Himmelfarb Gallery Exhibit: Essence of the Elements
“Essence of the Elements: Homage to Nature and Healers”
Paintings by Jannon Baer
“Essence of the Elements: Homage to Nature and Healers” features mixed-media paintings by Jannon Baer, and opens Saturday, June 27 in the Himmelfarb Gallery at Maryland University of Integrative Health. An Artist Reception will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2015, which is free and open to the public.
Jannon Baer ‘s paintings pay homage to nature and to all healers. The Wu Xing – known in Chinese medicine as the Five Phases of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal – inspired this series. Her exposure to Five-Element theory and philosophy through workshops and selected readings provides a rich source for subject matter. Jannon has received acupuncture for many years, and says it “allowed me to embrace a new way of seeing and ‘being’ in daily life and striving to live in harmony with the seasons.” In the creation of this work, her hope is for the viewer to be “needled” by the visual images of the natural world.
Since learning about the Five Elements at Tai Sophia Institute (now Maryland University of Integrative Health), Jannon has created visual images inspired by the poetic descriptions of specific acupuncture points. She is very pleased to display her paintings in the place that has inspired her so deeply. Her images serve as a reminder that we can always return to nature for healing, peace, harmony, and connection to the present moment.
“My own journey on the road to wellness has awakened in me the healing potential found through natural modalities to restore balance and create vitality,” Jannon says. “With this knowledge I feel that we can honor our Planet Earth by nurturing and allowing for new possibilities to create a more peaceful and sustainable environment for future generations.”
The materials used in the paintings include acrylic paint on canvas, dried grasses, handmade paper, flower petals, tea leaves, and tree leaves.
Artwork from the exhibit will be on sale through the Meeting Point bookstore, which is adjacent to the gallery. More information is available about the Himmelfarb Gallery here.
Read The Balitmore Sun's review of the exhibit here.
What: Essence of the Elements: Homage to Nature and Healers, Paintings by Jannon Baer
When: June 27 – September 19, 2015
Where: Himmelfarb Gallery, Maryland University of Integrative Health
7750 Montpelier Rd., Laurel, MD 20723
Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday: 8 a.m.– 4 p.m.
Artist Reception: Thursday, July 9, 2015 from 5:00– 7:30 p.m.
About Jannon Baer
Painting is a form of meditation and a sacred healing practice for Jannon. She finds it is one of many ways to connect to the present moment and creative abundance. Jannon finds inspiration from walking in nature, communing with friends and family, dancing, and receiving acupuncture. Receiving a treatment and learning about the “spirit” or meaning of a specific point has sparked visualizations for her that resulted in works on canvas. The Five Elements, Wu Xing, are the theme of many of her paintings.
Jannon received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and minor in Printmaking from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV in 1995. She has exhibited extensively in galleries and coffee shops in Maryland and West Virginia. At present, she is a visual artist, dance facilitator, wife, mother, and a mindfulness meditation practitioner. Jannon lives in Western Maryland with her husband Keith and two-year-old son Kiran.
Additionally, she has trained in Reiki, and has created and taught “Mudra Movement,” a dance workshop and class series inspired by classical Indian dance. Mindfulness meditation is incorporated into each of her classes presented at yoga centers and retreat centers.
You can also see Jannon’s work at http://jannonbaer.blogspot.com/