BARBARA RAE SCHAEFER - GLORY

BARBARARAE SCHAEFER

Conceptually my work explores the essence of life, time and space greatly influenced by the discoveries of modern science and mathematics. As inner and outer worlds are made visible through microscopes and telescopes; my paintings and tapestries portray that total universe in constant motion with motifs endlessly repeating themselves through the secrets of fractal geometric patterns—once deemed to be pure chance. Simultaneously I have embraced linear scripts inspired by such ancient texts as the Dead Sea Scrolls, written in Aramaic, as well as the Oriental calligraphy of the Chinese Book of Changes [The I Ching]; born of divergent cultures but with similar formulas for living life nobly and repairing a world in conflict—again, making order out of seeming chaos. The third, but perhaps most important component of my work, is its physicality expressed through sheer joy of the materials themselves—oil paint, dry colored pigments, poured alkyd varnish glazes, while taking the viewer on a thought-provoking journey through ideas and emotions.