Joy in the Unconventional
March 2, 2025 4:29 am
Art comes alive in the unexpected. I Like Things a Little Off Kilter finds joy in the unconventional, with bouncing teacups, a pink door frame, and a chair full of personality. This painting embraces risk and liminal space, challenging the idea of perfection and celebrating the beauty of imbalance. By trusting my instincts and pushing boundaries, I create work that exists on its own terms—slightly off-kilter, yet entirely intentional.
"I Like Things a Little Off Kilter"—a playful exploration of balance, movement, and joy in the unconventional. Teacups teeter, a chair takes on personality, and a pink door frame disrupts expectations—embracing liminal space where creativity thrives.
Creating Historical Family Altars
January 8, 2025 11:06 pm
Creating historical family altars is a meaningful way to honor ancestors, connect with cultural traditions, and explore the liminal space between past and present. By blending elements like Ottillie’s Basket, a Greek iconostasis, and traditional ofrenda symbols, this journey celebrates memory, faith, and the enduring power of storytelling.
Creating historical family altars: A tribute to ancestors blending Ottillie’s Basket, Greek iconostasis, and ofrenda traditions into a meaningful celebration of memory and faith.
Intertwining Faith with Art
October 15, 2024 5:51 pm
Intertwining Faith with Art: A Sense of Rightness The intertwining of faith and art unfolds naturally as I blend different facets of myself into my creative expressions. This happens during liminal moments when time is frozen: when “Before” and “After” meld together in the present moment. These are moments when things “just feel right”— I […]
Meet Octi Eye, a playful sculpture that beautifully embodies the spirit of intertwining faith with art, sparking joy and laughter with its vibrant colors and whimsical character!
Light in Liminal Spaces
August 17, 2024 9:17 pm
“She Lights Up the Night” explores the concept of light in liminal spaces through the serene figure of Mary, bathed in a soft blue LED glow. This sculpture symbolizes faith, strength, and hope, offering a powerful reflection on the transformative potential of transitional moments in life.
She Lights Up the Night: A serene exploration of light in liminal spaces, symbolizing faith and hope amidst darkness.
Immigration Journey in Ottillie’s Basket
May 3, 2024 6:34 pm
As I sift through the contents of the old wicker basket, each item whispers a piece of my grandmother’s immigration story from Austria-Hungary to Ellis Island in 1918. These tangible memories, from wooden cutouts of ancestors to grape motifs symbolizing our winemaking heritage, are carefully interwoven to create a vivid tapestry of our family’s past.
Discover the rich tapestry of our family's history through "Immigration Journey in Ottillie's Basket," where every item tells a story of courage and new beginnings. This basket is not just a keeper of objects, but a vessel of our ancestors' dreams and legacies.
Capturing Miniature Worlds
February 3, 2024 8:57 pm
Enshrined” connects me to early spiritual experiences and Aunt Julie’s religious shrines, where I first met Mary and Jesus. It recaptures childhood wonder and echoes my lifelong fascination with creating miniature, liminal worlds. Inspired by my childhood, where I built tiny rooms in drawers, this piece reflects my inner child’s ongoing exploration. My art, influenced by memories like dollhouse shows and a homemade dollhouse in a chifforobe, blends the past and present. It’s a journey of rediscovering and lighting up these small, frozen-in-time spaces, now easily illuminated with LED lights, symbolizing my creative evolution and the enduring allure of tiny, mystical, liminal universes.
Capturing miniature worlds became an obsession when visiting my Aunt Julie’s home as a child. My Aunt Julie, and avid Catholic, had several little religious shrines in her room. Making “Enshrined" brought me back to the days when I'd open the little doors of those shrines and peek inside. Today, I keep opening and closing those doors, and it is more magical each time.
The Art of Miniature Spaces
November 15, 2023 1:08 am
The art of miniature spaces is a chance to capture the energy and spirit of the liminal. The art of creating and recreating small spaces holds a unique charm, bringing back the nostalgia of childhood play and imagination. For me, this creative journey began with a small box, a simple yet potent canvas for my artistic expression.
