Why A Retrospective?

For my 80th birthday I want to celebrate myself in the continuing process of being and becoming an artist as a human being.

I have been on the path of breathexperience for the past twenty-two years, which included creating art and writing from sensing breath as it moves through my body, mind, and spirit onto the page and into life itself—in the moment, without plans or concepts.

I began as a ballet and modern dancer in my younger life and now breath is dancing me. I never had thought of myself as an artist when I was young because my mother was a well-known artist and such a big power to contend with, until I came into my own. I am forever grateful to her for her gift of teaching me to see the world through the eyes of an artist.

I want to show a progression in several media—from my intensity in being a jeweler and metal smith, when I lost my temper as the torch burned through pieces just as I was about to finish a work—to drawings and paintings with my eyes closed and unaccustomed hand—to breathart in my recent years, which begins with breath as its source.

The process is more important to me than the finished drawings, collages, and paintings. However, I am frequently surprised and laugh with delight about how many works come together into a whole—often revealing something about myself that I didn’t know before. I am in wonder with these revelations.

It is a treat for me to share some of what has given me much excitement and joy in my life. I invite you to celebrate with me.

The Home for my Art—A Gift from Annie and Mario Carofanello

When Perry and I returned from a trip from Europe last year, we were both excited by my idea of having an art retrospective for my eightieth birthday.

At first, I wanted to have it in a professional gallery, but when I was talking with Annie, our daughter, she said, “Mom, why not have it at our house?” She and Mario talked it over, and both of them were so enthusiastic. “We’ll take the furniture out and the paintings down.”

“Oh no,” I protested, “that’s far too much work, and you’d be taking down Gram’s paintings.”

“Yes,” she said, “Mom, it’s not a big deal, and we’d love to do it. And yes, we can have the show installed for three days to celebrate your birthday.”

I thought about this gift for a long time—my mother’s paintings coming down and mine going up. My mother died on my birthday fourteen years ago. Being with her for her last breath was a great honor, and I sensed how happy she would be to have me show my work here. I decided to accept Annie and Mario’s generous offer to open their home to become a gallery for me and my art over my life-time.

I have shown my art in many forms professionally on various occasions, and now I feel comfortable here in their home for an intimate gathering of family and friends—and I give them my deepest gratitude for their gift. My thanks also to their team of assistants–Joey Baker from Australia (now adopted as a family member), Patrick and Nick Siemon, Melissa and Charles Carofanello, and Una Hayes (photographer).

With breath and my love always,

Mom and Margot

River of Breath 2008	Breath Shawl 2004	Breathdance Solo, U.C. Berkeley Art Museum 2008
Collage 01 When Body and Soul Separate A Moment in the Divine	Collage 02–What Happens When Spirit Leaves the Body, torn pa	Collage 03, Under My Guilt is Truth. torn papers, inked words, 2010
Collage 04, To Whom Am I Beautiful As I Go,skin, leaf, paper 2009	Collage 05–I am a Sacred Piece of Dust, torn papers 2010	Collage 06–Opposites Become One in Essence 2
Collage 07–Things Are Not What They Seem 1	Collage 08–Birthday Celebration for a Friend	Collage 09–Volcano, Pearl, Essence of Self
Collage 10–My Essence 2009	Collage 11, My Skin and Other Things 1 Collage, photos of skin, ink, torn papers 2008	Collage 12, My Skin and Other Things 2, Collage, photos of skin, graphite, torn papers 2008
Collage 13–A Spacious Day torn paper, ink, palm bark, 2007	Collage 14–Celebration, Fit for a King–chinese papers, tor	Collage 15–Menorah Celebration, fabric, lint from dryer, to
Collage 16, Sea Ranch, Hidden Family Collage,1998	Collage 17–Anatomy of Breath–torn magazine papers, 1995	Collage 18–Decoupage table top 1963
Collage 19 Universal Mother	Collage 20 When I was a Child, I saw My Mother As	Collage 21 Who Was This Mother
Collage 22 Mother–Healing Waters	Collage 23 Human Nature Meets Nature, natural art forms 2000	Collage 24 Meeting My First Love, 2011
Collage 25 The Dream Explodes and Then What Happens, Collage, torn paper, 2011	Collage 26. Loving the Distance Between Us collage 2011	Collage 31. banana leaf, nut casings, Chinese papers 3
Collage27 Healing Power of Breath 1collage	Collage29. banana leaf, Chinese papers 1	Collage30. banana leaf, Chinese papers 2
Collage 28. Healing Power of Breath 2 collage	Drawing 01– Breath Dancer 2008	Drawing 02– Breath Moves Through Me, 2008 graphite
Drawing 03–Body of Breath 2008 graphite	Drawing 04 Perry’s Swan 2010	Drawing 05–Too Many Words Invite Sleep
Drawing 06–Reflexive to Natural Breath 2008	Drawing 07–Breath Circling Inside My Body, Snuggling and Stroking, 2008. g	Drawing 08 –Travel for Two, A Couple at Lunch 1 1986
Drawing 09–Travel for Two 2 1986	Drawing 10– Ancient Breath Figure Hana, HI 2009 107	Watercolor 01–Roman Ruins and Olive Tree–Sirmione 2010
Watercolor 02–Oeschinensee, Kandersteg 2010	Watercolor 03–Sonoma Cottage Garden 2010	Watercolor 04– Doctor’s Waiting Room 2010
Watercolor 05–Ann’s Studio Door 2009	Watercolor 06– River of Breath Front Cover Book watercolor 2	Watercolor 07–Oeschinensee Mountain, Kandersteg 2007
Watercolor 08–Ravello, Italy, 2005	Watercolor 09–Hawaii Trees, 2003	Watercolor 10–Ascoli Piceno, 2007
Watercolor 11– Gentlemen of Rome, 2009	Watercolor 12 Berry Juice Waves	Watercolor 13 a. Margot painting Kayserberg, Alsace, photo by Janet Lee
Watercolor 13 Kaysersberg, Alsace 2011	Watercolor 15–CD Grammie Stories 1992, 2010	Watercolor 16–Vienna 1985
Watercolor-collage 14–Peaceing Life’s Puzzles Together	Metal work 01, jewelry–gold, aquamarine, pearls collar	Metal work 02, jewelry–collar necklace, gold, silver, coral,
Metal work 03, jewelry–necklace–dancing figures gold, silve	Metal work 04, jewelry–necklace–gold, aquamarine, azure bea	Metal work 05, jewelry–ring, gold, diamond, carnelian 1968
Metal work 06–silver loving cup a 1966	Metal work 07–silver loving cup b 1966 004	Metal work 08, –silver loving cup 1965
Metal work 09–brass bowl 1964	1. citrasol ancient lady in bronze helmet	2. citrasol dissolve + orchid
3. citrasol water power	4. citrasolv ancient treasures	5.citrasolv clouds
6. citrasolv mountains	7. citrasolv remains of a fire	8. citrasolv miracle–dissolve and emerge
9. citrasolv orchid	10. citrasolv red heart under cage	11. citrasolv sunflower eye

