I create my own visual currency via delicious color, spontaneous markings and geometric shapes. According to many ancient spiritual teachings as well as modern science, colors are essentially frequencies that can impact emotion and states of being. In the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, asymmetry and “imperfection” are viewed as beauty. My creative approach draws on these world views, allowing colors, organic shapes and lines to emerge naturally, mapping the movement between our inner and outer landscapes. My hope is to point to an inner sanctuary where individuals can retreat against the opposing energy of today’s urban environments.

MIXED MEDIA: My mixed media work incorporates acrylic, graphite, paper, found objects and fragments of letters filled with meaning, history and the sacred act of writing to a loved one.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE: This series the bottle image serves as a container to store, transport and deliver messages and expressions of various kinds. The work, typically titled by a phrase from a letter, is a way to explore the nature of self and lineage, as well as themes of isolation, connection and love that are recurrent in my father’s and grandfather’s letters. I try to work as spontaneously as possible, with gestural strokes and marks, and a passion for color. I use layers of acrylic, graphite, crayon, my own hand-painted fabrics, paper, and found objects, along with family letters, postcards and photos. My original inspiration came from my father. Click here to see how.

DYE on SILK: Silk once served as a currency in the East and a gateway to the West. I continue that exchange by referencing the philosophical and spiritual ideas of the East while transporting the ancient discipline of painting on silk into our contemporary experience. My work explores the search for a meditative rather than a demanding energy to navigate our Western urban lives.

- Ellen Brook

https://ellen-brook.com/https://ellen-brook.com/