Powerful Hand of the Tree of Life

Mano Poderosa del Árbol de la Vida por Tanya Torres

Powerful Hand of the Tree of Life by Tanya Torres, Oil on canvas, 20" x 16", 2012.

I don't think I ever noticed a Mano Poderosa icon before visiting El Museo del Barrio some time after arriving in New york City in 1985. Like many other religious images, it seems for be popular depending on the region and the tendencies of the people who live there. It is in fact the type of Cristian icon that has become syncretized with the African and Indigenous religions of America. That is probably why I never saw it before.

Sacred Heart of the Earth

Sagrado Corazón de la Tierra por Tanya Torres

Sacred Heart of the Earth, 20" x 16", oil on canvas, 2012.

Religious symbols offer a sort of anchor for prayer, meditation and thought, but once you have left them behind, their meaning tends to evolve beyond recognition. New ideas take their place of holiness. New visions emerge from the depths of your soul. Only the truth that has always been remains and reemerges into a different, or not so different, vision.

Inspiration

Inspiration by Tanya Torres
Gouache on paper
11" x 15"
2007

www.tanyatorres.com

(Thoughts submitted to the Southern Connecticut State University, requested for their Annual Women's Studies Conference: "Women and Labor: At Home, At Work, Around the Globe.")

A Woman's Labor

A moment before beginning her daily labor, a woman closes her eyes, listens to all that surrounds her, and welcomes into her heart the strength to begin. It may be called inspiration, because she trusts that what arrives into her mind is the true voice of that invisible life that helps her go on. She trusts that her work will offer the world all that she needs to give and receive. Her hands, her mind and her heart are ready to begin, once again.

Prague Paintings (Just a peek!)

Mother and Child (Madre e hijo) by Tanya Torres
Oil on Canvas, 9" x 12"
2012

I April, I will be traveling to Prague for an exhibition at the Prague Congress Center. This is one of the paintings I have created for this wonderful opportunity to travel with and exhibit my art. More to come!