Terry Sitz
|
|
Terry Sitz
BIO
Some of my favorite memories were about what filled my senses: twinkling Christmas lights I studied from my bedroom window, petunias and smoke from my neighbor’s Camels wafting into one summer scent, the gentle voice of the baseball announcer whispering from the radio hidden next to my pillow. These sweet, tiny moments were gold to me. Learning early to have presence for these moments of wonder was a gift. My ability to be in the moment is the foundation of my art. It allows me unbridled access to express those things that often cannot be put into words or crystalized without working them through first on a canvas.
In painting, I explore simplicity and beauty. Playing with colors and their relationships as they dance on the canvas. Making simple marks and shapes and abstracting and re-imagining familiar forms. Despite what may appear rather simple, my works include many, many layers of paint/mixed media and often a myriad of found, up-cycled and vintage objects. items that one would not think as particularly beautiful, but upon further glance offer artistry to the piece: vintage stamps, old sewing patterns, grocery bags, typewritten pages from my mother's short stories, advertising materials, Tibetan prayer flags, the tag from my daughter's jeans and bits of fabric from old quilts.
I hide precious things and happenstance bits of collected treasures. And that is the crux of my work—that on the surface, beauty may not be apparent, but at as you shift your focus, there is something there for you, insight, discovery, elation? As in life—with struggles, traumas, it is not all black or white—all good or bad--amid the many shades of being, as we grow, as we understand, as we find our voice and power, there is joy.
Statement
One Blink of an Eye From Brilliance - "Inspired by Pema Chodron's thought that life is an ebb & flow--things fall apart & come together-- that if you surrender to the flow rather than resist & you notice these patterns, you appreciate your own resiliency. That while you may get knocked down, you have faith in your strength to find your legs and find your way. She suggests that the things we struggle against are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth & brilliance are right here. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake--of finding joy in the smallest moments."
Enlightened - "Sometimes the painting (often) is about the process. I love color, I listen to indie folk, Tracy Chapman, The Lumineers and other great poetic music, and the dance that literally plays in me as I hold a paint brush comes out on the canvas in a way that is unexplainable - but to say it is the raw emotion that erupted in me in a moment of unselfconsciousness & deep consciousness~*enlightment..."
So Beautiful or So What - "Paul Simon wrote a Song called So Beautiful or So What? that references empowerment and taking charge of your story/ your life. And as I painted this piece I was painting about my sense of self and how I wanted to see the world, about taking risks and moving in directions that were unchartered for me."
Some of my favorite memories were about what filled my senses: twinkling Christmas lights I studied from my bedroom window, petunias and smoke from my neighbor’s Camels wafting into one summer scent, the gentle voice of the baseball announcer whispering from the radio hidden next to my pillow. These sweet, tiny moments were gold to me. Learning early to have presence for these moments of wonder was a gift. My ability to be in the moment is the foundation of my art. It allows me unbridled access to express those things that often cannot be put into words or crystalized without working them through first on a canvas.
In painting, I explore simplicity and beauty. Playing with colors and their relationships as they dance on the canvas. Making simple marks and shapes and abstracting and re-imagining familiar forms. Despite what may appear rather simple, my works include many, many layers of paint/mixed media and often a myriad of found, up-cycled and vintage objects. items that one would not think as particularly beautiful, but upon further glance offer artistry to the piece: vintage stamps, old sewing patterns, grocery bags, typewritten pages from my mother's short stories, advertising materials, Tibetan prayer flags, the tag from my daughter's jeans and bits of fabric from old quilts.
I hide precious things and happenstance bits of collected treasures. And that is the crux of my work—that on the surface, beauty may not be apparent, but at as you shift your focus, there is something there for you, insight, discovery, elation? As in life—with struggles, traumas, it is not all black or white—all good or bad--amid the many shades of being, as we grow, as we understand, as we find our voice and power, there is joy.
Statement
One Blink of an Eye From Brilliance - "Inspired by Pema Chodron's thought that life is an ebb & flow--things fall apart & come together-- that if you surrender to the flow rather than resist & you notice these patterns, you appreciate your own resiliency. That while you may get knocked down, you have faith in your strength to find your legs and find your way. She suggests that the things we struggle against are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth & brilliance are right here. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake--of finding joy in the smallest moments."
Enlightened - "Sometimes the painting (often) is about the process. I love color, I listen to indie folk, Tracy Chapman, The Lumineers and other great poetic music, and the dance that literally plays in me as I hold a paint brush comes out on the canvas in a way that is unexplainable - but to say it is the raw emotion that erupted in me in a moment of unselfconsciousness & deep consciousness~*enlightment..."
So Beautiful or So What - "Paul Simon wrote a Song called So Beautiful or So What? that references empowerment and taking charge of your story/ your life. And as I painted this piece I was painting about my sense of self and how I wanted to see the world, about taking risks and moving in directions that were unchartered for me."
- Terry Sitz
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland