Evolution of Art: Marilyn Hayes' Watercolors and Monoprints

This is just to whet your appetite! It's called "Hands of the Goddess."

Tomorrow morning I take down my show, Circle Songs, and hang Marilyn's show at Beanetics Coffee Roasters. As you can see, her work is colorful and dynamic and filled with symbolism.

Marilyn has this to say about her work:

My work reflects the symbolism, experiences and mystery of my inner life in figures and symbolic images as seen through shamanism, the framework of Jungian psychology and its symbolic approach to mythology. It also expresses the power and mystery of the feminine through the images and symbols reflected in myths from ancient cultures. In those cultures, images of goddesses empowered women by providing positive symbols of feminine energy in the natural, instinctive world. I include these themes in my work because I feel that connecting to the natural world balances my involvement in the technical world that surrounds me. My primary influences are the impressionists and abstract expressionists but I am also inspired by my ancestry and the legend of my Haitian grandmother.

Currently, I am working in watercolor and gouache and making monoprints using Akua water-based inks. At the beginning of my life as an artist, I focused on drawing because I loved the magic of creating a three dimensional space on the blank page. Drawing is still an essential part of my work. When I encountered watercolor I could see that I could express myself more fully in color and continue to draw. While drawing is still an important part of my work, watercolor appeals to me because of its flexibility and fluidity and because I can apply it in so many ways (brushes, fingers, handprints, sponges) and in so many intensities and textures. I also love working in water-based media because the results can be unpredictable.

Over the years I have experimented, gaining skill with additional techniques. I am constantly returning to familiar methods and building on what I know. I am concerned with both expressing flow and improving my control and skill. I make my monoprints at the Lee Arts Center in Arlington, VA.

We hope to see you at the Artist Reception. Here are the details:

• WHEN: Saturday, January 12, 2008 from 7-9pm

• WHERE: At Beanetics Coffee Roasters, 7028 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003

Marilyn's artwork will be on display from January 5 through February 7, 2008. Beanetics is open Monday through Thursday from 7am to 8pm, Friday from 7am to 9pm, and Sunday from 8:30am to 6pm. Stop by for a multi-sensory delight: delicious coffee and great art! What could be better?