Items

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  2021-05-19

  New Dawn, New Day

  Nina Simone’s iconic version of "Feeling Good" plays as I put the last touches on my final painting for the We Rise L.A. project. Nina sings: “It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life For me And I'm feeling good I'm feeling good” My gouache (opaque watercolor) and ink artworks on paper, explore morning light, morning life, and the hope engendered by the dawn of a new day. Sourced from my memories of travel, these paintings reflect morning journeys, rituals, and routines. This series was created in partnership with We Rise LA for Mental Health Awareness and 18th Street Arts. My 41 works of art were created as messages of hope, beauty, wellbeing, and self-compassion. Nina sings: “Oh, freedom is mine And I know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life”
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  2020-12-08

  Mental Health in a Pandemic, 2020

  “It represents my mental health in the sense that the muddled background color represents all the “crappy” things going on in the world, and the chaotic lines also represent that, but they are the more pressing matters. The chaotic lines also connect to the head, representing the way everything got to me and in my head during this, and gave me a very jealous outlook on life, because there were a lot of people better off than I was, mentally, physically, financially, even though I was not in THAT bad of a place comparatively to others. Also the different textures between watercolor, pencil, and pen is representative of the different layers and different things going on in my life all at once. I really utilized the symbolism of things as well as playing with different textures in a cohesive way to represent myself and my feelings in a more abstract way.” -Sydney Avtges's response to when I asked her how her drawing represents her mental state during the pandemic.
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  05/15/2020

  Painting and Grief

  My 82 year old grandmother has been diagnosed with a giant aortic aneurysm that has grown. Originally, surgery was not an option because of her age. Due to the growth the surgery has been scheduled to be performed at Stanford Medical Center. The surgery could be fatal and family has worked arranged her funeral in advance. Covid-19 has made the process of saying goodbye difficult. I decided to shelter-in-place with her for a long weekend. We used the time to go over family photos, listen to stories, enjoy eachother. We spent Saturday painting together. She has been an artist her entire life, this is her love language. Occasionally grabbing the brush from my hand to guide a watercolor shadow or highlight, she makes it look effortless. We said goodbye knowing it may be the last time we see each-other. The hospital will not allow for family to accompany her for her surgery or recovery. Waiting is all that can be done. Her name is Janice Simone Simon. She is 83 years old and the matriarch of our family. She is loved. Covid-19 has changed the way we say goodbye.
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  2020-04-27

  Dancing women postcard

  Women dancing and the need to connect to others while we are all isolating ourselves