Page 18 - the NOISE September 2012

18 • SEPTEMBER 2012 • the NOISE arts & news magazine • thenoise.us
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Parasol by Lydia Dillon-Sutton is among the batik art available at the 20th Annual Art in the Park this Labor Day Weekend.
“It was the day I had received news that a dear friend had journeyed on,” Ms. Fareio tells me about her painting, Circle of Life. “I was floating in the warm, Caribbean ocean, contemplating and processing the news. A calm and peaceful presence came over me and I saw and felt how everything was connected. I saw how I was not separate from anything or anyone and how my friend was still here too, just in a different form. The experience went beyond mind-based concepts and words and I knew that I wanted to share the experience. So, then came the painting and the written meditation followed right behind without much thought at all. The written part of my art doesn’t always come so easily, but I do feel it gaining confidence and momentum!”
I ask her when she began writing. “During my teenage years I would write periodically and privately to help myself process intense emotions and traumatic experiences. I began writing more for the sake of fun in college after taking a creative writing class. It has been only in the last five years that I have written on a regular basis. I keep journals of most my ideas, findings, insights, dreams and experiences.”
“While the painting itself is beautiful and aes- thetically serves its own purpose, I want the art to mean more than that,” explains Ms. Fareio when I ask her what drove her to organize a show combining her art with words. “I am at- tempting to express spiritually transformative experiences and in having a meditation to go along with the painting, it can become more of an experience for you, the viewer. The in- tention is to help you tap into your own true nature. Then, the art becomes a tool. We all need tools or reminders to help us to be happy, grateful for what we have and to be kind to ourselves and others. Maybe the art will have great meaning for someone without any words needed and that brings me joy too.”
Often I have practiced yoga in the same class as Ms. Fareio, and she tells me how yoga plays a part in her creative career. “I am so blessed to be on my own time and schedule, art is my job,
but just like anything else, it takes practice,” she says. “Right now, I am doing it all on my own. Not only am I the painter, but I am the framer, the printer, the bookkeeper, the salesperson, the web designer ... it can feel overwhelming sometimes and the learning curve is steep! So, I draw from my yoga practice to help keep my- self disciplined and in balance. Yoga is about being one with life and ultimately, that is what my art is about. My spiritual and yoga practices very much affect and inspire my day-to-day life and creative process. They are not separate. Life is art. Every day it is my practice to be open to the inspiration that is everywhere, in every moment.”
Ms. Fareio’s paintings and words will be on display for the Month of September at West of the Moon Gallery, 14 N. San Francisco Street, with an artist’s reception during the First Friday ArtWalkonSeptember7,from6to9PM. Erica- Fareio.com
20 YEARS OF ART
This Labor Day weekend marks the Twenti- eth Anniversary of the Flagstaff Art in the Park Labor Day Arts & Crafts festival, at historic Wheeler Park in Downtown Flagstaff. An array of talented artists and crafters from near and far gather together for this weekend to sell their one-of-kind creations. Three days of non- stop music, great food, and art spread across the green grass in beautiful mountain air.
Batik artist Lydia Dillon-Sutton tells me about herself and the art she will have on dis- play at Art in the Park. “I was born in Tucson, Arizona more than six decades ago,” Ms. Dillon- Sutton tells me. “I’ve always been immersed in the desert and I have always been drawn to Native American people. Growing up play- ing ‘Cowboys and Indians,’ I was always the In- dian. During college, I studied Southwestern anthropology guided by my mentor Clara Lee Tanner. She taught me to honor, respect and to accurately observe, in detail, Native American cultures.”