Siddartha Beth Pierce

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Siddartha Beth Pierce is a Mother, poet, artist, teacher and humanitarian.  She published her first book of poetry and art, In the Beginning and the End, on August 31, 2012 with Writing Knights Press.  Her second book, I Do, was published by inner child press in November 2013.  Her third book, Ripple, based on nature and growing up in the state of Virginia is expected to be released in March 2014.  Currently, she is working on a book of love poems entitled Fit Me Like a Glove.

Ms. Pierce has shown her artwork internationally.  Likewise, her poetry has been published internationally in India, England, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and the United States.  She is included in an anthology honoring the late Nelson Mandela out of Nigeria which will be published in April 2014.  Additionally, she has a poem forthcoming in the anthology World Healing, World Peace.

She has won numerous awards for her art and poetry.

Ms. Pierce received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from George Mason University.  She continued her studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, receiving her Masters Degree in Art Education with concentrations in Sculpture, Printmaking and Computer Graphics.  Currently, Ms. Pierce is All but Dissertation (ABD) in a PhD. in Philosophy of Art History with majors in African and Contemporary Art from Virginia Commonwealth University located in Richmond, Virginia.

Ms. Pierce is the Director of Poetry and Secretary at The Urban Individualists Art Gallery located in the Art Works Building in Richmond, Virginia located along the historic James River.

******  Watch  Siddartha ‘s PBS interview

View Siddartha Beth Pierce’s Portfolio below:

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Bluebird, Pastel and Charcoal, 18” x 24”

Bluebird for Bukowski is a series of many bird and animal drawings the Artist has completed. Animals are extremely peaceful by nature. They do not take or use what they do not need, they do not war and they only fight for survival or for the minimal of food. There is much the human race can learn from them. This work is in the collection of Mr. Harold Calhoun. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

We are Seven: For William Wordsworth, Collage, 18” x 12”

We are Seven is a reference to the poem of the same name by William Wordsworth in which a small cottage girl explains to a passerby that regardless of the fact that two of her siblings are dead, they are still seven in number. It is one of the Artist’s favorite works of literature. It inspired this collage wherein her one of a kind monotypes and etchings are surrounded by the words of the Wordsworth as well as a butterfly drawing by her son entitled, To Mom in the middle right hand corner. It is also layered with ink splatters and scented wax. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

Roar, Forged and Welded Steel, Rope and Scented Wax 5.5’

This sculpture took five years to complete. It was moved using a dolly from her art studio to the Meredith Gallery at Virginia State University in 2001. It was later shown at the Artemis Gallery in 2004 in Richmond, Virginia and featured in an article, Creation Story, in Style Weekly magazine. Roar is a conundrum. There are many layers of imagery hidden within its confines. Music, mathematics, science, Nature. There are twin figures in the bottom right section that represent to the Artist the Ire Ibeji twin figures common to Nigeria. The hat shape at the top and the nameless face are reminiscent of Van Gogh’s self-portraits. In addition, the sculpture is scented with vanilla and coffee wax which truly illicits an olfactory response of memory for the viewers. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

L’Enfant: A Foreshadow, Collograph, 18” x 24”

L’Enfant is a painting utilizing a palette knife and caulk as the base. It was then covered with printing ink and run through a printing press. It is a representation of a child in utero – the inner child. It was completed in 1995. Three years later, the Artist gave birth to her son, Pierce Emery, via an emergency C-Section due to his breech status. This is why the work is now called A Foreshadow. This work not only depicts the inner child within a woman’s womb but also the feelings and expressions that a human being has in their lives and experiences as they grow. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

L’arbre de Famille, Forged and Welded Iron, Rope and Beeswax

L’arbre de Famille is one of the many iron, rope and scented wax sculptures the Artist has made. This work was featured on PBS, Around the Appomatox in 2001 from her Virginia State University Artist-in-Residence and Assistant Professorship. This sculptures title is translated from French to mean ‘My Family Tree’. In 2000, the Artist’s grandmother, Siddartha Staley Mahaffey, died unexpectedly. Siddartha Beth Pierce, her namesake, was quite stricken with grief even preparing and reading her late grandmother’s Eulogy. The following year with Ms. Pierce’s award as Artist-in Residence, she completed the creation of this sculpture. Underneath the sculpture are approximately 3000 pennies which came to represent in the money and objects fought over after her Mrs. Mahaffey’s passing. Instead, the Artist chose to tie and wax the family together in a cohesive family unit, hence the title: L’arbre de Famille. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

Fibonacci numbers

The above photograph is from a felled tree found along the Shenandoah River near Massanutten Mountain in the Virginia woods. Its title represents the Artist’s interest in mathematics. Specifically, Fibonacci numbers appear not only in Mathematics but also in the biological settings of the growth of trees, leaves and spiraling ferns. This represent the connection between a world order in which there is congruency with the growth of various life forms on Earth. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

Dogwood Dell, Mixed Media on Canvas, 18” x 24”

Dogwood Dell is a compilations of various colors of acrylic paint as well as dogwood petals which is the state flower of Virginia. They were collected from the ground below the shedding tree. Also, included are bluebells, leaves and grasses. This painting represents the Beauty and serenity of the Virginia country landscape. A recall of Nature’s splendor. The artist created this work while sitting in the grass on a farm near the Shenandoah River. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

A Modest Proposal, Giclee Print, 3’ x 4’

This computer painting/giclee print was first begun in 1996 in Loughborough, England where the Artist studied during her Master’s Degree at the sister school of Virginia Commonwealth University. It is taken from the satire by the author Jonathon Swift regarding the Irish Potato Famine. Wherein, the English were starving the Irish and the author responded, ‘What are we to do, eat our children?’ It is a statement about the ravages of war and famine played lightly with a dose of satire. Copyright © Siddartha Beth Pierce - All rights reserved.

