Bio | ayumikie

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

I love painting on large heavyweight paper that receives full body strokes and colors. I allow myself to paint without plan or restrictions. The colors, forms, and textures engage me in rhythmic call and response. I follow lines and impulses, alert to emerging shifts in direction or tone, and backtrack, excavate, re-build. I enjoy the intimacy of handling the materials and connecting with the elemental qualities of earth, air, fire, water, and qi. I wait for the painting to reveal itself. Impatience obscures the process, but tolerance for not knowing when or how the painting will complete itself has increased over time.

My art education has been uniquely suited to my sensibilities. During my childhood in a plantation community in Hawaii I painted with mud, sticks, flower petals, and juicy seeds on rich dark soil. Connie Smith Siegel's work with sensory awareness and art was foundational and profound in its depth. Painting in the company of artists in Toni Littlejohn's Wild Carrots studio has give me invaluable space and support for art making. Painting collaboratively with artist Patrick Maloney, allowing our different approaches to come together in one painting, deepened my confidence in an inner awareness.

My work in health care involved a close examination of human vulnerabilities and suffering, as well as the wholeness within each individual. I believe that making art is a life affirming act. Allowing the inner landscape to become visible through painting is healing for ourself and for others.

I am nourished by the quiet pleasure of painting. I paint to see what emerges, and to experience the ineffable.

Ayumi Kie Weissbuch

ayumikie@gmail.com