Sydney Reichman, (above) and Kaaren Hirschowitz Engel (below), two multi-talented Nashville artists are currently collaborating on a show at Centennial Art Center through March 26. Tonight, March 5, from 5 to 7 p.m., they present an "Artist's Talk."

I've featured the work of Engel, a former attorney, here before.

Engel, in her artist statement: “We are
all woven together, in one way or another.  Our connection is
ever-present, and yet, so often, we are unaware of it.  Experiences
which are deeply personal and yet universal.  Emotions which are
intensely private and yet have been felt by everyone.  Existing as a
single thread and yet inseparable from the fabric of humanity.  I
respond to these paradoxes through my art.  I often incorporate into my
paintings words or thoughts – records of a moment in time.  My art
evolves from these single moments, fragments of emotion – woven into
paint, paper, canvas.  At times the weaving is figurative, as in my two
dimensional work, where color and texture intermingle on a flat
surface.  At times the weaving is literal –  I cut apart my paintings –
rendering them into separate strips of color and texture.  I then
reconstruct these pieces into three-dimensional forms, weaving the
strips to create something new and different from their previous form. 
Time loses its linear quality as these thoughts, emotions and materials
intersect in a series of arcs, loops and spirals.  Past, present and
future merge into a single, defining moment. The distinction between
inner and outer becomes blurred and secrets are hidden and revealed
simultaneously.  Life experiences become a tangible collection of
interwoven moments – separate yet inseparable.” 

Tennessee
native Sydney Reichman has worked over 40 years as a studio artist in
the mediums of metal, painting and sculptural clay.  She currently
creates mixed media wall pieces and copper sculptures drawing from her
vast vocabulary of sculpting techniques.  Using copper, bronze and
brass that is heated with fire, brazed, painted, sculpted and carved,
she constructs exciting “poetic narratives” by combining her sculptural
elements with ground and painted aluminum “canvases” and wood block.  

Reichman
says she is deeply inspired by the rural, natural world, and that her
studio and reclaimed, re-greened valley and "hand–built" home are her
life’s “work-in-process” – a sculptural garden of metal, wood, and
water.  She reflects, “As a visual artist and land steward, I have
absorbed the experience of deeply caring for this wild, woodland world,
into a language of symbols and images that I hope will bridge and
relate our connection to the enchantment and magic that still exists on
our breathtaking and fragile earth.”  

Engel did not just evolve from lawyer to artist, she also teaches yoga and recently collaborated with Nashvillian Jamina Carder on the new children's book, Herman's Journey. Engel illustrated the book and co-wrote it with Carder. The two sign copies of their book tomorrow, Sat., March 6, at noon at Whole Body/Whole Foods in Green Hills.

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On Sunday I tried something new. I pasted a link to a post I published here in June. I'm participating in a "blog carnival" over at Bridget Chumbley. The theme is one word: kindness. Hop on over and take a peek.

In book news, please mark your calendars if you are in Nashville. We have two new offerings.  From 1-2, Sat., April 24, we will sign copies of our book, From Heartache to Hope: Middle Tennessee Families Living with Autism, just inside the Franklin Borders Bookstore. We're also excited to offer a back-to-back event with a book signing in conjunction with another very special event at the Downtown Nashville Public Library at 2:30 that day.  I hope to have details for sharing here on Wednesday.