Buy Siddartha’s book Ripple.

Resume for Siddartha Beth Pierce

~  The Urban Individualists Gallery, Richmond, VA, Opening February 1st, 2014, Director of Poetry, Member Artist
~  Artist-in-Residence, Counterexample Poetics Magazine, February 2014
~  Book Cover Art, Trance, by Hulya Yilmaz, ‘L’Enfant: A Foreshadow’, collagraph print, 2014
~  I Do, Book of Poetry and Art, published by inner child press, November 2013
~  May 1st, 2013, Comcast interview for first book In the Beginning and the End
~  art6 Gallery, Richmond, Virginia: March 2012 – ‘The Garden of Gethsemane’, Collage for Van Gogh’s Ghost Paintings Show, JUROR: Dr. Cliff Edwards, VCU, (Sold)
~  Cover Art, Blue Fifth Review Poetry Journal, ‘A Modest Proposal’, Giclee Print, February 2012
~  Book Cover Art, The Poetry of War and Peace – ‘Dove’ –Pastel and Charcoal Drawing, 2012
~  Art6 Gallery, Richmond, VA – ‘Quill and Candlelight by Night: for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’, Collage ‘We are Seven: for William Wordsworth’ for 100 Years of Collage
~  Art6 Gallery, Richmond Virginia: October- December 2010 – ‘Shanty’, Welded Steel
Sculpture, ‘Temple’, Antique Candy and Cough Drop Molds on Painted Canvas, ‘L’arbre de Famille’, Photo of Welded, Rope and Scented Wax Sculpture for TRIBAL Show
~  Book Cover Art, In the Wake of the Enchantress, Pastel and Charcoal Drawing, Published on Amazon 2010
~  Petersburg Area Art League, Petersburg, VA – 9/11/2009, Solo Art Exhibition, Featured in newspaper article Progress-Index – In honor of those who lost their live in 9/11/2001
~  Petersburg Regional Arts Center, Petersburg, VA – ‘A Modest Proposal’, Giclee Print, 4’ x 2.5’, Won Honorable Mention, 2006
~  Petersburg Regional Arts Center, Petersburg, VA – ‘Floor Roar’, Welded and Forged
~  Steel with Rope and Scented Wax Sculpture, Won ‘Second Place’, 2005, JUROR: Judy Little, Chairman of Art Virginia Union University
~  Artemis Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2004, a variety of sculptures on view – Please see below Style Weekly article:
~ http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/creation-story-siddartha-beth-pierce/Content?oid=1383112
~  Fellowship and Graduate Assistantship Award, 2001-2001 – For completion of PhD. In Art History, Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA
~  PBS Broadcast – Channel 23, WCVE, Richmond, VA – FEATURE: Virginia State University Artist-in-Residence, including studios, teaching and exhibition activities, 2001
~  Shockoe Bottom Arts Center, All Media Show, Richmond, VA – ‘Vanilla Café’, Rope and Scented Wax Sculpture, JUROR: David Freed, Professor of Painting and Printmaking, VCU, 2000
~  Shockoe Bottom Arts Center, All Media Show, Richmond, VA – ‘Root’, 8’ Triptych, Pastel/Mixed Media, JUROR: Charles Bethea, Executive Director of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center, 2000
~  VCU Juried Student Art Exhibition, Richmond, VA – ‘My Lungs’,Plaster Wrap, Cigarette Butts, Lipstick and Latex Sculpture; ‘Tulips’,Acrylic Painting on Paper, JUROR Andrea Pollan, Curator, Washington, DC, Barbara MacCallum, Artist Charlottesville, VA, 1996
~  Solo Exhibition, George Mason University, Alcove Gallery, Fairfax, Virginia – Included 14 works: Carved Soapstone, Welded Steel Sculptures, Collagraph Prints and Zinc Plate Etchings created during Undergraduate Studies at GMU, 1996
~  TeenAIDS Art Auction, Washington, DC – ‘Printemps’, Monotype Series (Sold), ‘Carnation, Copper Plate Etching (Sold), 1995
~  GMU Senior Student Art Exhibition, Fairfax, VA – Included 8 works: Welded Steel Sculptures, Paintings, Etchings, Monotypes and Collagraph Prints, 1995
~  GMU Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition, Fairfax, VA – ‘Tulips’, Acrylic on Paper, JUROR: Samuel Hoi, Dean of the Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC, 1995

Links to Siddartha Beth Pierce’s Art on the Internet

~  inner child press
~  esterknows.com
~  YouTube: Poetry reading in Brooklyn New York January 17,2014 at Williamsburg Music Center
~  thebeautifulpeopleproject.com
~  YouTube: Siddartha Beth Pierce announces her new book, “In the Beginning and the End” and reads selections of her poetry to a packed upper gallery at Art6.
~ After Nyne: ‘A Leading Platform in the Arts Sector’ – Multi-Award Winning Agency Palamedes PR
~  christophpaulauthor.com:10 Questions With Poet & Artist Siddartha Pierce
~  Dead Mule School of Southern Literature: Siddartha Beth Pierce – Three Poems
~  blackmail press 32
~  Homeland by Siddartha Beth Pierce – The Indian Diary
~  writingknightspress.blogspot.com: In the Beginning and the End by Siddartha Beth Pierce

Please Support My Vision $$$$$!