Crossing the Great River

Margaret Amada

Crossing the Great River

Pastel

Artist Statement: This pastel piece was inspired by a photograph I saw of a parrot smuggler wading across the Rio Grande. When I saw that photograph, my response was: “I want to set those parrots free!” As artists we have the power to do things like this. For me, it is an image of healing, with many layers. I realize now as I look at it that the image is also about the liberation of gifts which have been locked up or suppressed. For me it also resonates with the thoughts about the Israelites crossing the Jordan to enter their homeland, just as for me I crossed the Rio Grande into El Paso which became my home. I’m also influenced by Greek Mythology with the idea of dying being a crossing of a river, even though in this image there is no boatman.

Bio: I have been painting and drawing since I was a small child. I’ve studied painting under John Stovall in Galveston, Texas, and did fine arts coursework including drawing and printmaking under Kim and Theresa Bauer at University of Texas at El Paso. I identify as a Catholic although have a lot of Protestant influence growing up in a Protestant family. My spiritual training includes two years in a Benedictine convent in Mexico City and 34 years in 12-step recovery. I am a retired nurse and a Texas Master Naturalist, a wife, and a mother.

 

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