The art of creating and recreating small spaces holds a unique charm, bringing back the nostalgia of childhood play and imagination. For me, this creative journey began with a small box, a simple yet potent canvas for my artistic expression.
Capturing Creation from the Beginning
August 2, 2023 8:00 pm
This is a 3D work on a rotating base that’s made from wood and stained to appear as though covered in water. My favorite 3D part of all these pieces is the “glow.” The use of literal “light” (blue LED light) captures a greater sense of God’s presence and power “in the beginning.” The sculpted angels invite the viewer to consider them as God’s emissaries. I hope that they guide in the impossible task of capturing creation from the beginning.
This is a 3D work on a rotating base that’s made from wood and stained to appear as though covered in water. My favorite 3D part of all these pieces is the “glow.” The use of literal “light” (blue LED light) captures a greater sense of God’s presence and power “in the beginning.” The sculpted angels invite the viewer to consider them as God’s emissaries. I hope that they guide in the impossible task of capturing creation from the beginning.
Liminal Art Journey: Thresholds
June 1, 2023 6:24 pm
“Ten Rides on the Carousel” is a recollection of my first trip to Central Park. I got 10 rides on the park’s intricately carved, colorful, creatures rising up and down in tandem upon the spinning, bejeweled platform. Dad watched and waved as the music played and the whole world spun around me. . The piece de resistance is grasping the handle of the hand drill and driving the gears to make the carousel spin. An additional curiosity that would pique a child’s imagination is the removeable animals that I fancy could be believed as “real” and used to rehearse a story of a day on the merry go round. Liminal Art Journey: Thresholds is an invitation for the artist to play with time as they ponder and explore this 3D creation.
“Ten Rides on the Carousel” is a recollection of my first trip to Central Park. I got 10 rides on the park’s intricately carved, colorful, creatures rising up and down in tandem upon the spinning, bejeweled platform. Dad watched and waved as the music played and the whole world spun around me. . The piece de resistance is grasping the handle of the hand drill and driving the gears to make the carousel spin. An additional curiosity that would pique a child’s imagination is the removeable animals that I fancy could be believed as “real” and used to rehearse a story of a day on the merry go round. Liminal Art Journey: Thresholds is an invitation for the artist to play with time as they ponder and explore this 3D creation.
Making a Lazy Susan for a Sculpture
April 3, 2023 2:47 am
Making a lazy susan for a sculpture can fascinate the viewer and capture them in the “Right Now.” The lazy susan in this image gives the artist and art appreciator the chance to spin a 3D creation and view it at all angles. This sparks conversation, imagination, and a sense of magic in the viewer and creator.
Making a lazy susan for a sculpture can fascinate the viewer and capture them in the “Right Now.” The lazy susan in this image gives the artist and art appreciator the chance to spin a 3D creation and view it at all angles. This sparks conversation, imagination, and a sense of magic in the viewer and creator.
Liminal 3D Assemblage Lamp
February 8, 2023 2:15 am
This Liminal 3D Assemblage Lamp uses past experiences to recreate a tangible memory of my mother. I titled this piece “Charisma” because my mother had charisma along with unique tastes and a sophisticated, Victorian flare. She’d love this lamp and the ways it shows that I have inherited her creative spirit. It would have been front and center in our home. She would have told everyone how beautiful it was. I sense how proud she is of me.
This Liminal 3D Assemblage Lamp uses past experiences to recreate a tangible memory of my mother. I titled this piece “Charisma” because my mother had charisma along with unique tastes and a sophisticated, Victorian flare. She’d love this lamp and the ways it shows that I have inherited her creative spirit. It would have been front and center in our home. She would have told everyone how beautiful it was. I sense how proud she is of me.
Liminal Art Starts Conversation
December 3, 2022 2:32 pm
The paper flowers that wrap around this sculpture are meant to evoke a feeling of life bursting from the earth in spring. They are covered with a light dusting of snow which appears to be melting. This sculpture spins on its base and has a wind-up music box that plays the song “Edelweiss.” This piece shows how liminal art starts conversation. It raises the question, “Why?”
