phew, that’s a wrap! Last session of the ‘Engaging the Arts in Religion/Theology Research’ seminar 🛠️
Much gratitude to everyone for all the energy, creativity, and gumption you brought to the class! So happy to have been able to welcome guests like @giselanycoak (interviewing artists/ethnography) @mikeykirkpatrick & @emilypothast (music as method), @valerielapointe (visual narrative and storytelling) @zuberiffic (autotheory), @tuco_1978 (fieldwork workshop) and @caregtu (museums and collections)
A special thank you to dear @genesegrill professora and mentor, for the dolmada recipe, too!
#arthistory #graduateschool #methodology #artandreligion #sacredart
Join us on Wednesdays, 12:30–1:30 PM PT, for lunch and great speakers!
📅 May 6, 2026: Gisela Insuaste (@giselanycoak ), Executive Director @berkeleyartcenter , presents “Art in the Park: The Berkeley Art Center at 60.”
Visitors are always welcome! Join us in person @firstpresberkeley or via Zoom. More info: link in bio.
The speaker is provided by @martinkaliski , BRC President 2025–26.
#berkeley #berkeleyrotary #berkeleyartcenter #onwednesdayswerotary • @rotary5160@rotaryinternational
That time I left a portfolio of drawings at the Ohare blue line stop on my way to NY. Miraculously, a CTA agent found it on top of an electrical box and dropped it off at the lost and found. I picked it up a month later when I traveled back to Chicago…. I came across this cardboard portfolio (now full of other drawings) in my flat files at the studio- a reminder how small actions by strangers can make a huge difference. Sigh. @paola.cabal I believe I contacted you about it! :)
Picked some pieces up from the ceramic studio and then back to my studio. Drawing from observation is alway good practice- always good to reconnect with mind and body. Hand eye coordination and all that but most importantly to see the relationship between forms and the spaces in between. Like life. What matters… what can we let go.
It was so lovely to see @giselanycoak today @berkeleyartcenter - they are so lucky to have her! It was good to hear what the art center has to offer, get inspired by the juried members show that’s currently in the gallery (closing soon). Hopefully someday I will be able to contribute in some way…
I especially loved this mural on the front of the building nestled in the trees by @kristinfarr - it reminded me of some of the #colorwheels I made years ago that will finally get the chance to be seen at my upcoming residency/exhibition @rccdemeryville (opening: 9/6 5-9pm • click on the link in my bio for more info)
Please go and check out #berkeleyartscenter and Gisela’s artwork! I’m going to become a member - let’s support local arts organizations where we live… they need some love!
@baystreetemeryville
Before I traveled to Ecuador I completed this drawing…perhaps I was already anticipating the landscape that lay ahead. I started the drawing awhile back, as an idea that took shape over time- a wrapped landscape, a personal gesture of how I’m doing, and what’s been happening lately…
Title: des/enredarse (dis/entagle oneself), 2025
Ink and gouache on paper
9 in x 12 in (unframed)
Image Description: Drawing is a meditative practice when the hand, head, and heart are in sync. In creating this piece, I was thinking about the landscape within and around me and the physical act of holding on to and releasing something I can’t find words for.
Check out the piece at @kalaartinstitute .
#giselainsuaste #art #landscape #drawing
Heading to @oxford_uni for a symposium on place, space, and diaspora in honor of Dr. Jane Garnett. Simon Coleman (U. Toronto) and I will offer a panel called: Moving Places: On Translating Pilgrimage
Will post updates! 🥾
Image: Gisela Insuaste, tierra sagrada, 2005 @giselanycoak
Here, looking out the bedroom window this morning after a day of travel. And back home with familia in Ecuador. The last time I was here a few years ago, it was a difficult time for our family so I’m feeling so grateful that things are better now. But still. Coming back to Ecuador can sometimes be bittersweet but that’s okay- this place is still grounding. #ecuador #campolife #homeawayfromhome
las montañitas que nos soportan, 2023
ceramic, copper, acrylic paint on wood
14 x 10x10 in
It's been a while. Playing with shapes, colors, and materials, and what it means to seek and find balance, protection, and comfort. The practice of making, moving, and reflecting sometimes seems too distant, and elusive at times. Here's to those moments when the imagination feels freeing, and you feel grounded.
#giselainsuaste #sculpture #montañitas