Most times I work alone, and sometimes with two friends at Ann Nix’s studio in Sonoma–Ann and Dru Simms–fellow artists, teaching colleagues and breath students.  Other times I have participated in in classes at the Sonoma Community Center with Ann and Deborah Hill. Ann reads aloud what she and other authors have written with a theme for each class, as a way of supporting students to contact their inner realm.

In these situations, since I do not want to impose words onto my inner breath, I receive the physical sensation of breath movement and let words and breath find one another, without having to grab hold of meanings from my intellect alone.  I receive words that that touch me as I sense the breath forces within me, which create substance throughout my body.  At the same time I am moved by my feelings and reflections.

Without plans or concepts, I approach magazine sheets with my breathing self and allow images to come to me—the ones that seem to fit where I am in the forces of breath in myself, which include my physicality, emotions, thoughts, and spirit.

I tear parts of images and put them in a pile in front of me, and begin to choose which ones go together, rather like piecing myself together like a puzzle.  I don’t have an idea of how the finished piece will look.  I am more involved in the process of staying in my movement of breath than the goal of finishing a work—though I must say I like a finished piece or close to being finished in an hour pasted loosely on a piece of 8 ½ X 11 inch paper with UHU Stik.  Sometimes I tear and paste new pieces over old ones if I don’t like what is under them.  Somehow the breath supports me to place the pieces together and form a whole.  I think that this happens because I sense myself in my oneness, in the process of breath that orients as a whole.

Images choose me—even jump out at me—that conform to my sense of my lower space (below my navel to the tips of my toes), which are often volcanic in nature, earthy, animal-like.  There are some that conform to my middle space, (navel to sternum, including lower ribs) where breath transforms from a gross power to one of Self, a strong but softer power, which bring up pearls as essence, nests that hold it, persons, etc. Other images support the upper space (sternum to top of head, including upper ribs, neck) where breath transforms from Self into heart, spirit, with birds, feathers, flight, sun, moon, sky, ethereal.

I am usually surprised when I am finished.  Things are not what they seem.  Opposites attract.  Some support me to make shifts in my relationships.  Things are different from what I first saw.  New images emerge, and keep emerging, meaning different things to different viewers.  They are often like seeing things in caves or deep in the earth or occasionally light—the spores of different pollens in the natural world.  Since my breath is mirroring the laws of nature, my collages are organic, natural, both personal and universal.

Yes, I create from sensing breath through my body that I allow to move through me.

Birthday Celebration for a Friend
2009
8 ½ X 11
torn images from magazines

Breath moving through me–inhale expands through my being,
into expression on my exhale.
celebrating my friend on his 60th birthday.
Images choose me—even jump out at me—
that are like me and also remind me of my friend—
powerful, vital, creative, sensual, impulsive, earthy.
Volcanic forms came to me in sensing my lower body.
I am delighted to find two devil-like masks with horns—representing
our dark forces.

From the middle of my breath-body
I sense a transformation my  lower-bodied earthiness into my Self–
a strong but softer power—my personal space.
Images appear of pearls as essence,
and lights through my spine,
through a frog camouflaged on a tree.
I sense how my friend lives from his essence of Self.

Other images support the upper part of my body
where I sense breath transforming through Self
up into my heart and spirit—
with birds, feathers, flight, sun, moon, sky, ethereal beings, lightness.
All these qualities also remind me of my friend.

It occurs to me that these organic forms, forces, and flows
are not only personal and individual to me
they are also universal, archetypal.

Celebration of Life
2009
8 ½ X 11
torn images from magazines

spores from pollens
—beginning of a woman’s shoulder—
and fruits from a holy tree in the Middle East—

All with breath—placed and pasted together
with love
Happy Thanksgiving
in Hawaii with Jeffrey