The paper flowers that wrap around this sculpture are meant to evoke a feeling of life bursting from the earth in spring. They are covered with a light dusting of snow which appears to be melting. This sculpture spins on its base and has a wind-up music box that plays the song "Edelweiss." This piece shows how liminal art starts conversation. It raises the question, "Why?"
Time for Old Me and New Me
September 28, 2022 11:59 pm
I made a sculpture about Old Me and New Me. It began with a small wooden box. It became a voice for who I was and who I now am. There is a bud inside the box, and it represents the unfurling of new thoughts, beliefs, and convictions lying within me and on the precipice of being released. There is also a burgeoning flower in the box, and it represents the unfolding of my mind. This unfolding is a flourishing of what was once buried. “Old Me” and “New Me.”
I made a sculpture about finding time for Old Me and New Me. It began with a small wooden box. It became a voice for who I was and who I now am. There is a bud inside the box, and it represents the unfurling of new thoughts, beliefs, and convictions lying within me and on the precipice of being released. There is also a burgeoning flower in the box, and it represents the unfolding of my mind. This unfolding is a flourishing of what was once buried. “Old Me” and "New Me."
Art and Liminal Space
August 2, 2022 2:07 pm
Liminal Space Art is a book about liminality expressed through words and paintings of collage artist, Alisa E. Clark.
With great unease, I took on a daunting task. I tried to catch it (liminality) with my words and painter’s hands—to express this intangible, abstract and fleeting thing. This is why I wrote “Liminal Space Art.”
3D Liminal Self-Portrait
May 16, 2022 10:17 pm
I needed a way move through time and space to tell this part of my story. It required portals: doors, sky, air, water, and a way to move in and out of a space. This made experimenting with 2D and 3D expressions of these gateways wholly necessary. This is my “old style” mixed with a new execution.
I needed a way move through time and space to tell this part of my story. It required portals: doors, sky, air, water, and a way to move in and out of a space. This made experimenting with 2D and 3D expressions of these gateways wholly necessary. This is my “old style” mixed with a new execution.
Painting Unexpected Choices on Our Canvas
April 6, 2022 3:49 pm
I paint unexpected choices on my canvas. This collage of exotic fish swimming in strange, magical, deep waters creates a sense of mystery. It opens the door for the viewer to ask questions. Each unexpected choice is an invitation that sparks conversation.
I paint unexpected choices on my canvas. This collage of exotic fish swimming in strange, magical, deep waters creates a sense of mystery. It opens the door for the viewer to ask questions. Each unexpected choice is an invitation that sparks conversation.
Painting Inner Experience Within a Liminal Space
February 23, 2022 11:35 pm
I draw a door from my childhood home, and I tuck it away in the shadows of my work. It represents yesterday. I add some birds. They are me, today. I include some words about my hopes and fears for tomorrow. Liminal art, my art, rides the tension created by the movement of time.
This collage with whimsical birds on a dark, magical landscape is part of a juried exhibition with the International Society of Experimental Artists. This ISEA exhibit is titled Utterly Unfathomable and Powerfully Profound 2021.
I Know the Truth
January 22, 2022 6:06 pm
The surface of my canvas teems with fish, crawling insects, the turning colors of leaves, floating bubbles of air, deep blue waters, thoughts, and memories. Here, nature and memory anchor me. I find my center. Creative process is my peace. Art frees me from within the liminal experience. I know the truth about who I am because I paint.
The surface of my canvas teems with fish, crawling insects, the turning colors of leaves, floating bubbles of air, deep blue waters, thoughts, and memories. Here, nature and memory anchor me. I find my center. Creative process is my peace. Art frees me from within the liminal experience. I know the truth about who I am because I paint.
Looking Around in Liminal Places
December 1, 2021 4:54 pm
We cannot go backwards or forwards from the in-between spaces we find ourselves: the liminal spaces that can be an uneasy and disquieting place for many. This blog is about embracing the liminal “Right Now” with a quiet ease.
