Loretta Staples’ series of artworks created during her time living at a Zen center are filled with mysterious resonance and connection to the people and the place around her.
I RECENTLY COMPLETED SEVERAL MONTHS as a resident practitioner at San Francisco Zen Center, where I had begun zen practice in the early 1980s. I started renewing my relationship with the temple about eight years ago, traveling from my home in Connecticut for short term visits and guest student stays. As I prepared for lay ordination during my recent visit, I made several small artworks. I didn’t know what to do with them at first. After completing each one, I would tack it to the wall facing my work table. They accrued, becoming objects of contemplation. As I considered them, it seemed that each was intended for a particular person. The work’s presence resonated with a specific encounter, an affinity, an occasion, a moment’s passing. I gave the works to those for whom they felt intended. It was a joy to do so. And a joy to share this record here.
– Loretta Staples / Ju Do Baika
Loretta Staples has worked as a designer, educator, and psychotherapist. She now paints, and occasionally writes, in Connecticut. See more of her work at lorettastaplesART.com or Instagram @1r2tsart
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