ADVENTURE!
I spent the past year and a half in China, where my husband and I taught English to university students. 2007-08 we were in the northern Chinese province of Neimongol (Inner Mongolia). In 2008-09 we were in Jiangsu province, where - needing more time and energy for artwork - I taught only half-time. For family reasons I returned early, and have lots to think about!

HERSTORY 2010
My painting 'Around Saskatchewan' will be featured on the cover of the 2010 edition of the well-known Herstory women's agenda book from Coteau Books in Regina SK. Watch for it later this year. You can see the painting below.


International or universal imagery has always been of greater interest to me than local or regional subject matter. I have always been attracted to designs and images from other cultures.

Currently, in my artwork, I pursue these interests through two subject areas:

MANDALAS

More than a decade ago I noticed that I regularly incorporated the circle in my artwork. I became interested in the mandala form and decided to focus on it for a while and see where it led. I didn't expect the fascination to last this long but I've been investigating and creating mandalas ever since.

The mandala is a image that suits me well due to life-long interests in other cultures and spirituality, and a more recent interest in symbolism.
THE CIRCLE has been a symbol, throughout history and across cultures, of eternity, wholeness, protection, and unity.
THE MANDALA has the additional symbolism of balance, transformation, and interconnection.
Mandalas can be found - both in nature and of human design - in everything from a cross-section of an orange to a whirling galaxy, from a bicycle wheel to stonehenges. Circles and mandalas are often found in relation to spiritually oriented sites or activities. Some examples are Gothic stained-glass rose windows, domed mosques, Tibetan sand paintings and North American aboriginal medicine wheels.

Through the mandala I can explore many visual elements that interest me such as color, detail, and geometry - the only math I really enjoy! While many may initially think of mandalas as Buddhist, they are present in many cultures. In my work I draw on sources - cultural, natural, decorative, spiritual and symbolic - from around the globe. When I create a mandala I greatly enjoy exploring color and form and ideas and media, but I am also alluding to the interconnection of everything in creation and my belief in the oneness of the human family.

'There is, at the surface, infinite variety of things; at the center there is simplicity and unity of cause.' --Ralph Waldo Emerson

'Until we extend the circle of our compassion to all living things, we will not, ourselves, find peace.' --Albert Schweitzer


LANDSCAPES and BUILDINGS

The other recurring subject in my artwork is houses and buildings, including pagodas, onion domes, fishing huts, outhouses and tents. Sometimes the buildings are wonky and fun. Sometimes they find themselves in a mandala!

The masterpiece of a series of pen-and-ink buildings and cityscapes created over several years, 'Moments of Place' - a very large piece for pen-and-ink - is available as a reproduction. You can see it below.




BELOW you can see 'Around Saskatchewan' created for a local land surveyer AND TO BE FEATURED ON THE COVER OF THE 2010 'HERSTORY' AGENDA BOOK.



COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All artwork on this website is copyrighted by Margaret Bremner. Exceptions apply to some of the work in the �Illustrations and more� gallery, for which the commissioning agencies own some copyright. By viewing the artwork here, you agree to respect this copyright, and acknowledge that saving, downloading, printing, or using the images in any form, without written permission from the artist, is prohibited. All rights reserved.