photo credit: John KIRNAN
"For me, being
an artist has to do, not so much with how many projects I bring to fruition,
but with how I view the world (-perception, the impression
the world makes on me through my filters) and with an urge to translate
that perception into a new form (-an image, an expression
that I mirror back to the world)."
Ryan's Giant by Allen Morgan, 1992, Oasis Press, Toronto ON
Jesse's Dream Skirt by Bruce Mack, 1979, Lollipop Power, Chapel Hill NC
Reflected Scenery From Where My Eyes Should Be
by Vic Elias, 1991, Moonstone Press, Goderich ON
Crossing the Bridge by Maria Stam, 1992, Third Eye Press, London ON
Tabula Rasa, literary magazine, 1990 & 1991, London ON
The original watercolour cover illustration for Ryan's Giant was for many years a part of the CANSCAIP Collection, a traveling exhibit of published children's book illustrations by CANSCAIP members. (Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers)
...and, of course, the art cards on this website.
I was born in the U.S. in the mid-1950's, the third of 5 children. As a family, we moved to France when I was 9 years old, and my siblings and their children still live there today.
From my father, Thomas G. Buchanan Jr., I inherited an intellectual bent, a concern for social justice, and an interest in writing.
He was the author of numerous articles published worldwide, as well as several books, of which three were published:
From my mother, Harriet Patterson Buchanan, I received boundless unconditional love, and inherited a connection to Nature and an inclination to paint and draw.
She attended the Maryland Institute of Art and produced a number of oil paintings, watercolours and sketches. It was she who created the gifts we took to the birthday parties of our playmates: little watercolours of imps, elves and fairies.
I attended l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Tours briefly when I was 18 and at different times took life drawing and pottery classes offered through the city of Paris in France, Duke University in Durham, NC, USA, and the London Regional Art Museum in London, ON, Canada.
I have been living in Canada since the early 1980's and became a Canadian citizen when my son came along.
The territories I explore are those of the mind, the emotions, the subtle senses and spirit. My art is a reflection of concerns, experiences and sensibilities that relate to creativity, respect for Nature and spiritual growth, which I think of as the foundations of Life, or "zoë" in Greek.
I "invented" the word "zoetic" before finding out that it actually already exists. I based it on the word zoë and modeled it on the words poetic and noetic. The latter words are more than just structural models, however. The dimensions they refer to are encompassed within what I think of as the zoetic. My zoetic endeavours are therefore not only those related to the web of Nature (ecology, veganism, motherhood), but also my poetic endeavours (in an expanded sense -- artistic, creative, aesthetic) and noetic endeavours (consciousness-, soul-, spirit-related) because they, too, are experienced as rooted in the Source of Life. What you see here on this website are the visual manifestations as artwork of the ongoing relationship I have with all of these dimensions of being.
You are welcome to find out more about my thoughts, experiences and interests on my personal pages (art & ethics), hosted on this website.
All text and images copyright © Marian Buchanan.