Portfolio of Works

I was invited to present artwork at the Gathering Place, a non profit support center for cancer patients and their families. I wanted to present a new body of work that is more cheerful and lighthearted. My love of nature and plants reasserted itself. this collection of botanical mono prints and collage came about. Most of the plants are native and from my garden, except for the ones I picked in empty lots or that I "stole". This was a challenge for me. It is the first time that I have used collage and acrylics, and l had to learn useing a gel plate to produce the monotypes.

How I go to the woods

Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single

friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore unsuitable.

I don't really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds

or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of

praying, as you no doubt have yours.

Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit

on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,

until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost

unhearable sound of the roses singing.

If you have ever gone to the woods with me,

I must love you very much.

-Mary Oliver

For the past 40 years, my favorite area to walk has been the deciduous forests of the “Emerald Necklace”. It is a ring of wooded parks that surrounds the greater Cleveland area. Entering at any point, I am immediately transported to peaceful, quiet surroundings where I can roam for hours. The scene changes every few weeks: a hill covered in trillium in the shadows of the old trees, a turn in the path to find a field of wild hyacinths where Virginia bluebells bloomed 3 weeks earlier, mosses on the rocks and damp tree bark. I would miss the trail and get lost in the tall summer wild sunflowers and have to find my way back by listening for the sound of the river. Every once in a while there is a magical moment, as if Mother Nature opened her hand to give me a gift: a red fox running in the snow bank across the river, a blue heron gliding silently above the river. 
My understanding of the pull this area has on me became clearer when I read the recent literature and research on the ability of these trees to communicate.

I started this series in an attempt to communicate my joy and wonder. I hope I have come close.

Being an immigrant has influenced my work.  All my family members have immigrated to all corners of the world. USA, New Zealand, Canada, Britain, Lebanon, Sweden, Germany and Jordan are places we now call home. What and who decides where home is? Can you ever go back to a place you no longer recognize? Would you want to?

Although I consider myself an American, and only feel more at home here, my past life is still part of who I am. There are images that will always take me back to the ancient civilization that surrounded me. The unique eco-system of the marshes,  where I grew up, crops into my work. Certain colors I use are my personal symbols of the old country.  There are strong images from my childhood that also appear in my art. I explored the calligraphy that is so prevalent in Iraqi art. The prayers and talismans from my grandmother showed up in addition to the new moon that is a symbol of new beginnings and has a special family connection. This series of work was very personal for me. It touched on my reasons for leaving, what I miss and what I found in my new home.