This is a painting of many fish swimming in a colorful, fanciful ocean. The fish look around while the hands on the clock tick. They are completely unaware of swimming in a liminal space. They do this without realizing that they have a choice. They don’t have to be concerned with yesterday or tomorrow. They can just be present in the “Right Now.”
Swimming and Flying Through Time
October 7, 2021 7:03 pm
You can think about yesterday and sprint towards tomorrow, but the “right now” is most important: liminality’s lesson for all of us. Today, we can do our best to learn this lesson. We can be who we were made to be. We don’t have to be concerned with yesterday, today, or tomorrow. We can just be. It only matters that we don’t let time hold us back from what “right now” holds and that we help others join us in seeing that this is true. Read this blog to learn more.
This is a painting of many fish swimming in a colorful, fanciful ocean. The fish keep on swimming about no matter how the hands on the clock tick. They do nothing other than what they were made to do. They are completely unaware of swimming in a liminal space much like butterflies dancing through the air. They don’t have to be concerned with yesterday, today, or tomorrow. They can just be.
Liminality: Making Things the Same but Different
September 1, 2021 8:12 pm
Do you notice that things have changed? Do you also see what hasn’t changed and anticipate what lies ahead in “Tomorrow”? Do you look for consistency in a world that’s constantly evolving? Consistency is what the liminal artist finds in the middle of it all: what’s happening in the “Right Now.” For the art maker, the essence of being a liminal artist is seeing things from the present moment while navigating “Yesterday” and “What’s Next.” This blog is about always noticing what came before and what lies ahead while creatively expressing the reality of “Right Now.”
This photo shows a painting of two candlesticks and a vase. They have been altered to capture a liminal moment.
Smart Art Storage in Your Creative Space
July 26, 2021 8:04 pm
This blog is a challenge to find ways to organize and reflect on you work. Perhaps you don’t like my solution, or it doesn’t work for you. That’s highly likely. Look for a solution that fits your needs and allows for reflection and pondering. This will enhance your creative experience and allow you to consider your art making process from your current place in time and space. This is invaluable for the liminal artist.
This photo shows artists can organize their paints so that all the color choices can be seen at once.
Create a Space to Lose Track of Time
June 29, 2021 6:39 pm
Can you create a space that makes it easy for you to start art making and avoid obstacles that might interrupt your creative process? What can you do to make your studio a place where you can be in the flow, totally immersed, and fully present? This blog is all about taking the steps you need to make art unencumbered and avoid obstacles you might face along the way. These steps can be the artist’s key to fully exploring “Yesterday” and “Tomorrow” from the “Present Moment.”
This photo shows artists can organize their paints so that all the color choices can be seen at once.
Painting My Way Back
June 1, 2021 7:37 pm
Yesterday was challenging. The graves we planted upon were not of relatives long, long gone. The loss is still with us. Memories are crisp. But, we were together and that healed. The beauty of my children on their hands and knees, digging in the dirt, and working together to honor the memories- this meant the world us. Despite the mingling of sadness and the bittersweet, my heart floods with gratitude.
This painting, titled “Painting My Way Back,” captures a liminal experience and helps the artist understand the past from the present moment.
Something More to See?
April 6, 2021 12:40 pm
Art can give us a glimpse of another’s truth, and that’s a God-given gift. Our forms of personal expression can unite us rather than divide us. Our “Right Now” can only be better when we seek to understand each other. The next time all you see is an “Easter Basket,” this blog just might remind you to ask the question, “Is there something more here for me to see?”
Easter Basket, 2021
Easter Basket is a painting of the joy and wonder of Easter.
Going Back Whenever I Choose
March 7, 2021 8:37 pm
Consider the power of art to transcend time and space. By engaging in the creative process, you can go just about anywhere. Think about what you can capture with imagery, memory, and an expressive tool. What can you photograph that speaks better than your words? What can you create that captures a moment you don’t want to forget? You can discover new ways to define your experiences of any time and any place. This blog will explore art’s power to speak within your liminal places and spaces.
