About the Artist
BRENDA FOREMAN
I wanted to be an artist from the time I was in 2nd grade as my teacher, Mrs. Target, had painted grapevines on our classroom windows that faced west. When the light came through the paint, it came to life -- I had never seen anything so beautiful ! -- and I knew I wanted to help bring beauty into the world.
About 1992, I was in a car accident. I had an out-of-body experience, saw my car which appeared less than an inch long, and the people coming out of their houses looked the size of small ants. I saw the dash of my car before I opened my eyes. Once in the squad, strapped to a body board, all I remember then was being in a beautiful beyond description place and a perfume like non other, I was whole and without pain. Shadows of others started to emerge, when to my left, a larger entity spoke with authority - "Brenda, you can not stay here!" and "But I want to" was my reply. Again the voice said, It's not your ti.........and I remember the huge breath I took, I was back in the squad. Oxygen mask, medic with de-fib paddles in hand, then "Lady, keep talking, I don't want to loose you again!" I had lost all my fine motor skills. I worked for 2 years to get my drawing skills back. Another 6 years to become mostly pain-free. I don't take much for granted these days. Love pours out from my heart in all I do and create.
What does this have to do with my art you ask? My abstract works are built in layers, with some of each reaching the most outer layer. I continually find I work this way which is a result of the paradeigm shift I had after the car accident. I could allued to the link between the spiritual world and this reality in which we live. The connection and passion I feel when painting feeds my soul and is something for which I am grateful. When painting realistically, I sense my subject first with a loving heart then my eyes search for what I can find to inform my painting or drawing.
Life is filled with beauty and mystery, embrace it all with a grateful heart !
Love and Blessings,
Brenda
If you want to know more, keep reading
IN BETWEEN GRADE SCHOOL, the accident and NOW:
Brenda began her formal art career while a student at Capital University, Bexley, Ohio, where she studied under nationally acclaimed artists -- painter, Richard Phipps and sculptor, Gary Ross. She extensively drew and painted the figure in charcoal, graphite, watercolor and oils. Brenda discovered her fondness for sculpture while a student of Jack Greves, a visiting internationally acclaimed sculptor. Phipps, art department chair, saw in Brenda an opportunity to place an artist teaching art in the public schools when he asked her to consider teaching. After careful consideration, she began a 30-year journey as an artist/teacher. She continued her study with various arts organizations, and exhibited her work in and around Columbus, Ohio until her daughter, Olivia, who is also an artist, was born.
Brenda has volunteered on many committees whose goals were to encourage and promote emerging student artists. Her students exhibited art in The Ohio Governor’s Art Exhibition; Regional Scholastic Art Awards; Emerging Young Artists of Central Ohio; and Focus on Four, sponsored by the Worthington Arts Council. WKHS students thinking about architecture as a major at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, were encouraged to enroll in Brenda’s Jewelry and Metalworking classes. She has judged the Grange Insurance Company National Art Exhibition; the Scholastic Student Art Exhibition and 4-H entries at the Ohio State Fair. Brenda chaired many art exhibitions for the Bexley Area Art Guild.
After retiring from public education, Brenda moved to Indiana, where she lives with her husband, Robert. Artistic endeavors are now her full-time focus. Working in various media, Brenda has exhibited and won awards locally. Brenda continually strives for improvement, adding more layers, texture, movement and color to her work. Her work has been accepted into the Reflected Light - a Midsummer Art Exhibition 2014-15. Her artwork can be found at the Elbow Room Pub, Indianapolis, during quarterly First Fridays: November, February, May and August. She was the featured artist June-July 2014 at the Sugar Creek Art Center, Thorntown. She was a member of the Central Indiana Artists, Inc. until it disbanded. She is a member of the Hendricks County Arts Council, participating in events whenever possible. She has shown her work during ArtsGo! in the past, and at the Hendricks County 4H Fairgrounds and Danville Library many times.
She developed and organized “Focus on Six” - Emerging Artists of Hendricks County” 2009 which showcased the artwork of one student from each of the six public school corporations in the county where she lives. Her works are found in private collections in Ohio, at the Northland Masonic Temple, Columbus, Ohio and in Indiana.
Thank you for visiting my Studio Shop!
Love, Brenda
Copyright Brenda S. Foreman, August 2010. All rights reserved.
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