Summer Ponds as Visual Poetry

Art as a Meditation

“Dreaming by the the river, I dedicated my imagination to water, to clear, green water, the water that makes the meadows green….” — Gaston Bachelard, 20th c. French philosopher

In my paintings, prints and mixed media, I try to offer personal mixes of abstraction, design and observation. My themes of nature continue to reflect upon the Earth’s beauty.

Water reflections have always inspired me. In my “Summer Ponds” series of works on paper I imagine graphic aquatic theaters of “plant, pond, poem” as intimate teeming microcosms of life. I love the abundance and variety of the lush visuals of a flowing “seeing” pond as it mirrors plants and sky above. Water’s fluid translucency from depths to surface compares to the lucidity in daydreaming, reveries and the trance-like suspension of time found in the creative process. Water and creativity both restore body and soul. Pond waters, textures, sounds and moods entice me to muse and paint their flowing lyrical nature. The surfaces reflect gestural markings, inviting patterns, shapeshifting graphics, cascading abstracted distortions and rich pools of color. Traces of time in layers of pentimenti mingle figuration and abstraction. My work seeks the “The Poetic” between Nature and the Human worlds.

Art is a process and journey of discovery with flights of imagination, dreaming and “what ifs.” Just as poems and art are means of processing intense life experiences, here “Ponds” provide launching pads to experience these flights of fancy. Art is my approach, manifesto, my way of seeing, sharing, living life intensely and finding meaning in it all.

….Bender’s art practice has explored nature themes in gardens and flowers at residencies in France and in The Hamptons, NY. She teaches art and watercolor techniques in the Metro NY area. She is also an Art Professor at Essex County College in Newark, NJ…… www.LoisBender.com and www.GardenSpiritsNY.com