A friend asked me to enter something into a show that she was curating. So in January I began preparing 2 works for "The Art of Healing", which ran from 21 Mar - 25 April, 2009. The first piece, “Stefan Let Ræisa”, is a memorial for a friend that died a fews years ago. She was someone very dear to my heart. Having read about, and seen images of, memorial runestones such as those raised in Scandinavia, I wanted to create something similar. Here is the artist's statement:
This piece was inspired by the tragic death of a 
dear friend. Part of dealing with grief was, for me, the creation of some type of a memorial. An image came to my mind of rune stones, such as those created in Late Viking-era Sweden (ca. 980-1040 A.D.) to commemorate relatives and loved ones. I studied both the runes, the orthography of the rune stones, as well as the old tongue known as “Run Svensk” in order to create this memorial as accurately and faithfully as possible. The following are the letter-by-letter transliteration of the runes, and an English translation of their meaning.
stefan let ræisa markaði þenna æftiR ellen maksdottiR listamaðir dansir natturelskir ok vinkona - dans i guðs ljus - finna angan ok friðr þarna - stefan raði
dear friend. Part of dealing with grief was, for me, the creation of some type of a memorial. An image came to my mind of rune stones, such as those created in Late Viking-era Sweden (ca. 980-1040 A.D.) to commemorate relatives and loved ones. I studied both the runes, the orthography of the rune stones, as well as the old tongue known as “Run Svensk” in order to create this memorial as accurately and faithfully as possible. The following are the letter-by-letter transliteration of the runes, and an English translation of their meaning.stefan let ræisa markaði þenna æftiR ellen maksdottiR listamaðir dansir natturelskir ok vinkona - dans i guðs ljus - finna angan ok friðr þarna - stefan raði
Stephen raised this monument in memory of Ellen Makarewicz, artist, dancer, naturalist, and friend. Dance in God's light. Find joy and peace there. Stephen drew (these runes).
After the show ended I had a giclée made for myself, and sent the original to her brother in Connecticut.
The second piece is"The Apostatic Heart": This piece was 
inspired by an episode of personal illness. A few years ago I began having a series of pains, which a string of doctors were unable to treat until I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). This disease may be typified as “the perceived sensation of pain in the absence of direct stimulus.” My pains were becoming debilitating until I began pharmaceutical treatment. There is believed to be an underlying psychological condition, perhaps suppressed angst over the status of one’s life, which initiates FMS. It is the underlying condition that I am trying to confront in this drawing, hoping to eventually overcome the source of my distress, and outgrow FMS.
inspired by an episode of personal illness. A few years ago I began having a series of pains, which a string of doctors were unable to treat until I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). This disease may be typified as “the perceived sensation of pain in the absence of direct stimulus.” My pains were becoming debilitating until I began pharmaceutical treatment. There is believed to be an underlying psychological condition, perhaps suppressed angst over the status of one’s life, which initiates FMS. It is the underlying condition that I am trying to confront in this drawing, hoping to eventually overcome the source of my distress, and outgrow FMS. It is now hanging in the kitchen.
Following "The Art of Healing" show I entered works into a show called "On My Own Time" in Syracuse, NY, which ran
from 27 April-15 May, 2009 at the offices of my employer (O'Brien & Gere). I sent my etching of John Muir, 2 of my Prud'hon copies (Femme nue debout, de dos & Tete de la Vengeance Divine), a new protrait of Alicia, and I reworked the portrait of Kris (the blonde shown here). You can see that I have added skin color to Kris, darkened her hair slightly and added figures to her dress. I'm liking it much better 
now, but am still thinking of a couple of improvements I can make to enhance the contrast (for the sake of readability across a room). Meanwhile, Alicia, being Afro-American, is inherently free of the problem of contrast or readability. The curators of the Everson Art Museum in Syracuse saw the works in the "On My Own Time", and selected my Prud'hon's Femme nue debout, de dos to be in their show in October. I also won first place in the Print category for John Muir, which, it turns out, was the only print submitted to the show.
from 27 April-15 May, 2009 at the offices of my employer (O'Brien & Gere). I sent my etching of John Muir, 2 of my Prud'hon copies (Femme nue debout, de dos & Tete de la Vengeance Divine), a new protrait of Alicia, and I reworked the portrait of Kris (the blonde shown here). You can see that I have added skin color to Kris, darkened her hair slightly and added figures to her dress. I'm liking it much better 
now, but am still thinking of a couple of improvements I can make to enhance the contrast (for the sake of readability across a room). Meanwhile, Alicia, being Afro-American, is inherently free of the problem of contrast or readability. The curators of the Everson Art Museum in Syracuse saw the works in the "On My Own Time", and selected my Prud'hon's Femme nue debout, de dos to be in their show in October. I also won first place in the Print category for John Muir, which, it turns out, was the only print submitted to the show.For the last few months I have also been working on a very different kind of project (different for me at least). Several months ago, to help a friend with depression I got out the old rune stones, and helped her cast them. She enojyed the reading so much that I decided to make her at
set. Here you see the finished set, which are hand-carved in walnut, stained, painted gold (with a touch of green) and varnished with 3 coats of polyurethane. I have discovered that carving wood requires more steadiness of hand than I have ever had, so the result should not be scrutinized too closely. The overall effect is nice, though it took many, many hours, making it highly unprofittable to make with the intention of selling. Thus, I may never make another set.Now that it is June, community ed classes have
Well, that's it for now. Be sure to share your comments with me, so that I may continue to grow.
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