Kaethe Kauffman

Venice Biennale

In Venice, Italy, I gazed upward into St. Mark Basilica’s West Dome, unaware that I would soon receive a revelation. These delightful Byzantine style mosaics – exploding with the raw power of flattened designs without naturalistic perspective – portrayed the Holy Spirit at the top of the dome, symbolized by a dove sitting on a …

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Headscarf Rollercoaster

In the 1950s and 1960s, the best way to preserve a bouffant hairdo outdoors was to loosely tie a large headscarf around the head and secure it under the chin. This common practice seemed ordinary and timeless to a growing girl like me. In rainy Seattle, scarves provided the go-to protection from rain for females …

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Moon Bath

Pictured above: K. Kauffman, Moon Bath, 15″x15″, Acrylic, Oil, Pastel, Ink, Collage Part of my regular hygiene is to allow a big moon’s rays to shine on me once a month or so. I call this “moon bathing.” Fortunately, in Hawaii, during a full moon, it’s warm enough all year to go outside to my …

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Striding – a Sketch

Boldly striding, leading with the right leg and a protruding belly, my sketched figure seems muscular and strong, forging ahead. However, at the same time, her right arm covers her chest as if protecting the heart, while her head swivels to peer over the left shoulder; these gestures contradict the advancing thrust. While observing a …

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Unsuspected Success

As a teenager I took on certain life-long goals, assuming I would succeed: I vowed to create a close and meaningful relationship with my mother and older sisters I committed to having a loving, intimate partnership with the man I loved, for the rest of my life I aspired to become a well-known artist. I …

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Nature’s Poetry

Nature can astound me with perfect scenes that deeply move my artist’s soul. These aesthetic occurrences are so powerful, I think of them as visual poetry. At their best, poems offer special and intense experiences of feelings and ideas that incorporate distinctive styles and rhythms. On a walk, I discover that a rain storm left …

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Singing With One Breast

Above: Singing With One Breast, Acrylic, Oil, Collage, Pencil, Ink, 45”x43”, 2014 Singing With One Breast displays the contrast between inner and outer realities that arise when I meditate. Most of the figure consists of the Expressionism style, wild colors and textures that connote the intense feelings going on inside me, especially when I contemplate …

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Fixations and Fate

At times, someone convinces me to take on a task I later regret. Then I wonder how I got hooked.  For example, I attend a temple I love and usually I do about three hours of gratifying volunteer work per week. With in-person meetings banned during the pandemic, I no longer sing in the choir …

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Faberge Egg

During a thorough house-cleaning, reaching into the back of a drawer, I suddenly froze, astounded to find a Faberge Egg. Adorned on the front of an elegant navy blue box, about five inches wide, eight inches long and five inches, the words, “Faberge Egg” in gold sophisticated calligraphy were scribed on the front. I nearly …

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