Artists and Poets Respond to the Pandemic (14)

The artist Lisa Goesling and the poet Michelle Ortega, whose work appears in the online exhibition "Artists and Poets Respond to the Pandemic," are in the spotlight today. Lisa's artwork was inspired by the word "Touch"; Michelle's poem was inspired by the word "Spirit/Spiritual."

[. . .] Earth never stopped this song; 

only now am I still enough to hear it. [. . . ]

~ from "Marcescence"

Lisa Goesling, "Pussy Willows All Lined Up"

Scratchbord®

5" x 21"

Read Michelle's poem.

Listen to Michelle reading her poem.

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Lisa Goesling, who began taking classes at the School of the Art Institute/Chicago at age 12, creates hyper-detailed renderings of her observations of nature, using black scratchboards composed of Kaolin Clay covered with India inks. Her painstaking technique, requiring an X-ACTO knife and deep knowledge of etching and design, results in exquisitely meticulous images that erupt from white clay. Sometimes, she adds colored inks to give luster and depth to her ecological visions. At others, she adapts nature's lines to abstract images that pay homage to their botanic core.

Strongly passionate about her art and nature, the latter the catalyst for her work, Lisa produces series after series of acclaimed work, which has been exhibited in solo and group shows around the country and abroad. Her work can be found in public and private collections worldwide.

Lisa contributed images of three other works to the online exhibition: "Uprooted," "Group of Columbines," and "Open Magnolias." All of those images can be found in "Artwork in Response to the Pandemic."

Michelle Ortega is a licensed speech-language pathologist in private practice. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming, online or in print, at Tweetspeak Poetry, Casual (an e-book), Tiferet Journal, Exit 13, and other periodicals and, abroad, in Horizon: The Haiku Anthology. Her microchapbook, Tissue Memory, is forthcoming from Porkbelly Press.

St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Arlington, Va.), which supports the arts ministry I lead at the parish, is hosting the complete multi-part online exhibition. On the church's new Instagram page, you'll find images of the artwork; additions are made daily. Websites and other pertinent information about all the participating artists and poets can be found at "Artists' Biographical Information" and "Poets' Biographical Information," respectively. Some artworks are offered for purchase; for pricing and other information, see "Purchase List for Artworks."