Ceri Hart

My work renders insight into my personality and current interests. Dramatically inspired by a year's working sabbatical in Taiwan, the majority of what I produce is directly effected by my experiences there. Work in Chinese brush painting and calligraphy allows me to depict the essence of a subject without strict adherence to precise detail. Inspiration of local flora, such as salmon berries, stretch the boundaries of this media. Silver piercing, a less traditional mode of representing traditional subjects, such as bamboo and plum blossoms, juxtaposes the fluid style of my brush painting with the hard edges of cut silver. Extending Chinese calligraphy  into the same media led me to create stylized jewelry which in turn has sparked my recent interest in imbedding positive messages in urban art  using stylized Chinese characters. Although Chinese culture can be glimpsed by much of what I do, other cultures and experiences have also driven my work. An ongoing project of illustrating a traditional First Nation's Legend is one such example. The draw of the East is strong, yet, as a complex, multi-faceted individual, my work will continue to expand in even more contemporary directions.