RECEPTION: SATURDAY JAN 11, 2-4 PM

Rachel Hankinson, an Amherst artist who was born in England, presents From West to East, and Back Again: Fusion Indian Miniature Painting: A Search for Wholeness.

She describes her path to art this way:

"My name is Rachel Hankinson, and I have been on a journey. I'm still traveling, but now only through mind, emotions and paint. Some would just call this travel, Inspiration. My fellow practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation would call it spirituality. The journey begins in the UK, where I was exposed to many cultures. Some I embraced (that was ME), some I fought (not ME). I discovered more about my family, when I married and came to the USA. Suddenly, what I had fought really was ME, by blood.

"As my adult journey began, there seemed no better way to be ME than the joy of Art, but I was torn. I settled on a BFA (Painting) from Cornell and then on to an MSW from Syracuse: surely to take care of all the rejected bits of ME. (I worked many years as a Therapist and Art Therapist.) Later, I discarded the Therapist to become a Community Artist. It was a philosophical change.

"When I discovered Meditation, it fit so well with ME, and my painting needed a journey to the source of my imagination. INDIA. I studied with a humble Master of Indian Miniature Painting in Maharastra. I was grounded and at home with the timeless Myths and Stories depicted in classical Miniature.

"So, I have kept a link with my Western training and SELF to create a Fusion, for this is truly MYSELF."

Rachel Hankinson, an Amherst artist who was born in England, presents From West to East, and Back Again: Fusion Indian Miniature Painting: A Search for Wholeness.

She describes her path to art this way:

"My name is Rachel Hankinson, and I have been on a journey. I'm still traveling, but now only through mind, emotions and paint. Some would just call this travel, Inspiration. My fellow practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation would call it spirituality. The journey begins in the UK, where I was exposed to many cultures. Some I embraced (that was ME), some I fought (not ME). I discovered more about my family, when I married and came to the USA. Suddenly, what I had fought really was ME, by blood.

"As my adult journey began, there seemed no better way to be ME than the joy of Art, but I was torn. I settled on a BFA (Painting) from Cornell and then on to an MSW from Syracuse: surely to take care of all the rejected bits of ME. (I worked many years as a Therapist and Art Therapist.) Later, I discarded the Therapist to become a Community Artist. It was a philosophical change.

"When I discovered Meditation, it fit so well with ME, and my painting needed a journey to the source of my imagination. INDIA. I studied with a humble Master of Indian Miniature Painting in Maharastra. I was grounded and at home with the timeless Myths and Stories depicted in classical Miniature.

"So, I have kept a link with my Western training and SELF to create a Fusion, for this is truly MYSELF."