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In the world of Elizabeth Moon Gabet, the Earth and the heart are always connected.
So her version of the solar system, captured on canvas, typically includes the symbol of love floating out there among the starbursts and nebulas. In the piece “Heart of Life II,” a glowing heart outline shelters the Earth.
“It explores our inner journey,” says Gabet, adding that some of her work was inspired by the 1997 film “Contact” and her own meditation on the body’s chakra system.
Her “space art,” which she also incorporates into 3-D pieces, has a mission: “To help people realize the beauty of celebrating our differences, rather than drawing lines in the sand and creating boundaries,” she says.
She and more than 20 other local artists will show their work Dec. 5 during the ninth annual Winter Art Fair at Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren, 2810 Beacon St.
Artists in the all-female show, sponsored by Sophia’s Portico, will sell their paintings, jewelry, fabric art, pottery, wood carvings and mixed media. It is purposefully kept small with a maximum of 25 artists.
“It’s nothing against men at all – just the honor to be part of women expressing creativity openly and together. … There is this fellowship, camaraderie and supportiveness with each other,” Gabet says.
“I’ve been to shows where there were both men and women artists, (and) I noticed a tendency for people to gravitate toward men’s art. And we’re kind of in the background,” Gabet says.
That’s why the art fair was founded many years ago, first held outdoors at Sophia’s Portico’s former location on Wells Street, then moved inside in 2001. The feminist spirituality center’s new home is at 2330 Beacon St., a few doors down from the church.
“Because we believe that spirituality is linked to creativity,” co-director Margaret Hoffelder says, “the expression of art in various forms has always been part of our mission.”
“Spirituality is so intrinsic to creativity, or vice versa, I can’t separate them. … The whole universe is built on creativity. Look at an acorn, it becomes an oak tree – all the energy that goes into it to create that new life form,” Gabet says.
Ann Beeching, whose paintings often depict women in the midst of transformation or communing with their animal totems, has been part of the art fair for several years.
“It has been my experience that women ‘get’ the idea of a spiritual connection with nature and all living things and then share those ideas,” she says.
The women-only show is fun because “often the conversations are more open to the encounters we all have with the spirit within everything,” Beeching says.
Lynn Berry, another longtime participant, agrees the show provides an encouraging, nurturing atmosphere for female artists.
“I enjoy seeing what all my peers are creating, how much we all have improved or how we have changed our styles over time,” Berry says.
