There was a shield of light and a moon, and children at the Taos pueblo. The floating girl is a Crow girl I sponsored for 12 years named Susette Nanto. She rises up from the earth to achieve her dreams. The horses represent our freedom. The children in the dream were a sign that I was to work with children in NM. I teach art to them and they fulfill my nurturing instinct.

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In 1999, my father and step-mom came to visit us from NYC. This is my dad in our garden of love. I honor my dad, now 87. It is through the love of my parents that I came to know and believe the love of God. Our parents are our first role models of love. My dad has loved me, forgiven me, has grown with me, has supported me, has been there when I fall, has been there when I soar. He has also taught me the importance of relying on myself. Archie Lame Deer has said that Creator will meet you halfway but you have to do half the work. Dad never withdrew his love for me even when I thought myself unlovable and unforgivable. Just like Creator.

My Dad fought in WWII. My father used to sing with a big band in NYC. He met my mom at Roseland and gave up his first love, music, to have a family. I have inherited my love of music from my family. I wanted to gift him with a painting to say I LOVE YOU DAD the best way I know how, through art. Before people transition out of this life, it is good for them to know how much they are loved.

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The woman in this painting is Sherryl Marshall, an old friend from NYC. We went to high school together. We were reunited in 1985 while at Tramps, a former blues club in Manhattan. She is a singer with Buster Poindexter (David Johansen) and others. She also is childless but works as a vocal coach and tutor to film and tv child actors. We lead very similar lives.

I depict her as the African goddess Yemaja, mother of the oceans and the moon. Yemaja is singing and listening and dreaming the world into creation…and it is good. She holds her magical shell staff, connecting her energy with that of the earth.

I kept this painting as a monotone as I love its elegant simplicity. It also reminds me of Edward Curtis' sepia toned photographs.

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Ever prayerful, ever watchful, my Tonkinese boys are my babies. I wasn't blessed with my own children in this life but I transformed this through loving my cats, my art students and my godchildren. Tewa has his eyes closed with the same expression as the statue of Kwan Yin, Chinese Goddess of Mercy. His brother Chante is watching and guarding. The Tonkinese breed is a combination of Siamese and Burmese cats. Siamese cats are known as temple cats who guard the temple. They are the guardians of my soul. The synchronicity of the times with this painting is so symbolic as we need to remain ever prayerful and ever watchful. The blossoms remind us of how brief and beautiful life is and to make the most of every day. I believe that animals were put on earth to teach us how to stay in the moment, give us unconditional love and loving, non-judgmental companionship. There are many lessons to learn from the animal people if we observe and listen with our hearts.

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