This painting, Bhumisparsha, or Earth-touching Mudra, by Michelle DeMarco, an award-winning egg tempera painter, emerged from her time spent visiting Opacum Woods in Sturbridge through the Fall and Winter of 2006. Prints may be purchased by calling Opacum at 508-347-9144, or via e-mail: info@opacumlt.org |
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The Painting
DeMarco’s most recent work,
inspired by the Opacum Land Trust mission, will be made available
through a limited edition archival print. DeMarco originally toured Opacum Woods with Carol
Childress and Jennifer Morrison (volunteer Executive Director and
volunteer Treasurer) as they explored the idea of how they could
cooperatively join “forces” to benefit the land trust’s mission.
The walk took place on a Fall afternoon when the light illuminated the
beauty of the birch trees with their cascading yellow leaves, and
enlivened the delicate mosses growing on the trees and rocks. This was
the birth of her inspiration for Bhumisparsha. The unveiling of Bhumisparsha took place in July 2007, at Opacum’s First Annual Eco-Art Silent Auction. The limited edition prints are
available through special order at a cost of $100 each. More than 90% of
the proceeds go directly to Opacum Land Trust to help fund its mission:
conserving land for a better tomorrow. The balance of the proceeds will
offset the cost of materials to produce the prints. Prints may be purchased by calling Opacum at 508-347-9144, or via e-mail: info@opacumlt.org The Artist
Visit A Geography of Hope, DeMarco's blog: www.ageographyofhope.blogspot.comMichelle DeMarco (www.michelledemarco.com) is one of a new emerging genre of eco-artists who combine ecology,
spirituality, activism and ethics within their work. DeMarco, who is an
egg tempera artist, merges art-making with environmentally ethical
practices and an integrated lifestyle. Her works are poetic and pragmatic,
insistent yet gentle. While vested with urgency, they are also mindful
of the continuum of rhythms that have their own pace. DeMarco’s
luminous images of ordinary beauty take on meanings of familiarity
bringing the viewer directly to a prosaic place of origin and offering
the realization that our awareness to an object (or person) reveals its
beauty. Here the beauty is nature and our interdependence, individually
and collectively. DeMarco holds a B.F.A. from UMASS.
She is a western MA based artist whose work has been shown throughout
New England and New York in museums, galleries and group shows. Her most
recent award was: Best of Show in Quests, Visions &
Journeys of the Spirit,
the Monson Arts Council’s 2007 Spring Exhibition. Her work can been
seen at The William Scott Gallery in Provincetown, MA, and Nature’s
Gallery and Art and Soul Studio in Brimfield, MA. Michelle is a member
of the Society of Tempera Painters (www.eggtempera.com)
and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Egg Tempera Painting
Egg tempera, a pre-Renaissance style
or working, espouses empathy, connection and belonging between the
artist and her materials. It is a deliberate style of painting using
finely ground, naturally found materials mixed with water and egg yolk.
DeMarco selects specific earth-based pigments for their hue and quality.
She chooses the blues of lapis lazuli and azurite from Chile; the greens
of malachite and earth from Verona, Italy; the yellow ochres from
France; the red siennas from Italy and cinnabars from China; the browns
of raw umbers from Cyprus; the purple of vesuvianite from South Africa;
and the luminous whites of oyster shells from Japan.
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