willits center for the arts: eva strauss-rosen

Eva Strauss-Rosen maintains a well-equipped studio in Willits while dividing her time between Mendocino County and Mountain View. She studied painting and primarily drawing at the Machon Avni, Art Institute in Tel Aviv in 1979. Eva continued art studies while creating her own collection of Judaica jewelry under the name of Hamsa Design Studio (hamsa.com). During her twenty-nine years as a jeweler, she has drawn all designs and calligraphy incorporated in her unique collection of jewelry.

With an intensity and dedication far beyond the intellectual process, Eva now turns her creative process to the media of paper and pencil. Oil paintings are on the horizon.

The many, who are familiar with her jewelry, will find similarities between past creations and this new body of work. Among the most profound elements is her minute interest and dedication to the execution of rendering details of her subject matter.

We live in times of constant change but pencil drawings are created with the same process used ries. Returning to the simplicity of these methods combine with the use of digital camera and computers for resource material Eva will bring forth a body of work, hopefully seen as an extension of previous creations.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The media of drawing and oil painting have resurfaced after a thirty-year hiatus as a metal-smith. I am attracted to the interaction between paper and pencil, the subtle difference of texture, hue and tonality, spending equal effort on developing technical skills and a personal statement.

Tools like paper and pencil enabled thoughts and feelings to be conveyed to us from past civilizations. I, among countless others, enjoy the exquisite drawings from the 15th century and am indeed influenced by these unsurpassed masters. Today, with similar methods, I am inspired and challenged to render details and subtle reflections from different subjects and scenery.

Likewise the ability to use erasers, lightening dark areas or making corrections, enables me to achieving the desired effect of subtle differences in surfaces and mood. I hope to spark a deep emotional response in the people viewing my work and to create a space where I will be able to enrich my own life.

Simplicity and long periods of solitude are among the rewards, in the otherwise fast and complex lifestyle I have chosen. Compared with being a jeweler, now I have the freedom from purchasing and safekeeping costly materials. Previously the challenge was making gold into something pleasing of gold. Now the objective, with paper and pencil having no material value at the outset, is introducing value and meaning through sound craftsmanship and a newly found awareness with which I observe my surroundings.

My challenge, as an artist, is to live up to a standard of excellence the masters of previous centuries have established. Michelangelo said: “the greater danger is not that our hopes are too high and we fail to reach them; it's that they're too low and we do."

My challenge, as an artist, is to live up to a standard of excellence the masters of previous centuries have established. Michelangelo said: “ the greater danger is not that our hopes are too high and we fail to reach them; it's that they're too low and we do. “

If you would like to see more of Eva's work please visit: Eva Strauss-Rosen's website