It’s Day 169 and it feels like summer.  I am excited about my new wheels (traded our car in yesterday) and the only thing that’s bothering me is that I tweaked my back again.  Sheesh!  Been gardening, walking the pups and working on this unique mixed media piece today.  Join me in celebrating the wonderful Rhea Carmi today.

Rhea Carmi (Hebrew: ברוריה כרמי, born 1942) (variant name: Bruria Carmi), is an Israeli American abstract expressionist and mixed-media artist.

Carmi was born in Jerusalem. She studied visual art at Tel-Aviv University 1974-1976,

and attended Ramat-Gan Institute for The Arts 1977-1979. Her mentors were Israeli artists Arie Aroch and Motti Mizrachi.

Carmi utilizes a variety of media—oils, sand, water, treated paper, canvas and wood—which she layers, smooths and sculpts. The paintings are a personal diary of the artist.

Carmi is a member of the ARTROM Gallery Guild and served as juror for Abstract Forms for the ARTROM International Art Competition 2008.

She lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Her name means: Flowing she is part of the Earth.

Biography is from wikipedia.

Born in Jerusalem, a land that is spiritual and passionate; searing and volatile. These

words very well describe the artist as well as her works. Rhea, over the last twenty-seven years produced a body of work that celebrates with antiquity the everlasting human spirit, which survives the brutality, and insanity of war, aridity and harshness of human nature as it endures.

Rhea utilizes a variety of media: oils, sand, water, treated paper, canvas and wood; which she layers, smoothes and sculpts to create the abstract impressions, which demand tactile as well as visual interplay. Her works are perceived

as the topography of intimate landscapes, as well as the mapping of emotions and sensations devoid of familiar forms. The paintings are a personal diary of the artist as she chronicles the events that had an impact on humanity and nature.

These works combine to express the feelings of introspection, conflict, human emotion, and the effects of malicious wielding of power and greed on humanity.

Rhea’s work has been exhibited in Israel, Europe, Australia, New York and Los Angeles. She now resides in California with her husband of 48 years.

Above is from her website.

My biggest challenge today was to actually pick what kind of media I wanted to focus on with my piece.  I thought of wire, fur, glues and many other things.

I started with colored thread onto a painted white wood panel and then started spilling it onto the surface.  I then started adhering it onto the panel with

mod-podge.  I did a couple layers and let the string fall at random until it created it’s own pattern.  I felt like it was very therapeutic so I decided to name my piece Art Therapy.  I hope you enjoy it and I’ll see you tomorrow on Day 170!

Best, Linda