adaptations (beginnings)

As I prepared to enter the thesis phase of my MFA program, I was still unsure of the visual language that I was going to use to interpret my choice of literature. My source, The Golem by Gustav Mayrink is a 1915 novella that encapsulates the building tensions of early 20th-century Eastern Europe while also tying in elements of Jewish mysticism. When I first read the book in 2005, I was captivated by its ability to spark vivid imagery without containing a single image in the book.

Choosing The Golem as my thesis subject matter presented me with the challenge to either illustrate the novella in a literal sense or, respond to the heightened emotive sensations that roiled within me. In these two paintings, I pursued the literal. These paintings also are my first real attempts to create a unique painting surface that could resemble aged exterior walls.