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Isabel Martinez UU Santa Monica’s November art exhibit, The Inner World of Isabel Martinez, features Martinez’s crosses, mixed media works, and oil paintings representing, in part, the spiritual side of her journey as a Latina immigrant. Meet the artist at the Opening Reception on Sunday, November 1 from 12:00 noon – 1:30pm. This event is free and open to the public from 9:00 am – 1:30 pm on Sundays through November 29 and on weekdays by appointment.
Martinez was born in a rural community in Mexico, studied at San Carlos Academy, and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1986. The works on display are from her ‘Vigin Series’ about which she says. “I am representing everyday people; and the idea behind of this series is that everybody has divinity inside. In the crosses, I began representing Aztec gods and goddesses. I am using the cross, because it is a universal symbol that represents human beings, where the vertical part represents spirituality and the horizontal part represents the material side… I convey my feelings, my inspiration and my soul to metaphorically represent my love of people and places where I felt loved and secure. I left my rural community when I was very little, but my community never left me.”
Martinez works have been in national and international exhibitions and in these books: Chicana and Chicano Art, Chicano Art for Our Millennium, Triumph of Our Communities, Painting the Towns, and from the University of Notre Dame, Caras Vemos, Corazones No Sabemos (Faces Seen, Hearts Unknown).
UU Santa Monica; 1260 18th Street (corner of 18th and Arizona); Santa Monica 90404 map
On Sundays look for signs to free parking at 1311 16th Street, the UCLA Hospital structure just south Arizona. Handicapped parking is available behind the church.
Contact Nancy at assistant@uusm.org, 310-829-5436 ext. 102 for information.
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Islamic Spirituality At a time when we hear so much about Muslims and violence, it might be useful to think about the ways in which Muslims express their spirituality. This talk will explore the sources of Muslim spirituality and ethics, as well as some of the various ways in which Muslims express their deepest convictions. Zayn Kassam is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Pomona College and is also on the faculty at Claremont Graduate University. She teaches courses in Islamic philosophy, mysticism, gender, and literature as well as a course on philosophical and mystical texts from a comparative perspective. |
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It Could Be Worse Church member and oncology chaplain Michael Eselun explores the various dimensions and implications of a coping strategy we all use: the notion that it could be worse. What does it say about how we view our own suffering and the suffering of others? |
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It Gets Better |
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It Happens Every Spring Reverend Furrer will speak on Passover and Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem — a mythic reappraisal. |
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It's Magic Church member and oncology chaplain Michael Eselun will explore through personal reflections the tension between our rational self that yearns for answers, and the spiritual self that can be moved by wonder. |
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It's Time to Speak Out Ellen Geer, artistic director of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, will recount what happened to her family when they spoke out during to the 1950s, and the similarity to what happens today when dissent is voiced. We find ourselves at a time that many are again afraid to speak. When that happened at mid-century it divided and isolated people, and caused some to quit being human. The important thing today is to find courage, and we hope that in communities such as ours we can help one another to find it. Music Jennifer Jurrick, vocalist |
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It's You! |
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J Michael Walker Renowned artist J Michael Walker was born and raised in Little Rock, AR, at a time “when legalized segregation was in its clawingin- the-dirt death throes, and … culture [was] standing on the wrong side of history.” Having no formal artistic guidance, Walker explains, “creating art was my way to break free of the restrictions I experienced — social and class issues, cultural values, authoritarianism, a broken home — and as a consequence I never took, or took kindly to, structured or instructional art classes (life drawing, still life, etc.), because they felt like more impediments to the self-expression that was practically killing me to be released — so I remained largely
self-taught.”
Meet Michael at the Artist’s Opening Reception on Sunday, November 9, 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. in Angelina Forbes Hall. His art has been well received and well praised since the 1980s. “J Michael Walker sees angels everywhere, the divine in the ordinary, saints in survivors.
 And that, in our era of fear and rage, is enough for me,” said Sandra Cisneros, author of “The House on Mango Street.”
Walker experienced an artistic awakening when visiting Mexico’s northern region of Sierra Tarahumara to illustrate the first textbook in that region’s native dialect. “Integrating myself into families and communities of mestizos and Tarahumaras provided perspective and understanding,” says Walker, “and filled holes in my heart. And when I moved to Los Angeles to forge some kind of an art career, Mexico essentially ‘explained’ the city to me, its cultural roots churning beneath LA’s asphalt.”
 J Michael Walker continues to use art as a way to express his feelings and observations – essentially a diary of how he sees the world. As Walker puts it, art helps him “attempt to answer the questions that still plague me, and compensate for the wrongs I’ve witnessed; and…[offer] gratitude for the beauty and wonder I’ve been blessed to behold.”
For information about exhibiting at UU Santa Monica or other questions about the Art Wall, contact our Art Director Beverly Alison.
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Jacob's Ladder |
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Jan-03 |
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Jan-04 |