Missing Home, 2021
Upside Down or Right Side Up?
February 4, 2021 12:44 pm
It’s true that tomorrow may not be a better day. I grieve the losses of yesterday, and I fear for the future. Art making is a gift in these times of waiting. It brings me pleasure, hope, and a way to make sense of things. Against all odds, I find joy with a stroke of my paintbrush. This is how I get my “Upside Downs” to be “Right Side Ups.” This blog will share how I survive waiting in the liminal middle that is full of the realities of the present moment. It is my hope that it will help you embrace “Right Now” and see today “Right Side Up.”
Find Joy, 2021
Find Time to Be Happy
January 4, 2021 2:38 pm
These are strange times. We are frustrated that we can’t spend our time as we’d like. COVID leaves us feeling like time is not on our side. Everyone is ready to make up for lost time when the pandemic is over. How can we find any time to be happy? This blog will offer a few suggestions to make the best of your “right now.”
Happy, 2021
Simple, Creative Pleasures in Uncertain Times
December 7, 2020 2:32 pm
COVID has left us all anxious as we wait for a better tomorrow. We are missing out on creating memories with friends and loved ones. At the same time, we face an uncertain future. This all happens from the present moment that we sit in. How can you create your way through this liminal experience? How can you use creative process to embrace the present moment and the unknows of your future? How we wait in a liminal space determines our experience of the present moment. We can wait in impatience and anxiety for “What’s Next,” or we can find ways to make our “Right Now” a place of peace and hope. Creative process can offer us this path to a better tomorrow. Read this blog and you just might be inspired to start your creative journey to deeper meaning, peace, and hope.
Stuff Long Forgotten, 2020
Everything Happens in the “In-Between”
November 19, 2020 6:16 pm
This blog is all about encouraging you and me to carve, for ourselves, a safe place: a place that allows us to experience the simple pleasures of the present moment. It’s true. We must wait. We also must deal with the anxieties of yesterday and tomorrow. However, “Right Now” can be mine and yours if we take time to explore through creative process. What do you make, or what will you make? Read this blog as an encouragement to seek a creative expression that can transform your present moment. Let it make you consider that everything happens in the “In-Between.”
Choose Everything, 2020
Coming and Going Right Now
October 23, 2020 2:18 pm
Be a time traveler with me. With the sweep of a brush and a stroke of color, time can be explored, understood, and momentarily nailed down for examination. While others might hurry forward to “What’s Next,” rush from the past, and fight the present moment, art makers like us can travel more peacefully. Try “Coming and Going Right Now” with ease others might not enjoy. It’s all possible through our creative process. Read this blog, and then join me in making art on a journey from yesterday, into today, and through tomorrow.
This painting captures something about time and liminality. You can almost feel time is shifting and warping. Like a dream, it calls you to remember bits and pieces of something. You strain to remember those bits and pieces as they keep slipping further and further away. The canvas puts you on the edge of remembering: reaching for something elusive.
Capturing Old Places and Spaces
September 17, 2020 1:20 pm
It’s about two weeks till closing. My parent’s house is ready to go. I have pictures and videos of every nook and cranny. Now, I paint it all. At first, I was beside myself about the house becoming someone else’s. I felt like I was losing and old friend forever. Recently, I’ve thought, “I have a way to keep this old friend with me.” I can be between “What Was” and “What’s Next” through my paintings.
I Paint. What Can You Do?
August 19, 2020 12:29 pm
I challenge you to find a creative way to notice your sands shifting on your shoreline. How can you make sense of time’s passing? What tangible, meaningful act can moor you as the waves of time ebb and flow? I paint. What can you do?
I Paint. What Do You Do?, 2020
Create Your Way to a Better Place
June 25, 2020 2:15 pm
What can you do with your “Right Now?” Is there a way you can create your way to a better place? You don’t have to be stuck with that feeling of apprehension that others are carrying with them right now. Creating can be your escape. Do something that gets you thinking about what you can do. You can create a new “Right Now” with the choice to create something new.
